EastEnders' Danny-Boy Hatchard doesn't want his character to be killed off.
Danny-Boy Hatchard
The 25-year-old actor is set to bow out of the long-running soap as Lee Carter sometime this month but he's hoping bosses have left the door open for him to return in the future rather than making his alter-ego perish in the recent fiery bus crash.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at the National Television Awards, held at London's O2 Arena, on Wednesday (25.01.17) night, he said: "I think naturally, just like anybody else's job, you do find things difficult, and you do sometimes take it home with you. But I get home and take my dog for a walk, make myself for dinner, and sit down and learn my scripts again. I try not to take it home with me if I can. I'll miss the people and Lee. I've grown to love Lee, and I wish I could give him a hug. But unfortunately I can't. So I'm just hoping, hypothetically if he's not under the bus, he will be back in the future, and I hope he comes back well - whether that's with me or somebody else."
The dramatic blaze, which saw a big red double decker bus mow down the market and smash into a bridge carrying the overground train above, has been heavily criticised by viewers, who believe the scenes are "unrealistic" and over the top.
But Danny is so proud of how hard his co-stars worked on the scene and believes the true fans are impressed with the outcome because they've been following the story.
He explained: "Just judging from experience, I think the people who have mixed reviews are not the avid viewers, they are not the ones who have watched it four times a week for thirty odd years. I think naturally the speed 'EastEnders' runs at, if you were to miss three episodes, naturally you're not going to know what the hell's going on. I think all the positive reviews have come from people who have stayed tuned and stayed loyal to the show. If you're banging out four episodes a week in a TV show, there are going to be mistakes. Come one, let's be true. Very minor ones, but it's true."