10 Totally True Facts About… Adam Woodyatt ( Eastenders’ Ian)
lnsidesoap YOUR BRIEFING ON THE MAN BEHIND EASTENDERS’ IAN…
1 Adam Brinley Woodyatt was born on 28 June 1968 in Walthamstow,
and grew up in east London. He attended Forest School alongside comedy writer Sharat Sardana and cricketer Nasser Hussain. Adam then went on to study at Llanidloes High School in Wales, before joining the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone.
2 Away from acting, Adam has some hidden talents.
While at school, he mastered the Rubik’s cube – which he can finish in less than 30 seconds! Adam also loves photography, and in 2008 he was named Architectural Photographer of the Year by the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers, for his snap of St Pancras train station.
3 The star won his first acting part in 1983,
with a small role in The Baker Street Boys. It was a show that recounted the adventures of a street gang living in Victorian London that helps out detective Sherlock Holmes. However, Adam then put his acting career on hold and worked part-time as a butcher in Wales. In 1984, he auditioned for brand-new soap opera Eastenders.
4 Adam joined Eastenders as Ian Beale in 1985,
and is the only member of the cast to appear in the first episode who hasn’t officially left the show at some point. “I had no expectations and was just grateful to have a job,” he explains. “Christmas 1986 was when I knew it was a hit – we got over 30 million viewers! Now, eight million is considered good.” Ian’s turbulent life on the Square has included becoming homeless, and discovering that his son Bobby killed his daughter Lucy!
5 The actor is very close to Laurie Brett, who played his screen wife Jane Beale.
In 2015, the pair’s chemistry saw them win a British Soap Award for Best On Screen Partnership. “My relationship with Adam has lasted longer than any in real life,” laughs Laurie. “I’ve also had fewer arguments with him than most people!”
6 Adam is married to former dancer Beverley Sharp, and their wedding took place at Disney World,
Florida in 1998, after five years of dating. The couple have two children – Jessica, born in 1994, and Samuel, born in 1997. Studious Jessica has a Master’s degree in Early Interventions in Psychosis from King’s College London.
7 In 2016, Adam’s son was hit by a car when he was crossing the road.
Sam was air-lifted to hospital, where he was then put into an induced coma. While he was recuperating, he spent eight weeks in a wheelchair. Luckily, Sam made a full recovery, and even competed in the World Cheerleading Championships in May last year. Impressive!
8 In October 2017, Adam and Beverley began creating their own gin.
NEAT Gin came about after the pair discovered a 15th-century recipe, which they used as a starting point to inventing the drink. “Our story is quite a simple one,” Adam writes on the company’s website. “We just wanted to make gin. It’s happened very quickly and we’ve been fortunate to have incredible help and advice from our amazing friends.” NEAT Gin is now sold online, and stocked at bars and restaurants around the UK.
9 Earlier this year, Adam ran the London Marathon,
to raise money for charity campaign Dementia Revolution and support his former Eastenders cast mate Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell). Adam completed the event with fellow Eastenders Emma Barton (Honey), Natalie Cassidy (Sonia), Tanya Franks (Rainie), Jake Wood (Max) and Jamie Borthwick (Jay). “It means so much to me to see my friends coming together to support this cause,” shared Barbara ahead of the race. “I know it will mean a lot to everyone else living with dementia.”
10 Despite being the longestserving cast member at
Adam admits that he despises the show’s ‘doof doof’ moments! “I hate them!” he confesses. “You just have to stand there for four seconds like a lemon. In the normal world, when someone has just given you some vital information like ‘Cindy’s dead’, you would say something!”