“As you can probably tell from my boyish looks, this photo of me as Jamie Mitchell was taken on my very first day on the set of EastEnders in 1998. Tamzin Outhwaite [Mel Healy] and Jimi Mistry [Dr Fred Fonseca], beside me, were also newcomers to the soap.
In fact, Tamzin and I first met when we were racing to our auditions because we were both late. We were one of 10 actors and 10 actresses going up for our respective parts and I remember thinking that Tamzin was a ball of energy who lit up the room. I liked Jimi, too. He was a calm and gentle person, as well as an extremely talented actor.
I landed the role by accident when a friend persuaded me to accompany him to a BBC acting workshop. Afterwards, the then executive producer of EastEnders took me aside and asked what my name was. When I told him it was Jack Ryder, he grinned and said that would make a great stage name. I had no idea what he was talking about, but that’s what got me the audition – he realised I was just an ordinary lad with no acting background.
I was only 16 but didn’t find my first weeks on set overwhelming, mainly because the cast made me so welcome – particularly the Mitchell family. Steve McFadden [Phil Mitchell], who I worked with every day, is an incredibly gifted and committed actor, and I learnt a lot from him. Ross Kemp [Grant Mitchell] was also very kind and took me to a McDonald’s drive-through in his Porsche on my first day. As for Barbara Windsor [Peggy Mitchell], or Aunty Babs as I called her, well, she was like family on set – and very sweet and supportive.
Mind you, the daily commute and gruelling filming schedule were punishing. It took me six hours to travel daily to Elstree Studios and back and I didn’t get home until 10pm. The long hours six days a week eventually proved so crippling that I decided to stay with a theatrical landlady near the studios.
The thing about my character was that although he never had a storyline of his own, he was always part of the Jacksons’ or Mitchells’ storylines and that amounted to a lot of screen time. All this exposure meant that within a week and a half of appearing on the soap, I was being chased down the street by packs of girls. It might sound fun, but it was incredibly frightening.
I’ll never forget popping into my local shopping centre to buy a pair of trainers. When people started to gather round me, five burly security guards blocked my way into the shop and the owner of the complex asked me to leave through a roof exit because they couldn’t manage the crowd.
This was the last of the golden era, before Netflix and social media, when millions tuned in to watch their favourite show. The episode where Jamie was run over by Steve Owen [Martin Kemp] was watched by 12 million people, while the hour-long episode in which he died from a ruptured spleen attracted something like 25 million viewers.
Despite the soap’s popularity, I asked to be written out after four years because my storylines were becoming repetitive. I’d reached a fork in the road. I could stay in the soap, get a job in the caff and see my storylines gradually peter out or see what else there was in the world. There was also a big part of me that wanted my life back.
Since then I’ve performed in everything from The Archers and Holby City to Alan Bennett, David Hare and Shakespeare plays. I’ve directed in the West End and recently taken up a new career as a children’s writer, but I’ve never turned my back on my roots because I owe it all to EastEnders. Working with the pros on that show and watching their process has inspired everything I’ve done since.”
Jack’s Secret Summer (Hodder Children’s Books, £6.99) by Jack Ryder is out now.