EastEnders

EastEnders spoilers for next week confirm Craig’s behaviour escalates, as does his grip on Amy Mitchell, while Ned Hawkins makes a discovery that leads to blackmail

There’s big twists and drama on EastEnders next week.

Ned Hawkins rallies the community together to celebrate him becoming the co-owner of Harry‘s Barn, amid drama with Nicola. Nicola senses tension between Ned and his son Ryder, and offers Ryder some support.

Nicola also learns about the struggles faced by one of Ryder’s former football teammates, after he came out, and so she understands Ned’s reluctance. Nicola encourages Ryder to be honest with those close to him.

He decides to have a conversation with his mum. Meanwhile, Ned makes a discovery after Lauren and Mark meet in secret and get caught red-handed.

In exchange for his silence, Ned demands a favour from Mark. Later, Ned blackmails Mark with a shocking request, and a fearful Lauren tells him to do whatever Ned says.

As the Hawkins celebrate the successful event at Harry‘s Barn, Ned continues to pressure Ryder to conform while he also reminds Mark of the consequences should his affair be exposed. Elsewhere, Amy Mitchell visits Denise in hospital where she’s encouraged to focus on her studies, rather than her new boyfriend.

Amy soon finds it hard to ignore her feelings for Craig and he continues to demand attention. As Amy becomes distant with her friends, it causes drama.

Amy invites Lily to Craig’s flat but she’s shocked when Ricky and others attend too. When Jack Branning finds out daughter Amy‘s skipping classes, he decides to speak with her about it.

After a heartfelt conversation, Jack thinks it’s Denise’ illness that has sparked Amy‘s recent behaviour. Amy is soon caught out by Craig though when he realises people have been in his flat.

With Penny and Jack wanting answers from Amy about recent events and her mystery boyfriend, she remains tightlipped. Craig continues bombarding her with messages though and even more so when he finds Denzel‘s ID at the flat.

As demands to check Amy’s phone he finds a shirtless photo of Denzel that was recently sent. Amy explains herself and Craig accepts this but his resentment towards Denzel deepens.

Elsewhere, Nancy Carter frustrated with mum Linda, before she runs into Zack. Following their reconciliation, Nancy and Zack agree to meet for a drink.

Finally, Kat continues to struggle in the aftermath of Zoe’s death. Jean attempts to lift her spirits but it does not work. As Kat is consumed by grief, she pushes her loved ones away and hits the booze. After suffering a breakdown, Kat’s relationship with Alfie hangs in the balance.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

BBC The Split Up heated up in the final few moments tonight with fans having to wait until the weekend to find out how it plays out.

BBC The Split Up fans may have missed the quiet tribute that the show paid to one of its biggest stars.

Legal drama The Split Up aired its fourth episode this evening, Monday, September 28, and Aria Kishan (played by Ritu Arya) once again had her hands full both personally and professionally.

After not being able to get hold of Uncle Rick (Ramon Tikaram), Dhruv Kishan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) asked Aria and Luke (Dimitri Leonidas) to visit him at the farm he was on the brink of losing.

When they arrived, Uncle Rick insisted there was a will that confirmed the farm had been handed to him and so all three of them searched the house. It was during this hunt that the BBC drama made a cute gesture for their Split Up co-star and Unforgotten legend Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Luke returned to the living room carrying a cardboard box and told Aria and Uncle Rick: “OK there’s not much in there except old books and about 30 VHS tape recordings of Goodness Gracious Me.” Uncle Rick instantly had a big grin on his face as he simply replied: “Still cracks me up.”

Goodness Gracious Me is a 1990s comedy sketch show that ran for three years and starred former EastEnders icon Nina Wadia and The Split Up’s very own Sanjeev Bhaskar.

The award-winning sitcom also starred Bhaskar’s wife Meera Syal who was also one of the creative minds behind Goodness Gracious Me.

Prior to Luke telling everyone about the VHS tapes he found, Uncle Rick told Aria that she shouldn’t “settle” as he sensed chemistry between his niece and her colleague.

It was at her “Fox Do” with husband-to-be Neal (Danny Ashok) that he revealed he knew her father was going to make him joint manager of Kishan Law long before it was announced.

Feeling betrayed, Aria went to Luke’s flat and admitted her feelings which led to a passionate kiss but how is their love story going to play out?

