Soap icon Rudolph Walker, famed for his role as Albert Square's charming Patrick Trueman, has opened up about the dark times he faced when he was broke and homeless for two years. He also keept his struggles a secret from his castmates and even his own children. The 84-year-old actor shared how he would often be reduced to tears during his commute to the Elstree studio, battling with the "utter despair" of leading a "double life".
Despite being a star on one of the BBC's top shows, Rudolph's life was far from glamorous as he lived out of a suitcase and depended on the kindness of friends for accommodation. His colleagues were oblivious to the severity of his plight, which began in the mid-2010s following a financially crippling divorce from his second wife, Dounne Alexander MBE, whom he wed in 1998. Due to legal fees, Rudolph found himself destitute in his 70s after a career spanning over four decades.
With nothing but his car, he reached such a low point that he would look forward to late-night shoots, hoping the , who didn't know about his predicament, might offer him a hotel stay near the set. Reflecting on those tough times, he expressed: "It was painful. It was extremely difficult.
I just didn't have any financial means. I was literally starting from scratch again in my 70s, with nowhere to live. It was a time of great pain and loneliness.
", reports . He fought to keep his struggles hidden from colleagues, maintaining a facade as the cheery Patrick we all love on screen. "Some days on my way to the studio, I would pull up at the side of the road, have a cry," he admits.
"I'd pull myself together, arrive at the studio and the environment would act as a tonic, and I was ready to go. I suppose it was a sort of double life." His co-star Diane Parish, known to fans as Denise Fox, had her suspicions that not all was well.
She'd catch him during breaks with concerned queries about his wellbeing. "Diane knew there was something going on, but I never revealed the depth of what was happening," he discloses. "I am who I am.
" Ahead of his autobiography "Walking With Dignity" hitting the shelves, Rudolph told the Mirror about some of his darkest days. He reached a low point in a dingy hotel - a far cry from luxury. "There was a wash basin, small bed, and a TV in the corner, with a communal shower and toilet in the corridor," he reveals.
"I sat on the bed and cried. Questions of: 'Who am I? Why am I in this position? ' There was no way the public watching me as Patrick every other night were aware that was what was happening." The veteran star, who's gearing up to celebrate his 85th birthday later this month, isn't one to throw in the towel.
Drawing on his Trinidadian roots, he credits his childhood experiences for his resilient spirit during life's roughest patches. He shares: "There is something in me from childhood that has said, 'I will survive', like Gloria Gaynor said in the song. Regardless of how difficult things are, regardless of how little I have, I will survive.
I came from a background where I had very little, so when I had absolutely nothing even at the height of fame I had that resilience, that will to survive." He continues with his life's mantra: "My philosophy is: 'Smile and try to be happy.'".
Rudolph, famed not just for his Eastenders role but also his appearances in Ben Elton's The Thin Blue Line and the 1980s legal drama Black Silkand for sharing the screen with Hollywood legends like Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and John Goodmanwas honoured with a CBE for his services to drama and charity in 2020..
