Coronation Street's Craig Charles said his brother's sudden death prompted him to leave the cobbles.
The 57-year-old played Lloyd Mullaney in the soap for 10 years but left in 2015.
Craig lost his brother when he was on I'm a Celebrity in 2014, and says the tragedy made him rethink his own life and question his happiness.
He told OK Magazine : "My brother died when I was on I'm a Celeb. He was only 52. I thought, 'If I died suddenly, would I be happy with what I'd achieved?'
"The honest answer was no. So I promised myself I'd have new adventures. I wouldn't have been able to do half the stuff i've done if I'd stayed in Coronation Street."
The Red Dwarf star admitted that he is still tormented by the fact he entered the jungle instead of patching up a fallout he had with his brother Dean.
He starred in the show in 2014 but left just a couple of days into the outback experience after the programme's doctor gave him the devastating news.
He spoke previously about how Dean had tried to contract him before he joined the ITV show.
Speaking to The Big Issue, Craig said: "If I could have one last conversation with anyone it would be my brother Dean.
"He tried to get hold of me just before I went into the jungle.
"We'd not spoken for a few years, there was a family falling out. And I just thought, 'You know what, I'll leave it, go and do the jungle thing and I'll come out and we'll all be together for Christmas.'"
He continued: "And he died while I was over there... The doctor said: 'I've got some terrible news to tell you, Craig. Your brother Dean has passed away.'
"So I had to get on a plane straight away. He was so far away. And it took so long to get back.
"I'd have loved to have had a conversation with him. I'd have loved to have made up."
The former Corrie star also spoke about how he was thrust into the spotlight of fame at an early age and admitted that he handled the limelight "badly" at the time.
After finding fame on the BBC sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf, Craig said that he was not prepared for his success.
"I was unreliable. I was cocky. I was always late. I didn't prepare things. I used to wing it a lot. I mean, friends can come and go, but enemies, they last a lifetime."
