Perdita
06-01-2016, 06:45
John Partridge has revealed that he's taking part in Celebrity Big Brother to pay for his mother's Alzheimer's care.
The former EastEnders actor's mum was diagnosed with the disease five years ago.
"My mum has Alzheimer's, I pay for her care and it is expensive," he said. "The honest answer (for me doing Big Brother) is I'm here to pay her bill."
Partridge went on to say: "She was diagnosed in 2010. As a family we've dealt with it since then. She had to sell her home in order to pay for her care. Unfortunately she only lived in a two-up, two-down, in a Northern town, so the money doesn't go very far.
"She did live with us as a family, and in March of this year we felt that we could no longer meet her needs, and she moved into a facility. That's why I'm here. I'm not ashamed of it.
"I don't care what people think – people say all sorts of things when you want to do a program like this: 'you're washed up', 'they're scraping the bottom of the barrel.'
"I unashamedly say, 'You can say what you want, but no one takes cares of my bills other than me and that is what I am here to do.'"
Partridge added that he wants to ensure his mum has the best treatment possible over the next few years.
"People now say things like, 'There are positive ways to live with dementia'. You name me one. Because as far as I can see, there is nothing positive to having Alzheimer's or dementia," he said.
"It is brutal and it is cruel and I have nothing good to say about it. But if I can make these years as comfortable for her as possible, then I will do whatever it is I have to do in order to do that."
Joining John in the house are stars including Gemma Collins, David Gest and Jonathan Cheban.
The former EastEnders actor's mum was diagnosed with the disease five years ago.
"My mum has Alzheimer's, I pay for her care and it is expensive," he said. "The honest answer (for me doing Big Brother) is I'm here to pay her bill."
Partridge went on to say: "She was diagnosed in 2010. As a family we've dealt with it since then. She had to sell her home in order to pay for her care. Unfortunately she only lived in a two-up, two-down, in a Northern town, so the money doesn't go very far.
"She did live with us as a family, and in March of this year we felt that we could no longer meet her needs, and she moved into a facility. That's why I'm here. I'm not ashamed of it.
"I don't care what people think – people say all sorts of things when you want to do a program like this: 'you're washed up', 'they're scraping the bottom of the barrel.'
"I unashamedly say, 'You can say what you want, but no one takes cares of my bills other than me and that is what I am here to do.'"
Partridge added that he wants to ensure his mum has the best treatment possible over the next few years.
"People now say things like, 'There are positive ways to live with dementia'. You name me one. Because as far as I can see, there is nothing positive to having Alzheimer's or dementia," he said.
"It is brutal and it is cruel and I have nothing good to say about it. But if I can make these years as comfortable for her as possible, then I will do whatever it is I have to do in order to do that."
Joining John in the house are stars including Gemma Collins, David Gest and Jonathan Cheban.