star's agony
AN EASTENDERS legend has revealed a 'debilitating pain' that left him unable to speak.
has opened up on the pain he suffered as a result of surgeries he had.
3
3
The actor, 52, played the role of Christian Clarke on the BBC One soap for eight years.
Appearing on Sunday Brunch, John revealed he underwent surgery on his vocals.
He went under the knife after discovering he had cysts that needed to be removed.
He explained: "I had two surgeries on my vocal cords through the pandemic and it wasn’t guaranteed that I’d ever be able to sing or speak really again
read more on eastenders
"I just got my all-clear last week from Guy’s Hospital that I’m fully fit, fighting fit and ready to go."
He went on to tell hosts Simon Rimmer and Tim Lovejoy: “For me singing is like my seventh sense - I wasn’t able to speak at all for nine months and for me, it was like losing my sight or losing my hearing.
"I sing when I feel good, when I feel down, I sing without even knowing when you’re driving along in the car. It was a really debilitating thing."
John also revealed the surgery had resulted in his voice changing.
Most read in Soaps
He explained: "My first surgery I had a cyst on my left vocal cord and that went really, really well but I healed really badly because it had been historic.
"My body didn’t realise that it didn’t have a cyst anymore. So when they took it away and packed it, my body went, ‘Ooh, what is that?!’ and pushed it out, so I was scarred really badly.
"So when I got back in and they saw it, I had what they call a glottoplasty. This is what happens when you go from male to female transition, it’s kind of the female vocal feminisation process where they slightly shave away your vocal chord to raise the pitch of your voice.
"So my left chord they slightly shaved that away so I got myself a couple more notes at the top. So I now have the voice I should have had [when I was younger]."
John, who is currently appearing in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, recently revealed he would return to EastEnders on one condition.
He said he would return if bosses brought back Roxy Mitchell full time.
Fans watched as Rita Simons reprised her role as Roxy for a special scene with her onscreen daughter Amy earlier this year.
Christian, who made his first appearance in 2008, was close friends with the Mitchell family member.
Read More on The Sun
Speaking about the prospect of a return, John told RadioTimes: "I think if Rita did make a miraculous recovery, I do think that for Christian it would be his duty to have one final rock 'n' roll.
"I think he would have to come back from Birmingham, he’d have to leave his retail job in the Bullring [shopping centre] - I’m pretty sure that’s where he is, probably working for Jo Malone or The White Company in the Bullring - living his full retail fantasy."
3
Topics