Paul Bradley's EastEnders return has been a rollercoaster, but why?
Soap star Paul Bradley has opened up about his return to EastEnders.
Paul Bradley's EastEnders return has been a "rollercoaster" experience.
The 70-year-old actor reprised the role of Nigel Bates in EastEnders, and Paul is conscious of the importance of Nigel's dementia storyline.
Speaking to the BBC, Paul shared: "It’s been an absolute privilege to return for a storyline that unfortunately is such a resonant subject for the viewers, but undoubtedly an important storyline to tell and raise awareness of.
"Returning to the set, and cast, has been amazing and it’s been a rollercoaster. The fact that Steve [McFadden] is still there, and that I could work with him again was fantastic. There is mutual admiration there, and so it was great being asked back, and a privilege to tell this story."
Paul admitted that his final scenes on EastEnders are very moving.
The actor also praised the EastEnders writing team.
Paul said: "It’s very moving, and for such a heart-breaking subject matter, it’s a very beautiful ending.
"It’s difficult to describe without giving too much away, but the story has found a way to reconcile a lot of the loose ends in the various relationships Nigel has, and end on a hopeful and positive note.
"I think it’s a great piece of writing to be able to do that when it’s such a serious subject matter. EastEnders has always had this tradition of dealing with difficult subjects and really investigating them and presenting them in a responsible way, and that’s what I have felt with all of the scripts."
Paul feels like he's played "two or three characters" during his time on EastEnders.
Paul - who first appeared on EastEnders in 1992 - said: "With regards to the final scripts, I’ll be as the viewers are, watching and being moved.
"It’s been great playing the character, but it’s almost been like playing two or three characters, because we’ve gradually gone on this journey with Nigel, and by the end, he is a very different person to the character he was when he initially returned.
"Of course, this is what family, and friends of people living with dementia find very difficult to come to terms with as they call it ‘the long goodbye’."