The Split Up is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

EXCLUSIVE Some of the biggest stars of Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale have united for a new staging of a classic play and looked back on their time on the world’s longest-running TV soap

Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders have been the UK’s biggest soaps for decades and now the stars truly have aligned as a group of actors from each of them have united to take on a stage production based on a film that is often one of the greatest films ever made

Soap legends Bill Ward, Tristan Gemmill, Ben Nealon and Gray O’Brien have teamed up together to appear as four of the jurors in Twelve Angry Men, which follows a jury as they deliberate the guilt of a boy on trial for murdering his father. All four of them have gone on to carve out successful careers on the boards since their time on screen, but Gray, 58,who played the villainous Tony Gordon on Coronation Street, has admitted he would be keen to return to TV if the opportunity was there.

“It’s not that I choose to do theatre, I’ll be brutally honest. It’s because nowhere in telly will employ me. That’s the thing about men coming out of soaps. Look at some of the best actresses we have in this country, Suranne Jones, Katherine Kelly, they’ve all used Coronation Street as a springboard into other things but it doesn’t work that way for men and I don’t know why that is,” he tells The Mirror.

Tony was the second husband of Underworld boss Carla Connor (Alison King). Introduced as a ruthless businessman, things quickly turned evil and he raped Carla before tying her up in the factory and setting it on fire during a major siege week in 2010. Carla made it out alive, but Tony did not. Gray admits he had no idea where the character was going when he first signed up to appear, but didn’t expect things to pan out as they did.

“It’s only supposed to be about seven houses,” he laughs when discussing the increasingly dramatic nature of the programme. Prior to joining Coronation Street, Gray had appeared in Casualty and River City, but joining the Manchester-based soap was a poignant moment for Gray because his father was such a fan.

“My father was a huge fan of Coronation Street, everyone says they are the biggest fan, but he was. Unfortunately, he died in 2000 and I joined in I think 2007 so he didn’t get to see it and he would’ve loved the part,” he adds.

But the star is happy with his latest role as touring fits in with his lifestyle and ultimately has happy memories of his time on set. It’s a similar case for Bill Ward, who played Charlie Stubbs and, after years of high-profile storylines, one of which saw Charlie abuse Shelley Unwin (Sally Lindsay), his character was murdered by girlfriend Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) almost 20 years ago.

“I loved it, and people do still talk to me about it,” he smiles, adding “It was a really, really great piece of writing. The writers, I was very, very lucky. The writers really, really wrote for that character, for Charlie Stubbs, and I always used to look forward to getting the next week’s script to see what he would be up to because it was always it was very thoughtful, but it was also very innovative. A lot of the kind of the absolute delight, and I loved my time on it.”

Following his stint in Coronation Street, Bill, 59, went on to play James Barton in Emmerdale, but has also enjoyed a stellar career in theatre, starring in productions of Legally Blonde and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie amongst a host of others.

Things are never safe in soap land and a decade on from Charlie’s dramatic exit, former Casualty star Tristan Gemmill, 59, arrived to play Tracy’s ex-husband Robert Preston. Like Charlie, Robert did not exit in a black cab and his departure from the street was also explosive – being shot through the door of the Rovers Return Inn on Christmas Day.

At the time, Tristan’s children were young and he recalls having to calm them down when they saw the hard-hitting scenes. “Being shot through the door of the Rovers was harsh. It a hell of an exit. We all watched it on Christmas Day with my kids. I thought ‘Oh, look, we’ve had Christmas lunch. Let’s sit down and watch Daddy’s episode of Coronation Street because it’s where he leaves the show.’ It was a big mistake! They got so upset and I spent hours calming them down!”

For Ben Nealon, who played Alex Harkinson on EastEnders but is better known for starring as Capt Jeremy Forsythe on Soldier Solider, the theatre is definitely home, but he is always pleasantly surprised when members of the public recognise him for his signature role.

“With Solider Solider, it’s strange. In some ways, was really lucky, and all of us who were in it were really lucky to be last bastion of a show that was on television when there were still only five channels

“We had 17 million viewers, which is bigger than Game of Thrones now. I’m still amazed that that people come up and say ‘Hey, Jeremy!’ because it’s such a long time ago.” When asked if there is one genre he prefers, Ben, 59, admits he feels “really lucky” to have had a career spanning over three decades to begin with.

“I love doing theatre because of the rehearsal process, the immediacy of it. Of doing, it changes every night based on where you are, what the audience are like.

