John Altman played one of EastEnders' most iconic villains and was on and off our screens for 30 years.
His character had many big storylines: from murder to a volatile relationship with his mum, John never got a break onscreen.
Let’s take a look back at his time in EastEnders, and see what he’s up to now.
Who is John Altman?
John Altman is an actor who is mostly known for his role in EastEnders. However he has been acting for over forty years and has been in numerous films and TV series.
Who was John Altman on EastEnders?
He played one of the most notorious soap villains ever - Nick Cotton aka Nasty Nick.
What happened to Nick Cotton?
Nick had so many huge storylines it’s hard to condense everything, we won’t lie.
He had many feuds with his own brother, Charlie (Christopher Hancock), Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) - just to name a few.
He also had a kill count, having killed Reg Cox (Jonnie Clayton) in the soap's very first episode and starting one of the show's main storylines.
He then killed the landlord of the Queen Vic, Eddie Royle (Michael Melia), his own son Ashley (Frankie Fitzgerald) – though that one was an accident, and DC Emma Summerhayes (Anna Acton).
He also attempted to kill many others, but if we went on, this article would very long.
Nick’s poor mum, Dot Cotton (June Brown), got a lot of stick from her son, and yet we saw her take him back in time and time again. At one point, he even attempted to poison her... She eventually had a change of heart though and in 2015 while Nick laid dying after a drug overdose, she did nothing.
Is John Altman returning to EastEnders?
Erm, we don’t think so. Considering Nick is dead, and that he terrorised the Square for over 30 years, it’s probably not going to happen. But, then again, we never know.
Although, John has admitted that he reconsidered having his character die. He told BANG Showbiz, "I did almost change my mind at one point, well I did.
"I went to see the producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, and I said, 'Maybe we shouldn't do this.' And he said, 'No we're going to go ahead with it."
What is John Altman doing now?
He’s still acting.
He was most recently in the film 1066, where he played the character of Earl Leofric.
He’s also set to star in three upcoming projects: A TV series called Unsinkable, the film Repentance and a production that is still in development called I am Khama!
How old is John Altman?
He is 71. His birthday is 2 March 1952.
Is John Altman married?
No, but he was previously married to Bridget Poodhun from 1985 until 1997.
Does John Altman have social media?
He does. His Twitter is @JohnAltman4Real.