Timothy West
Timothy West's real-life injury is now a central part of a new EastEnders plot.
The 79-year-old actor's broken ankle inspired soap bosses to concoct a storyline for his cantankerous alter-ego Stan Carter, which will see tensions grow when his injury forces him to move into the Queen Vic with his landlord son Mick, played by Danny Dyer.
He told The Sun newspaper: "It was because of my own real injury, a broken ankle. When I did that, 'EastEnders' wrote in an accident for Stan.
"Having your ankle pinned means you spend quite a lot of time in plaster."
The stage star is enjoying his new role on the BBC One soap and finds getting to grips with his character's back-story "fascinating".
Timothy said: "It's all so complicated but we are finding out more about their past history. I'm constantly being surprised by new developments. It is all fascinating."
The actor previously revealed he was glad to be given the opportunity to breathe new life into the long-running show's older generation.
He explained: "I find [older characters are] not valued so much and I suspect that's one of the reasons why I've been brought. From what I hear, there hasn't been enough interest in older characters.
"Or enough older characters to be interested in. I do, though, have enormous respect for June Brown [Dot Cotton]."
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