'EastEnders' actor Jamie Foreman says soap was 'like a factory'

EastEnders star Jamie Foreman has said he worked so hard when he was in the soap that it was 'like a factory'.

The actor, 64, starred as Derek Branning from 2011 to 2012, leaving when the character died of a heart attack.

Speaking to the Mirror about his Albert Square experience, Foreman said he’s never worked harder than he did on the BBC soap.

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He said: “I’d need to get in at seven in the morning and finish at eight at night. By the time I got home I was doing 18 hours a day. I looked at my lines for the next day before going to bed.

"God, I’ve never worked so hard in my life, it was like a factory when you worked on EastEnders.”

Foreman said he also ended up working most Saturdays, saying he was told that he would work the occasional one but that it ended up being all the time.

"Anyone in the acting business who thinks about EastEnders, you try to do it,” he said.

“It’s the hardest work you’ll ever do.”

However, the star said he had fond memories of his time in the soap, which also starred his good friend Dame Barbara Windsor, who died in 2020 aged 83 following a battle with Alzheimer's disease.

The Nil By Mouth and Layer Cake actor also said that he had learned a lot during his stint on the soap.

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Yahoo has contacted the BBC for comment.

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