‘I nearly pegged it’: Former EastEnders star Jamie Foreman reveals he suffered a heart attack just like his soap character Derek Branning
Former EastEnders star Jamie Foreman revealed he suffered a heart attack, just like his character in the BBC soap.
The actor, 61, who played Derek Branning in the show between 2011 and 2012, opened up about his near-death ordeal two years on.
And the TV star revealed he almost ‘pegged it’ just like Derek did in an episode broadcast on Christmas Day back in 2012.
Health scare: EastEnders star Jamie Foreman revealed he suffered a heart attack, just like his character in the BBC soap (pictured in 2018)
Speaking to The Sun about his health scare, Jamie said: ‘I had a massive heart attack a couple of years back and nearly pegged it.
‘That put everything in perspective. All the years and energy I’d spent stressing about work and now I think “I’ve been there, done that”.’
Jamie has has an illustrious film and TV career, starring in movies such as Layer Cake, Oliver Twist and Nil By Mouth.
Heart attack: The actor, 61, who played Derek Branning in the show between 2011 and 2012, opened up about his near-death ordeal two years on (pictured in character with Phil Mitchell)
However, the actor revealed that he’d been ‘struggling’ to get work of late, with himself and partner Julie Dennis now running a clothes shop together.
He told the Business & Money supplement in The Sunday Times: ‘I’ve been sort of struggling on the work front. I wasn’t terribly well a few years ago and it made me really reappraise things, so I’m in a transitional period. I’m only working if something nice comes in.
‘My wife and I set up a little fashion business, Jules Boutique, in Surrey a while ago, which is her shop really and it’s still burgeoning.’
Close call: The TV star revealed he almost ‘pegged it’ just like Derek did in an episode broadcast on Christmas Day back in 2012 (pictured in character as Derek)
‘Perspective’: ‘That put everything in perspective. All the years and energy I’d spent stressing about work and now I think “I’ve been there, done that”‘ (pictured in 2014)
He added: ‘At the peak of my acting career, my biggest pay cheque was probably about two hundred grand for Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, which was definitely more than I got for doing Layer Cake, which I did for the love. Daniel Craig got all the money for that one.’
Jamie was formerly married to ex-EastEnders actress Carol Harrison, who played Louise Raymond. They share one son, Alfie.
Bermondsey-born Jamie, who is the son of former gangster Freddie Foreman, now lives in Chipstead, Surrey with former model Julie.
Tough time: ‘I’ve been sort of struggling on the work front. I wasn’t terribly well a few years ago and it made me really reappraise things, so I’m in a transitional period’ (pictured in 2018)