JOHN Partridge belts it out from the rooftops, louder than any line he ever delivered as Christian Clarke in Eastenders.

“I’m sober and I’m in the best shape of my life,” says the star performer who landed a major role in Cats, aged just 16.

“If I’d known of the benefits of giving up drink and drugs I’d have done it years ago. It’s given me a great piece of mind.”

Until a year ago, Manchester-born John Partridge was not only a party animal, he was top dog. Yet, the madness reached the point the state of sobriety was somewhere he rarely visited.

But it begs the question ‘Why?’ John’s career incline had been consistently progressive, on to bigger and better projects.

Right now recent star of La Cage Aux Folles has landed his first straight role in theatre with the Agatha Christie Company’s production of Edgar Wallace’s The Case of the Frightened Lady..

The former Royal Ballet School pupil won huge plaudits for his TV roles. So what was the life of excess all about, John? Why the constant escape?

“I’ve never liked the word ‘escape’,” he says, with a wry smile.

“The truth is, I just didn’t want to be me. I didn’t want to be alone with myself. In some ways I was frightened of what I might feel, or face about myself, the things I’ve done or the way I’ve attacked my life.”

He adds; “So you use alcohol, shopping, food, sex . . . it’s about what you use to feel a different way.”

It’s still hard to understand, John. You seem to have it all.

“Look, I was always comfortable with the performance part of me. I always knew I could dance and I was really good.

“I went into Cats at 16 because I knew I could dance anyone off the stage. But am I good looking enough? Am I funny enough? Am I clever enough? All these other things I wasn’t sure of.”

Did he have problems with his sexuality? (He married Jon Tsouras in 2011) years) “No, that side of things was good. I had no tragic coming out story, I had love and unconditional support from my family.

“He grins; “In some ways, I’m a terrible role for the LGBT community. I wasn’t gay-bashed, and my sexuality comes far down my list of issues. I’ve never really considered it.”

That’s not to say he wasn’t upset when he joined Eastenders. While he’s always been openly gay, Eastenders’ publicists described him as such.

“The point is why mention it in the first place? The implication is that there is something off.” He smiles; “They said I was ‘An openly gay actor. Does this mean I’m also open about being an actor?”

I’m going to describe you as ‘an actor,’ John. Have no fear. “You can describe me as the gayest actor in the UK,” he says, laughing. “There you go. I’ve got the broad shoulders for it.”

He does. Pics reveal he looks more ripped than a teenager’s best jeans. “I wasn’t in good shape though,” he says of the pre-abstention period.

Come on, John. You never looked like a telly tubby. “No, but the drink had to stop. I worked out that I had wanted to feel a

JOHN Partridge belts it out from the rooftops, louder than any line he ever delivered as Christian Clarke in Eastenders.

“I’m sober and I’m in the best shape of my life,” says the star performer who landed a major role in Cats, aged just 16.

“If I’d known of the benefits of giving up drink and drugs I’d have done it years ago. It’s given me a great piece of mind.”

Until a year ago, Manchester-born John Partridge was not only a party animal, he was top dog. Yet, the madness reached the point the state of sobriety was somewhere he rarely visited.

But it begs the question ‘Why?’ John’s career incline had been consistently progressive, on to bigger and better projects.

Right now recent star of La Cage Aux Folles has landed his first straight role in theatre with the Agatha Christie Company’s production of Edgar Wallace’s The Case of the Frightened Lady..

The former Royal Ballet School pupil won huge plaudits for his TV roles. So what was the life of excess all about, John? Why the constant escape?

“I’ve never liked the word ‘escape’,” he says, with a wry smile.

“The truth is, I just didn’t want to be me. I didn’t want to be alone with myself. In some ways I was frightened of what I might feel, or face about myself, the things I’ve done or the way I’ve attacked my life.”

He adds; “So you use alcohol, shopping, food, sex . . . it’s about what you use to feel a different way.”

It’s still hard to understand, John. You seem to have it all.

“Look, I was always comfortable with the performance part of me. I always knew I could dance and I was really good.

“I went into Cats at 16 because I knew I could dance anyone off the stage. But am I good looking enough? Am I funny enough? Am I clever enough? All these other things I wasn’t sure of.”

Did he have problems with his sexuality? (He married Jon Tsouras in 2011) years) “No, that side of things was good. I had no tragic coming out story, I had love and unconditional support from my family.

“He grins; “In some ways, I’m a terrible role for the LGBT community. I wasn’t gay-bashed, and my sexuality comes far down my list of issues. I’ve never really considered it.”

That’s not to say he wasn’t upset when he joined Eastenders. While he’s always been openly gay, Eastenders’ publicists described him as such.

“The point is why mention it in the first place? The implication is that there is something off.” He smiles; “They said I was ‘An openly gay actor. Does this mean I’m also open about being an actor?”

I’m going to describe you as ‘an actor,’ John. Have no fear. “You can describe me as the gayest actor in the UK,” he says, laughing. “There you go. I’ve got the broad shoulders for it.”

He does. Pics reveal he looks more ripped than a teenager’s best jeans. “I wasn’t in good shape though,” he says of the pre-abstention period.

Come on, John. You never looked like a telly tubby. “No, but the drink had to stop. I worked out that I had wanted to feel as comfortable in other areas of life as I did about my grand jetes and my leg kicks.

“I wanted to feel as if I were dancing though every other aspect of my life ¬ - and the way to do that was getting high and getting drunk.

“It took me until aged 46 to work that out.”

Did therapy play a part? “No, the therapy industry doesn’t work,” he exclaims. “And neither does rehab. Those people are like the diet industry; they prey on people with addictions.

“You can’t get a quick fix. Only you can fix you. If you drink or eat too much only you can make you stop. If you have casual sex outside your marriage only you can make you stop.

“I know this to be true because I have lived it. Now, I know I will never drink or take drugs again. There’s a cat and hell’s chance. Nothing feels as good as I do right now.”

Part of this realisation comes about from working with producer Bill Kenwright. The producer cast John in La Cage Aux Folles and the pair built up a real mutual respect.

Now, Kenwright has cast him as Inspector Tanner in the Agatha Christie Company production alongside Not going Out’s Deborah Grant, Coronation Street’s Phillip Lowrie, (who played Dennis Tanner) and Emmerdale’s Scarlett Archer.

“It’s a fantastic show to be involved in,” he says. “If you love murder mysteries this really has it all, and a real thirties feel to it.”

John is moving forwards professionally and personally. But you wonder if the passing of his mum, an Alzheimer’s sufferer for seven years, helped him move forward?

“Yes, in the way that I felt I was on my own now. There was a lot of pressure with my mum, and in some ways her passing gave me the space to free myself up.

“But I’ve had to think about others in my life.” He adds, grinning; “If you’ve been taking drink and drugs for 30 years you really have some atoning to do.

“Sometimes you’ve got to say ‘I’m really sorry. I was a p****’”

There are those who will wonder the mechanism he used to turn his life around?

“My sobriety came about very quietly and very gently,” he says in soft voice. “There was no huge event, and perhaps that’s why I’ve been successful with it.”

He adds; “I am a new person. I’m not a spiritual person but there is a spirituality that comes with being sober. I’m a year down the line now and you know it feels fantastic.”

• The Case of the Frightened Lady, The Theatre Royal, October 2- 6.