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EastEnders star Eddie Eyre – aka Josh Hemmings – on leaving the soap and his exciting new role

Big news for the actor...

Eddie Eyre hasn’t exactly had his feet up since he left EastEnders – in fact the actor has already got an exciting new role lined up!

Eddie, who played Lauren Branning’s love interest Josh Hemmings in the BBC soap, has revealed he’s got a brand new project in the pipeline.

Gratuitous shot of Josh (Eddie Eyre) with no top on (Credit: BBC)

Speaking to Digital Spy, the 29-year-old actor reveals he’s about to tread the boards in a production of restoration comedy The Country Wife.

He plays womanising playboy Harry Horner in the production, which opens at the Southwark Playhouse in April.

Read more: Eastenders’ Lacey Turner reveals the return of the Slaters “ruin’s Stacey’s life”

He explains: “It’s a move back because I’ve always done theatre. I trained at a theatre school, I’ve performed in the West End and worked with some great companies.

“There’s nothing quite like live theatre in terms of an experience. You get a thrill that you don’t get on any other project.”

Josh Hemmings was hiding his true identity from Lauren (Credit: BBC)

The actor joined EastEnders in March 2017 for a year contract and was hiding a big secret – he was a member of the Willmott-Brown family.

Looking back at his time in the BBC soap, he says: “I had a brilliant time there. It’s such a great cast and crew. I really enjoyed playing Josh.

“Working on a show like EastEnders, or any other continuing drama, is such a good experience for a young actor who’s wanting camera experience. I had a great time.”

He also joked that he wasn’t happy with the way his character was treated by Lauren!

He said: “As a fan of Josh and Lauren, I’m devastated – how dare she after all that?! (Laughs.) It was a whole year, Josh gave up everything for her and then she left him – awful! It’s left the door open for both characters now, which is interesting.”

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Lauren had promised to leave Walford and go to Scotland with him – but, at the crucial moment, she changed her mind!

Instead, she walked away from boyfriend Josh to start a new life on her own with son Louie.

At the time, Jacqueline Jossa – who played Lauren – joked: “I thought they’d kill me off.”

So the pair might return someday – with or without each other!

Which EastEnders character would you most like to see return to the soap? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Helen Fear
TV Editor

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