Ray Winstone has turned down "many" offers to join 'EastEnders'.
Ray Winstone doesn't want to take on the soap schedule
The 66-year-old actor was previously reported to be a potential replacement for Danny Dyer as Albert Square's new hard man, but despite being "very flattered" by the interest, he has snubbed the chance to join the iconic BBC soap.
He told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "I've been asked many times.
"I'm very flattered by it and I've got some great friends there, like Perry Fedwick, and over the years I've made many more."
However, Ray isn't interested in the intense schedule in the soap world, which he compared to the idea of treading the boards in live theatre.
He added: "But again, it's the same scenario as theatre - I don't want to get locked into something that long, because I may as well go and do a 9 to 5 job in an office somewhere."
His daughter Jaime has joined the latest West End production of '2:22 A Ghost Story', and the veteran actor has told her to ignore his advice.
He laughed: "I told her not to listen to anything I say, because these kids know more."
Meanwhile, Jaime did actually appear in 'EastEnders' as she played a young Peggy Mitchell in a flashback episode in September 2022, which showed Dame Barbara Windsor's character in the 1970s.
And Ray nearly joined the soap as Billy Mitchell's brother in 2008, but he instead accepted a role in 'Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull'.
He later opened up about his decision not to join 'EastEnders' before, and joked he might be the only person from the actual East End in the cast.
He said: "That thing about turning up five times a week, these guys work really hard, it just ain't for me.
"I wondered if I'd probably be the only one from the East End in the show."
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