Ex-EastEnders star James Bye insists Martin Fowler has 'changed his life'
James Bye left 'EastEnders' in February and claims that his alter ego Martin Fowler has "set [him] up" for future acting roles.
James Bye insists his 'EastEnders' character Martin Fowler has "changed [his] life" and "set [him] up for" future acting roles.
The 41-year-old actor bid farewell to Albert Square in emotional scenes during the BBC soap's 40th anniversary week in emotional scenes where his alter ego died after going into cardiac arrest after a steel beam - which had dropped onto Martin's body following an explosion in the Queen Victoria pub - was lifted.
Now, the star thinks that his success on the show has opened up more opportunities for him in the future.
He wrote in his Women's Weekly magazine column: "Martin Fowler changed my life, no question.
"I feel he set me up for anything that might now come my way.
"You're looking at a happy man."
James recently announced he is starring as Mr. Darcy in 'Death Comes to Pemberley' at The Mill theatre in Sonning, Berkshire, and he joked there will be "no wet shirts" for his character - a reference to the scene in the 1995 BBC adaptation series of 'Pride and Prejudice' where Colin Firth, who played Mr. Darcy, dived into a lake and emerged wearing a white shirt.
He said: "From the beginning of May to the end of June, I'll be at The Mill in Sonning, Berkshire, in the world premiere stage adaptation of 'Death Comes to Pemberley', P.D. James' sequel to Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'.
"I'm Mr. Darcy, but no wet shirts!"
Despite James feeling "sad" and taking a risk to leave Walford - the fictional setting for 'EastEnders' - after 10 years, he felt it was "the right time to seek pastures new".
He admitted: "I joined 'EastEnders' as Martin Fowler in 2014, so it had been 10 years, effectively all of my 30s, that I'd been on the show.
"It just felt like the right time to seek pastures new - and there were a lot of other things I wanted to do as an actor.
"It was sad to say goodbye, of course it was, and in an incredibly special episode, something I'll never get to do again in my life.
"But, I like taking risks. It was definitely the right decision."