“I think in television these days, very rarely do you get a chance to rehearse much at all. You might do a couple of rehearsals for the camera and then off you go, so to have that in-depth analysis that you get in a in a rehearsal room for two or three weeks is is a real joy, and, and I think why most of do this job.”

After decades of starring on stage and screen, the four actors are keen to discuss taking on roles of various jurors in a new production of Reginald Rose’s legal drama. “It’s things like social justice, immigration, racism, one man standing against a mob, these are all ideas that he comes back to again and again and again.

“And so I’ve sort of gone backwards into his other work, if you see what I mean, and tried to find reasons, and I’ve researched the period,” Bill says.

Having already hit a few venues in the UK on its lengthy tour, Tristan is thrilled with the way audiences have responded. He explains, “We’re finding that the audiences are, are really engaged because the, Reginald Rose, the writer, has, has structured it in such a clever way where, where by, at the, at the beginning, you just see 12 blokes walk into a room.

“You know that it’s a jury deliberating on a murder case, but you don’t know any more than that. And then as, as time goes on, you almost fill in the gaps backwards, so that eventually you know what everybody in the room knows, because they’ve sat in the court for three days and listened to the proceedings. So, the way he drip-feeds the information is, is really clever.”

Twelve Angry Men is currently on tour across the UK until May 2027. For tickets and more information, go to https://www.kenwright.com/productions/twelve-angry-men-2026-27-uk-tour/

DAN Osborne shared how he battles with a “war in your head” following his split from wife Jacqueline Jossa.

The former Towie star and EastEnders actress split in March after 13 years together and now Dan has revealed his struggles.

Taking to his Instagram stories, the dad of three shared a quote by lifestyle entrepreneur Lewis Howe describing the perfect life.

It read: “The true luxury is waking up without a war in your head, with you nervous system at peace and your body healthy.”

Dan further captioned the post by writing: “Can’t wait for the day I wake up with this feeling,” and added a worried laughing emoji and prayer hands.

His following post was showing off his chiseled abs in a topless mirror selfie and describing how he carries on.

EX FLEX

Dan Osborne flashes his abs on holiday with his three kids after Jac Jossa split

jac’d in

Jac Jossa suffers fresh blow after split.. as insiders accuse Dan of game playing

“For now, I’m just going to keep exercising,” Dan wrote.

Dan and EastEnders star Jacqueline split in March after 13 years together, with their relationship often dogged by cheating scandals and crisis talks.

Jac and Dan met at an awards ceremony in 2013 and tied the knot at a Cheshire manor house in 2017.

They are parents to daughters, Ella, 11, and Mia, eight, and Dan also has an 11-year-old son with his ex, Megan Tomlin.

The Sun then recently revealed that Dan was moving on with fitness model Etila Santiago, 33, after he made a secret trip to Miami to visit her after a holiday romance in May.

The Sun On Sunday revealed that Dan grew close to the  Brazilian bikini model after bonding with her over fitness and their mutual support of Arsenal — and vowed to see her again soon.

The Real Rooneys gives fans a real insight into the lives of Wayne and Coleen Rooney and also some surprising details of what goes on

The Real Rooneys throws up some interesting and surprising scenes and a lot of nuggets of information and Wayne and Coleen which will be new for fans. Coleen says of the series: “We live in this in this extraordinary world, but we are normal at the end of the day.”

Wayne adds: “When you know you’re on TV or you’re doing something, you maybe tone things down a little bit, but at home with four young boys, that’s impossible. It’s real what you see.” Here are some of the more shocking and surprising things I spotted previewing the first four episodes…

WAYNE’S WINDOWLESS REQUEST

The Rooneys live in an incredible mansion with dozens of rooms and grounds which are big enough for them to race around in go karts, as we see on the show. But despite paying for the property, Wayne had just two slightly odd requests when it was built. He says: “I only wanted two things in here, a small little room with no windows, not because I am a psycho for playing PlayStation or watching a movie. And a snooker table. I didn’t really care what else.” Thanks to Coleen there is also other great rooms which have fun things in them like a swimming pool and a boxing ring.

COLEEN LUCKY TO BE ALIVE

Coleen’s mum reveals that her beloved daughter may never have met Wayne or survived beyond a brief childhood having been very ill as a small child.

