Brian Conley "felt like Tom Cruise" filming the cafe fire on 'EastEnders'.
Brian Conley enjoyed filming his stunt
The 62-year-old actor's soap alter ego Tom 'Rocky' Cotton turned to arson in the hope wife Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) could claim on insurance and he could use the money to clear his gambling debts, and the comic admitted he had a great time shooting the stunt.
He told the Daily Mirror's Love TV magazine: "I must admit, I felt like Tom Cruise.
"It was scary when we were in there, we genuinely could not see anything.
"The firemen were real, from the armed forces.
"I've never done anything like it before, apart from fire-eating on my own show - I told the firemen that."
With Kathy set to be arrested for the fire this week, Brian - who recently confirmed he is leaving the soap - admitted he wouldn't be surprised if their marriage is over once the truth comes out.
He said: "I'd dump him. I mean, how much can Kathy put up with?
"The poor woman has really gone through it with him.
"But love has kept them together, Rocky genuinely absolutely loves her, which is wonderful."
Brian loves sharing the screen with Gillian.
He said: "I love Gillian, she's the best leading lady I've ever worked with, without a doubt, and I tell her that.
"We have a genuine love for each other."
Fans have been speculating if Rocky will be the dead body revealed at Christmas, and while Brian refused to speculate, he admitted he's looking forward to tuning in at home.
He said: "What people are going to experience this Christmas is something they won't ever have seen before.
"It's really, really exciting, with twists and turns.
"It's going to blow us all away."
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