Martin Kemp claims ‘EastEnders’ bosses killed his character off after he advised them he had landed a contract with ITV.
Martin Kemp claims EastEnders bosses killed his character off after he advised them he had landed a contract with ITV
The 61-year-old singer and actor performed Steve Owen on the BBC One cleaning soap from 1998 to 2002, earlier than occurring to star in ITV drama ‘Critical and Organised’, and the star says he was advised at one level that the door could be left open on a possible return to the present, however when he opened his remaining scripts he realised his character was being blown up.
He stated: “I’ll let you know what occurred was, I went in at some point and I stated, ‘I’m leaving, my time is completed, I’ve finished every little thing I can do.’ So, I went upstairs, spoke to the boss, I stated, ‘I’ve received to go. My time’s up,’ I knew it was … it’s the kind of present you realise your time is up while you’re going spherical doing the identical story however in a distinct go well with.
“So, you’ve stated these strains earlier than, and I believed, my time’s up, I’ve received to go. So, I went upstairs, and I advised them, and the producer stated to me, ‘Hear, you’ve been a giant character, you’ll be able to come again on to the present any time, we’ll by no means kill you off, we wish your character to be alive in case we wish you to return again.’
“So anyway, I stroll out, and I’m going again in a couple of weeks later, they known as me upstairs, they stated, ‘Martin, what are you going to do while you depart ‘EastEnders’, the place are you going subsequent?’ I stated, ‘Nicely truly, I received a contract with ITV.’ So, I’m going again in a month later – killed me off. I opened the script, and I have a look at it: ‘Steve Owen will get blown up.’ “
Earlier than becoming a member of the cleaning soap, Martin had two mind tumours eliminated, and he credit the present with serving to him to “recuperate” from that powerful time.
He advised Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett’s weekly podcast ‘Dish’: “When ‘EastEnders’ was supplied to me, it was like, everyone round me was saying, ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it. It’s going to wreck your profession, don’t do it.’ Nicely as a result of they hadn’t had any title actors in that present earlier than, proper
“All people had grown up with ‘EastEnders’, so I used to be type of the primary a kind of title actors to go in. However when it was supplied to me, it was solely actually about 5 years after I had gone via the entire mind tumour enterprise, that I went via within the 90s, about ’95, and so for me, I used to be struggling to get myself collectively, you understand, and my mind wasn’t working correctly nonetheless from the operation, you understand.
“To the purpose the place generally if I needed to stroll left, I’d stroll proper, or like I couldn’t take into consideration placing issues so as, or something like that. Studying strains was simply method on the market.
“When ‘EastEnders’ was supplied to me it was an opportunity for me to recover from it, so it wasn’t simply me taking ‘EastEnders’ on as a result of I believed it was a great gig – it was me making an attempt to get my life again collectively.
“I truthfully didn’t even know if I may bear in mind the strains as a result of my mind was so tousled from it, you understand. So, after I look again at ‘EastEnders’, it’s extra than simply, yeah, it was a great job. It was the factor that helped me recuperate, greater than the rest. Yeah, it moved me ahead and left that entire nightmare behind.”
‘Dish’, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, is obtainable on all podcast suppliers now.