Colette McLoughlin tells the cameras: “When Coleen was three, she got really sick. It turned out it was encephalitis, and her brain was swelling. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t speak. She was stumbling her words. When we got to Alder High Hospital, she ended up in a coma. For 24 hours it was touch and go. She had to learn to walk again. All the coordination had gone, but I’m so grateful because she was alive.” This help she got at hospital is one of the reasons Coleen’s parents became foster carers.

WAYNE WATERWORKS AT TV SOAPS

Wayne admits now he is older he gets emotional about lots of things. The subject comes up when Kai’s football career is being discussed and he is asked if he will cry if his eldest son gets a scholarship at Manchester United. Wayne replies: “Probably. I cry at everything anyway. I’ve cried over some mad things, Coronation Street, X Factor, when Barry got pushed off the hill by Janine in EastEnders, I’m pretty sure I was crying.”

COLEEN CONSIDERED SPLIT FROM WAYNE

His bad behaviour down the years is well documented and Wayne is not perfect husband material in the series either. Like most married couples there are some rows and at one stage Coleen says: “There’s times where I think ‘Is the answer to see what it’s like if we were separated?’.”

She then adds: “But the we still care for each other, we still have good times. You know, we still love each other.”

At another point she tells Wayne: “It’s been a bit of a lads holiday for you, staying up all night. You can’t just keep doing what you do. It is not fair of everyone else. It is only you that can fix it because no one else is doing it. I’m just hoping that things change.”

KAI MOCKS HIS DAD

It seems Wayne struggles with early starts as he is shown sleeping through alarms and missing doing the school run on at least one occasion.

But one morning – seemingly the first time the Disney+ cameras are at the home – Wayne is seen up early, although he seems in need of coffee. His eldest son Kai is clearly not used to seeing his dad before school. With a grin he says: “Bro’s up for the cameras”.

Kai also states he is the best footballer in the family, and that he wants people to “know the name Kai Rooney” so he is a star footballer in his own right in the future.

WAYNE SOMETIMES HATES FAME

Wayne and Coleen take their two youngest children Kit, 10; and Cass, eight to Poland for an educational trip.

Initially it goes well and Wayne goes unrecognised but a trip on a horse drawn cart in Krakow blows his cover and he is soon swamped for autographs and selfies, and then family need to beat a sharp exit.

Afterwards Wayne reflects on what happened and says his level of fame has changed him as a person and he would love to be able to live unrecognised more often. He says: “I’m not a celebrity. People who know me know, know that I want to be as normal as possible.

“Back to when I was a kid, and you wanted to be a football player. That’s all I ever wanted to do, and didn’t care about fame or money or whatever. I just wanted to be a football player. I think I’d be such a better husband, dad, person, friend without it(fame). It affects places I go, things I do.

“I bought a mask I saw on TikTok[to use as a disguise], it looked incredible but it was terrible.”

WAYNE’S JEWISH ROOTS

As part of the break with Kit, 10; and Cass, the family visit Auschwitz because Kit asked to visit while learning about the Second World War at school.

Wayne tells the cameras: “I recently found out my mum’s mum, so me nan, her family were Polish Jews.”

He is told by producers that would make him technically jewish. Wayne replies: “I’m Catholic, but then I’ve always asked questions like, why aren’t we Jewish?”

Told it could make a whole spin off show he says with a grin: “Roo the jew!”

* Stream The Real Rooneys on Disney+ from September 24.

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In a new magazine interview Lacey revealed her hopes and fears for the BBC comptition which kicks off at the weekend

Lacey Turner has admitted she has jumped out of her comfort zone to take part in Strictly Come Dancing. The EastEnders star, who is best known for her long-running role as Stacey Slater on the BBC soap, has now been paired with Vito Coppola on the series.

Speaking about the decision to take part, she told Prima: “I’ve been asked to do Strictly Come Dancing before. I’ve seen co-stars like Jake Wood and Kellie Bright work at the same time as doing the show, and I don’t know how they did it.

“Now I’m not on EastEnders , it felt right. I’m nearly 40 and I want to start doing things I’m scared of. I want to go out of my comfort zone and push myself to see what I’m capable of. Maybe it’s a midlife crisis, but I want to show my children that they can do anything they put their mind to.”

As well as being well known in Albert Square, the Edgware-born actress, 38, has also appeared on TV shows including True Love and Call The Midwife, and starred as Molly Dawes in the military drama Our Girl. She was the first contestant to be announced as taking part in Strictly this year.

