Joe Absolom prefers Emmerdale to EastEnders
Joe Absolom has found his experience on Emmerdale considerably more fun than when he starred in EastEnders back in the 1990s.
Joe Absolom claims that starring in Emmerdale is far more enjoyable than being in EastEnders.
The 46-year-old actor joined the cast of the ITV soap as villain Ray Walters earlier this year and says that he finds the atmosphere on set far more friendly than what he experienced during his stint on EastEnders as the character of Matthew Rose from 1997 to 2000.
Joe is quoted by the Daily Star newspaper's Hot TV column: "When I was on EastEnders, it was like, 'That's your time, be there.' It was like a job, which was fine.
"When I was there, I remember meeting all the other casts from the soaps. Hollyoaks stars were like footballers and the Corrie lot were never particularly friendly, but Emmerdale's cast were always the nicest bunch of people by far.
"I remember everyone saying Emmerdale were the nicest bunch. Now I'm here, I can believe that's true."
The Doc Martin star explained that he is always treated very kindly when he's on set.
Joe said: "It's really nice. They really look after you. It's better than the BBC did. It's a nice place. They pick me up. I get my own cup. I've got my own pass so I can get into the building whenever I want.
"And when I get lost, people show me where to go."
Absolom explained that his Dales alter ego is "ruthless" as he escalates his manipulation of Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) and April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) in the soap's county lines drugs storyline.
He told RadioTimes.com: "He's very ruthless. Gosh, he's dangerous! I hoped his second name is Gunn, Ray Gunn. It's not, it's Walters! He's Mr Big! It's how I see it, he is top of the tree! (But) he does allude to having bosses that are merciless."
Joe explained that he didn't want to make the character a "pantomime villain", which made the part even more enjoyable.
The Code of Silence actor said: "You don't really see Ray being evil, you just see him kind of manipulating things, so it's a fine line between playing an evil kind of guy and playing someone pretending to be evil.
"You don't want to be like a pantomime villain, winking at the camera, but at the same time, it's got to be obvious what's happening.
"That's why those parts are always fun, because there's a lot more you can do in terms of where you can push it and where you can be genuinely feigning care for Dylan or April. It does feel quite strange reeling off 50 pound notes to a youngster!"
