Ross Boatman to be absent from EastEnders for 'a while' due to surgery
Ross Boatman will not be seen as Harvey Monroe in EastEnders for "a while" because he recently took "two months" off to undergo knee replacement surgery.
Ross Boatman will not be in EastEnders for "a while" after undergoing an operation.
The 61-year-old actor, who plays taxi driver Harvey Monroe, was away from the BBC One soap for "two months" to undergo knee replacement surgery.
Appearing on the latest episode of Matthew Rolland's Isolation Interviews YouTube series, Ross revealed: "I won't be on it for a while."
After months of Harvey having a fling with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) behind his ex-fiancée Jean Slater's (Gillian Wright) back, he decided in May that he wanted to be with Kathy properly.
But Ross has not filmed many scenes with Taylforth since working more closely with her due to him being away for his knee replacement surgery.
He said: "I haven't had a chance to shoot loads with Gilly yet because I've just been off for two months; I had knee replacement surgery, so I haven't been there.
"And now she's on holiday, so I'm hoping we've got some stuff to shoot coming up soon, which will come out, maybe, towards the end of the year.
"Fingers crossed."
Harvey and Jean's relationship began in 2022, and he moved in with Jean and the rest of the Slaters - Stacey (Lacey Turner), Stacey's cousin Kat (Jessie Wallace), Stacey's daughter Lily (Lillia Turner), Stacey's adoptive grandmother-figure Mo Harris (Laila Morse), and Stacey's late ex-husband Martin Fowler (James Bye) - at the end of that year and into 2023.
In March 2025, Harvey and Kathy's affair began, and in May, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) - Kathy's son Ian's (Adam Woodyatt) ex-wife - secretly filmed the pair kissing outside the back door of the Beales' home.
Cindy later decided to spoil Harvey and Jean's engagement announcement in the Queen Vic pub by playing the video of Harvey and Kathy kissing.
After Jean learnt of Harvey and Kathy's affair, he decided to leave the Slater household and move in with the Beales - Kathy and Ian.
And Ross admitted he felt sad about his alter ego leaving the Slater clan.
The star explained: "I felt quite sad with it because these stories are not within your control, and so I felt sad to be leaving the Slaters.
"They are amazing. Sometimes I felt lost because it feels like they've got this ready-made dynamic. It feels very real when you're on set with them. They're so natural.
"It was sad to leave."