Asked what scares her about taking part, she added: “I’m nervous for people to see more of Lacey. I’m opening myself up to people criticising me, not just my character. I’m quite terrified of the whole thing, and while I tap-danced when I was younger, this is very different. I am a bit scared of letting people in, but you can’t live your life in fear.”

Lacey revealed at one point in order to juggle motherhood and being on EastEnders she “smuggled” her newborn daughter onto the set. She explained: “I don’t think I was allowed, but I wanted to get stuck back in, so she was partly raised by cast members, assistant directors and makeup artists. It was lovely to be able to go back to work and have her by my side, which is rare. The world is not set up for mothers to be able to do that.”

Thankfully ahead of Strictly there was slightly less pressure on her In terms of work and she has been making the most of family time away from the small screen in the run up to the intensive training she will now undergo. She married husband Matt Kay in 2017 and the pair have three children.

She said: “For the first time in my life, I’ve had a long-time off work, and it’s been lovely to be with my kids, potter around in my allotment and do things just for me. I genuinely love EastEnders and working, so I thought I would get bored during this break, but it’s been so lovely.

“Will I come back to EastEnders ? It will always have my heart and will be a big part of me. I love the show. I miss Stacey, so one day, I hope to go back – but when that is, I’m not sure. I just hope they don’t kill her off!”

* The full interview can be read now in the November issue of Prima, on sale today(Wednesday 23 September).

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EastEnders star Sophie Levy, who plays Priya, has left the show in an unannounced exit that left fans gobsmacked, as the BBC show’s official X account showed the cast’s emotional goodbye

The EastEnders cast have said goodbye to one of their stars in a shock exit that was not announced to fans. Sophie Levy, who played Priya Nandra-Hart, has left the show.

In tonight’s episode, Priya decided to quit Walford, terrified that Max Branning (Jake Wood) would do something drastic if he found out that she was pregnant with his child. She packs her bags and is driven off in a cab headed for Leeds.

It has now been revealed by the EastEnders’ official X, formerly known as Twitter account that these were one of Sophie’s last scenes. They shared a video of Sophie being given a huge goodbye from the cast, who chanted, “We love you Sophie, we do!”

Executive producer Ben Wadey then said: “We have just wrapped Sophie’s last scene with us on EastEnders. Congratulations, Sophie! We want to say a massive thank you on behalf of everyone at EastEnders for an extraordinary few years. It’s a really hard thing to come in and put on the shoes of a new character in the show and instantly become an icon.

“You’ve led so many amazing stories, you’ve had brilliant, unlikely partnerships with people like Martin, with Ian, with Jean most recently. I’ve been enjoying you actually driving Max Branning to have a heart attack by stressing him out so much. You’ve been extraordinary; you’re a delight to work with. You’re going to be very, very missed.”

He added that Sophie, who is pregnant, was onto a “more important adventure” next. Sophie then said that the EastEnders crew were like “family” and that she loved being on the soap. Speaking directly to the camera, she added: “I just wanted to say a massive thank you to all of the fans and the viewers of the show. I’ve been so proud and happy to be part of this family for three years. I can’t believe it’s been three years, it doesn’t feel that long but it also feels like it’s been forever!

“Thank you for having me. And let’s see. Watch this space, you knows if Priya will return.” Turning to the side to show off her baby bump, she signed off with: “See ya!”

EastEnders captioned the post with: “Sophie Levy Khan’s final day on EastEnders was an emotional one. From the moment she arrived, Priya has been an unforgettable character and leaves behind a Walford legacy to be proud of. We’re not crying, you are.”

Fans were shocked in the comments as they did not think Priya’s exit was permanent. “Wait she’s left for good?” one fan asked. Another said: “Shut the f*** up???? This can’t be Priya’s actual exit!”

A third added: “Wait a minute that was her actual last scene really I thought she would be gone for a bit and be back another great Eastenders character gone.”

Others said they thought she might return in time for Christmas, so that she could still be the pregnant woman in Max Branning’s bed at New Year. One said that it was “obvious” that Sophie would return: “She even says at the end of the video let’s see if priya will return ?? Do any of you even watch any of these videos before jumping on a bandwagon ! Its obviously just a temporary leave!”

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EastEnders fans think they know what brings Stacey Slater back to Walford amid reports actress Lacey Turner is filming a few episodes for the BBC soap during her Strictly stint

Stacey Slater is returning to EastEnders, according to new reports – and it’s very soon.

