Former EastEnders actor Martin Kemp has opened up about the terrifying moment in the 1990s when he thought he might die after being diagnosed with two brain tumours. The Spandau Ballet star, now 64, said the ordeal was so frightening that he banned his family from visiting him in hospital.
Speaking to The Times, Martin recalled: “There were times when I wasn’t going to make it. One minute I was working harder than ever, then all of a sudden I was on the operating table. It’s like a car crash; it comes out of nowhere.”
Doctors discovered two benign tumours in 1995, forcing emergency surgery and the abrupt end of his Hollywood dreams. Martin, who had been living in Los Angeles with wife Shirlie, returned to the UK to undergo treatment. “It all went wonky for about five years,” he said. “It was terrifying for my family. I remember lying in hospital and I had to stop them from coming in because they were scaring me too.”
After years of recovery, Martin made a remarkable comeback in 1998 with The Bill, before landing the role of Steve Owen in EastEnders. His performance earned him both the Most Popular Actor and Villain of the Year awards in 2000. Looking back, he said: “All of my friends told me not to take the part — they thought it would ruin my career. But what they didn’t understand was that I didn’t have a career anymore. That show saved my life.”
Although his acting career flourished again, Martin continues to live with the effects of his brain surgery. He now suffers from dyslexia, which he says affects not only his reading but also his sense of direction. On his FFS! My Dad Is Martin Kemp podcast with his son Roman, he revealed: “I’m completely dyslexic. I struggle to read terribly. But because it came from a physical thing that happened in my brain, I also get lost easily. Even when I go to the shops, I still use maps on my phone.”
Despite the struggles, Martin’s story stands as one of resilience and recovery — from a hospital bed where he feared the worst, to television screens where he rebuilt his career and life.
