Woody makes his mark at the Vic
He lays down the law at the Vic…
As newcomer Woody stuns the Carters by making some radical changes at the Queen Vic this week, star Lee Ryan tells us why he doesn’t want his guest role in Eastenders to end…
Hi, Lee! How are you finding Walford life now that Woody is on screen?
I love it! I think I stayed up one morning until 3am and then got up two hours later, as I wanted to make sure that I knew my lines.
Woody has set the cat among the pigeons, hasn’t he?
Yeah. [laughs] I’ve had a few scenes with Linda [Henry, aka Shirley] where she’s snarled at me! I love the tension between our characters.
We’ve paid close attention, and think that Woody has a lot of chemistry with Whitney…
Aw, I get on really well with Shona [Mcgarty, who plays her]. We have lots of banter while we’re waiting around on set, and sometimes when the director calls action, we’ll be laughing and giggling before going into the scene. You can see there’s a real connection and happiness.
Who else in the cast has made you feel welcome?
I’ve known Richard Blackwood [who plays Vincent] since I was 16 years old. We’ve hung out and been mates for years. I’ve known Natalie Cassidy [aka Sonia] for a long time too, and also Jake Wood [Max]. He did Strictly Come Dancing with Simon Webbe [Lee’s Blue bandmate, who was runner-up in the contest in 2014] and we’ve played football together.
What have you learned from your time in the Square?
It took me a while to understand that if you mess up your lines, you can go again! The directors have been amazing with that. It’s funny, I’m just finding my feet and now my time here is almost done – which is a bit annoying!