Lacey Turner is said to be reprising her role on the BBC soap, while she’s starring on Strictly Come Dancing. According to the reports, Stacey could be back in time for Christmas and the big New Year’s Day 2027 episode.

While nothing has been confirmed, it’s thought Lacey will be filming for a handful of episodes, reprising her role around October and November time. Given filming is often around six to eight weeks ahead of transmission, this could mean Stacey is back for December and New Year.

This detail has left many fans convinced they have figured out what brings Stacey back. Some think the episodes are tied into the return of her brother Sean Slater, while others wondered if this means Stacey could be the pregnant woman in Max Branning’s bed, yet to be identified.

A fan posted on social media: “Stacey only seems to be back for a few episodes which must link in with Sean returning. Lacey couldn’t have come back to film anything without it being noticed.”

Another fan said: “Great that Stacey is coming back. I did wonder at the start if it may be her in Max’s bed, but they didn’t part on good terms when she left for Brazil because of Max and Zoe.

“To be cosying up to Max again seems a bit strange. It might be to do with the Vic as she helped Kat.” A third fan said: “I think the best outcome would be if she was the pregnant woman.

“I know it’s probably Priya but that feels to obvious. I don’t really want Max to have another kid, but I’d rather he have one with Stacey than Priya.”

One fan theorised: “Streets are saying stacey is the pregnant woman in max’s bed nyd 2027.” Another said: “Stacey back around new years? How do i make sure she’s not the pregnant woman in max’s bed?”

A further post read: “Stacey is returning for a guest stint but they’ll probably have her involved with Max.” A final comment said: “Will she be the pregnant woman in his bed or will he cheat on Linda with her? Lbr it’s going to be one or the other.”

On Stacey’s apparent comeback, the source told The Sun: “Lacey has created one of the soap’s most iconic character’s in Stacey Slater. She is loved by the fans.

“So the fact that she’s agreed to return, even if it’s only for a handful of episodes, will come as a huge boost for the loyal viewers. Lacey returning for a few episodes to turn the tide. This is not a permanent return.”

They added: “It’s going to take more than Lacey returning for a few episodes to turn the tide.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

There is a lost EastEnders Christmas special which showed groundbreaking gay character Barry Clark come out to his homophobic dad.

In 1986, bosses on the BBC drama cast the first ever gay couple on the soap with Michael Cashman and Gary Hailes playing Colin Russell and Barry.

The two characters were the first openly gay couple to share a kiss in a British soap. Gary Webster joined EastEnders in 1987 playing Barry’s protective older brother Graham Clark who accepted his sibling was a homosexual man.

Former Minder star Webster has now revealed that an entire Christmas episode was filmed in 1987 around Barry emotionally revealing his sexuality to their father, who hated homosexuals.

Webster insists the unique episode was in the can and due to air on Christmas Eve but when he sat down to watch it, bosses had lost their nerve and left it on the cutting room floor instead airing an episode forcing on Pauline and Arthur Fowler’s broken oven and Sharon Watts coping with Christmas with her parents Angie and Den separated.

None of the scenes were ever shown on the soap.

Webster said: “I was very proud to be a part of that storyline, absolutely. “That was really groundbreaking writing. Not only having Colin and Barry’s relationship out there, accepted or not accepted. It wasn’t for effect it was a reflection of what was happening to people in those relationships.

“It was fantastic writing, the idea that his brother would be fully accepting of it as well, when everyone thought the brother would find it unacceptable. At that time they could have gone further. I remember we shot a whole Christmas episode of the father of Barry and Graham – my character – finding out his son was gay, and he wasn’t accepting of it. It had all been building to that culmination of the father coming into the pub.

“We filmed 15 scenes and it was a whole episode at Christmas. I sat down to watch it at Christmas and they had pulled it and had shot something else. I think they just lost their bottle a little bit at that time.

“No, never broadcast. I don’t what happened to it. All I know is that my parents were sitting down with my aunt and uncle, my current girlfriend at the time was sitting down with her parents on Christmas Eve. I’d told them I’m featured in this episode a lot, this is going to be a big episode. I was sat down on my own, I saw the opening scene and I suddenly realised, ‘Oh my god! This has changed. This is not the episode that we shot.’

“Back in those days if you got an episode on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day it was the pinnacle of your career. Then I thought, ‘I just look like I’m a big liar. Now I’m going to have to take the flak of people going, ‘Right, so you were going to be in a big episode?’ Everyone doubted me for years afterwards.”

