10 totally true FACTS about... James Bye
YOUR lnsidesoap BRIEFING ON THE MAN BEHIND EASTENDERS’ MARTIN…
1 James Edward Bye was born on 23 February 1984 to parents Leonard and Pauline. The star grew up with his younger sister, Amy, in Basingstoke. James went on to study at the Hurst Community College before going to Queen Mary’s College in Hampshire.
2 James’ first credited TV role was in The Bill. He played Tom Burrows in one episode in 2006 alongside Hollyoaks’ Gary Lucy (Luke). James went on to appear in Cemetery Junction, The Great Train Robbery, and in 2014 he played Pete the Killer in The Hooligan Factory, which also starred his future Walford co-star Danny Dyer (Mick).
3 In 2014, James joined Eastenders as the third actor to play Martin Fowler, taking over from James Alexandrou. Martin returned to the Square to support Sonia on the evening of her Fat Blasters Christmas party, and later started a relationship with Stacey. The pair survived the revelation that Kush was the biological father of their baby, Arthur, and he and Stacey went on to have a child together, Hope, in 2017. More recently, Martin was forced to the dark side after getting embroiled with resident villain Ben. “I was a bit unsure about how we were going to get from Martin the fruit-and-veg guy to suddenly being this bad boy,” explains James. “But it’s been so nice for the audience to see him spiral out of control. I’ll be eternally grateful for these stories!”
4 James wed wife Victoria in 2012 after meeting her four years earlier in a Sainsbury’s car park! The pair now have three children – Edward (seven), Louis (three) and one-year-old Hugo. “With three children, if you’re not a team you’d have no chance,” says James. “Victoria and I get little moments together when the kids are asleep and we chat about our day and laugh – that’s the most important thing.” They all live in Buckinghamshire with their two dogs Beefeater and Bombardier.
5 Prior to joining Eastenders, James had some interesting jobs. “I once did an awful advert for a yoghurt company,” grins the star. “I had to speak German, and I had no idea what I was actually saying. I spent all day trying to perfect the accent. The advert was mimicking a scene from When Harry Met Sally. I was feeding this girl yoghurt, and she was enjoying it a bit too much! That was pretty bad.”
6 While James’ recent plots have seen alter ego Martin embroiled in violence, the action once spilled over into real life. “Me and Max [Bowden, aka Ben] did one scene where I nearly broke his neck,” exclaims the actor. “I pulled him up a little prematurely, and he wasn’t ready and he nearly snapped his neck, and we had a bit of a fall-out.”
7 James is great mates with co-stars Lacey Turner (who plays his on-screen wife Stacey) and Davood Ghadami (aka Kush). The pair are so close to James that he chose them both to be godparents to his youngest son, Hugo! “I took Lacey out for lunch to ask her,” the star tells us. “I was quite nervous, and was getting choked up asking her. Bless her, she was really taken aback and said it was an honour. I think Davood expected it. We’re so close.”
8 James is also good mates with Hollyoaks’ actor Gregory Finnegan (James). “We know each other through mutual friends,” James said a few years back. “Greg is wonderfully talented, and he’ll be massive for Hollyoaks.” James rushed to congratulate Gregory last year when he won Best Actor at The British Soap Awards.
9 James joined wife Victoria in the birthing pool when she was in labour with their third son. “I stripped to my pants and jumped in,” laughs James. “I think it gave Victoria a burst of energy, so she pushed. The midwife asked if I was ready to catch him. I was terrified, but I caught Hugo as Victoria gave birth to him. It was so special.”
10 James wants Tom Hardy to have a guest role in Eastenders. “Tom would be great!” exclaims the star. “I met him years ago – I did something at The Old Vic in London, and he was there. We had a bit of a chat. He was a lot shorter than I expected him to be – but then again I’m quite tall, so most people seem kind of short to me!”