EastEnders star Rudolph Walker has opened up about his past and revealed he used to be homeless while working at Elstree studio.

The 84-year-old who has played Patrick Trueman since 2001 said he “lived a double life” as he hid his struggles from his Albert Square co-stars which began in the mid-2010s.

It came after a divorce from his second wife Dounne Alexander MBE, who he married in 1998.

The legal costs from this left Rudolph living out of a suitcase and penniless in his 70s, despite having worked for more than 40 years, according to The Mirror.

Ahead of the release of his autobiography, Walking With Dignity, Rudolph explained to The Mirror: “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.”

Rudolph added: “Some days on my way to the studio, I would pull up at the side of the road, have a cry.

“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.”

But it was Rudolph’s castmate Diane Parish (Denise Fox) who could tell something was wrong and would pull him aside during filming breaks to ask if he was okay.

Rudolph joined EastEnders in 2001Rudolph joined EastEnders in 2001 (Image: Matt Crossick/PA)He shared: “Diane knew there was something going on, but I never revealed the depth of what was happening.

“I am who I am.”

Sometimes, Rudolph said he hoped for late-night filming sessions as it meant the BBC would offer to put him up in a hotel.

After he secured a stay in a cheap hotel, the Love Thy Neighbour said: “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.”

Rudolph also received help from his first wife, Lorna Ross, who he separated from in the early 90s and he was able to stay in her friend’s home.

“Bless her,” he added.

“We are still extremely good friends. It didn’t take me out of what I was experiencing, but it cushioned a lot.”

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A decade later, Rudolph has come a long way since then and is now “extremely happy”.

He continued: “I know today, people will go to a psychiatrist, seek help, and maybe I should have done, but I was getting it with the people that I had around me.

“I am where I am today because of decisions I made over the years. Am I happy with where I am today? Yes, I’m extremely happy. [So] maybe someone, the old man up there, is looking after me.”

Walking With Dignity is released on September 26 by Chronos Publishing at all good bookstores.