The EastEnders actor judges Suffolk’s talent show for those in recovery

An EastEnders actor who has had his own recovery problems has returned to a town for a talent show for people who have had addiction and poor mental health issues.

Howard Saddler, who plays pastor Gideon Clayton in the BBC soap, was a judge on Recovery’s Got Talent in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

“I got involved directly because I’m in recovery myself and I came to Bury St Edmunds for treatment and then I got involved about seven or eight years ago,” he said.

“I did it for a year and then moved away, and this year I was really honored to be asked to be a judge and jumped at the chance.”

The event is organized by a coalition of supporting organisations, including Turning Point, Anglia Care Trust and Artheads.

Jody Lee, aka The Skinny Poet, is a former contestant who shares the show, which she said was for people who “so often don’t have a voice.”

“It’s really about giving people who have been through any kind of difficult circumstances (addicts and survivors of abuse, survivors of physical or mental well-being issues) (an opportunity to express themselves creatively,” he say

“It’s really important that they feel connected, that they can talk about some of the issues that I’ve had.

“When you think of the word ‘recovery,’ it’s about getting ourselves back … the understanding is expanding.”

This was the seventh Recovery’s Got Talent and was held at King Edward IV School on Saturday.

There were seven performances, plus last year’s winner Lauren opening the show, poems by Jody Lee and a closing number by Al “Soulman” Sharp.

The four judges (BBC Suffolk’s Jon Wright, Saddler, Mayor of Bury St Edmunds Diane Hind and Lauren) gave positive comments after each performance, but an anonymous audience vote selected the winner.

Singer Jasmine Rose, who is autistic, was this year’s winner and spoke about her own mental health challenges after being bullied at school.

She sang Whitney Houston’s All the Man That I Need, and then A New Life from the musical Jekyll and Hyde, which she said “resonates a lot with me personally.”

“This is absolutely mind-blowing, I’m so happy,” she said.

“It’s about wanting to improve and create a new life for yourself and keep looking forward.”

Saddler added: “I think it’s one of those things like mental health. People are more aware of it, and in the workplace we’re supposed to acknowledge it.

“But if you mention (being in recovery) people can still avoid it, unfortunately, that’s the reality.

“Time is the best healer and I think society needs some time to adjust to the understanding, and that is happening.

“It’s happening slowly and events like this, they do nothing but help.”