Martin then reflected on his past health scare, and shared with his son: "I was the age of 34 when I went through all that brain tumour scare and I went through two years of my life thinking I was going to die.".
While Martin successfully had his brain tumours removed he suffers from epilepsy as a result of his illness and surgery, and admitted to his son Roman Kemp that he thought the health issue could still cut his life short.
After spending years recovering from the traumatic health scare, Martin, 63, shocked his friends and fans by joining EastEnders in 1998, and staying on the show for four years as villainous businessman Steve Owen.
Martin admitted: “All of my friends, all of them said - when I got offered the part in EastEnders as Steve Owen - they all said ‘Don’t do it, it’ll ruin your career.’ But what they didn’t understand was I didn’t have a career.
Martin spoke about his decision to join the BBC soap during a new interview with Greatest Hits Radio, and said that his time on the show changed his life for the better.
