David Witts found it "weird" receiving so much fan attention while he was on 'EastEnders'.
David Witts
The 27-year-old actor appeared on the soap as Joey Branning for 18 months until Boxing Day 2013, and the 'Wicked' star admits it was "so strange" being inundated with requests for pictures, his time on the show didn't feel like "real life".
He said: "'EastEnders', when I think back on it, feels like a dream. It just doesn't seem like real life.
"I can leave here and just get on a Tube and go home and my life isn't really impacted, whereas on 'EastEnders' it just takes over your whole life.
"You can't go anywhere without people rushing up to you and wanting to take pictures and stuff and that's just so strange. It will never not be weird."
Despite enjoying his 'EastEnders' "success", David was "chomping at the bit" to take on different projects, and he has since gone on to star in US teen drama 'Recovery Road' and is currently playing Fiyero in musical 'Wicked'.
He said: "When you're so young and you go and do a show like that - I was enjoying the success but I was just chomping at the bit to do anything.
"When I look back on it it was a really short amount of time, but it felt like I was in it for ages.
"I never anticipated doing it for very long and also I was so young. I was 21 years old and at that age I wanted to do so many different things."
While 'EastEnders' bosses left the door open for David to potentially return, because Joey departed Albert Square to live with his mother, the actor doesn't see why his character would head back to Walford - unless he needed to pick up one of his old jackets.
He added to The Sun Online: "The thing is, I think everyone's dead who I would come into contact with. I think anyway - I haven't seen it in a long time.
"I don't think there would be a reason to go back there, unless he left something behind, left a jacket that he likes and just needs to pop in and pick it up."