Webster – who stars in new independent British horror movie Harbinger – believes the episode was dropped because bosses on EastEnders feared the British public weren’t ready for it.

Despite that history-making episode never making it to television screens, Webster says being a part of the Colin and Barry story is one of the proudest acting jobs of his long career.

He said: “To be a part of that storyline, to work with Gary Hailes and Michael Cashman who played Barry and Colin – I still keep in contact with them both – I look back on that and I am proud of my part of that storyline. It was EastEnders at its very best. “What everyone forgets, people in my industry and in that London scene, we probably lived in a bit of a bubble than what was going on in the rest of the country.

“I felt that maybe people at that time weren’t ready for that yet. But I think people are ready for it at any time. You have to have more faith in the public.”

Webster made a return to EastEnders in 2016 as new character Neville Peacock. The actor still watches the soap and insists it is vital it remains on screens as it is a hotbed of new talent.

He said: “EastEnders is in a battle but I still think the basics and foundations are great, the same with Coronation Street and all the soaps. They are a great breeding ground for great talent whether it’s in front of the camera or behind the camera. People still like that regularity of storyline and characters they now and love. It’s just getting it out there, because there are so many other platforms.

“I did about four episodes of EastEnders as a different character in 2016. There was some hope that I might return. Hope is one thing, reality is another. It doesn’t bother me if something doesn’t quite work out, that’s just the nature of the business we’re in.

“If they called me again I would be thrilled and honoured to be in the show. “I still think there is a lot of value to the soap operas. In this country we do them extremely well. It’s a hot bed for new talent, discovery of new talent across the board that we would lose at our peril. If we allow that to just slip away I think the industry would suffer across the board. I’m a great advocate of retaining all those returning dramas.”

The BBC declined to comment but a soap source said EastEnders had “a rich history of championing LGBTQA+ storylines and characters over its 41-year tenure”.

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EastEnders have announced that Amy Mitchell will become the victim of grooming as part of a harrowing new storyline and bosses have teamed up with various charities to highlight the important issue

EastEnders have announced that Amy Mitchell will become the victim of grooming as part of a harrowing new storyline.

The long-running BBC soap, which began in 1985, has never shied away from tackling tough topics and the latest in a long line of issue-based storylines will feature Amy, who is just weeks away from her 18th birthday, fall into an unhealthy relationship with corrupt police officer Craig Ingram.

With Amy (Ellie Dadd) having admitted responsibility for Joel’s attack, Craig gains Amy’s trust by agreeing to keep her confession a secret from the police. Unbeknownst to Amy, Craig has been suspended from public police duty following a series of complaints at work, and he uses his position of power to elicit control.

Believing Craig to be the only thing that stands between her and serious consequence for the attack on Joel, Amy is incrementally manipulated and groomed by Craig over a series of months and will eventually find herself in danger when Craig.

In upcoming scenes, Craig will create an environment where Amy believes he is the only person she can trust. Bosses of the soap have teamed up with Barnardo’s and End Violence Against Women Coalition to bring the storyline to the screen in the way they see fit.

Ben Wadey, EastEnders Executive Producer said: “When telling a storyline like Amy’s, we have a huge responsibility to highlight and raise awareness of the warning signs of grooming. We’re grateful to be working with Barnardo’s and End Violence Against Women to help us tell this story.”

Lynn Perry, Barnardo’s Chief Executive added: “We welcomed the opportunity to provide expert advice on this storyline – which is a powerful reminder that there is no stereotypical victim or perpetrator of grooming.

“Young people from all walks of life can be targeted and fall victim to controlling behaviour – and many are often unaware that they are being groomed. We hope this important storyline can highlight how subtle the signs of grooming can be and how it builds over time.

“To any viewers who recognise themselves in this story – who may be currently experiencing abuse or might have in the past – we hope this storyline shows you that the abuse was not your fault and we encourage you to seek support. We appreciate the writing team’s professional curiosity and determination to get this story right.”

Janaya Walker, Interim Director at End Violence Against Women Coalition added: “We’re proud to have worked with the EastEnders team on this storyline about grooming and police-perpetrated abuse, which has been delivered with sensitivity and care. On-screen portrayals like this have the power to shift attitudes and increase understanding of abuse across society.

“This storyline will help raise awareness about how those in a position of trust can abuse their power to target women and girls. We hope it can play an important role in making these experiences visible and help victims watching at home to understand that what happened to them was abuse, and to seek support.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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