- Speaking to new online bingo brand Zingo Bingo, EastEnders star Jack Ryder reveals what it was really like being a soap heartthrob
- He lifts the lid on life on set, from affectionate moments with Barbara Windsor to the softer side of Steve McFadden
- Despite choosing to leave the show, he also admits he’d be open to a return if the part felt right, and reveals one of the wildest moments on set that saw him hanging out with the Gallagher brothers
It's hard to believe it’s been more than 23 years since Jack Ryder exited EastEnders as his beloved character Jamie Mitchell. He died in the Christmas Day 2002 episode after being hit by a car driven by Martin Fowler, a moment often regarded as one of the soap’s saddest storylines. But for Jack, leaving the show was a decision made out of necessity.
Introduced as a fan favourite, Jamie quickly became a full-blown heartthrob, with his fame reaching boyband-level heights. He graced magazine covers and appeared on major TV shows such as Live & Kicking, but the intensity of the fandom was something he admits he never fully adjusted to.
Opening up to new online bingo brand Zingo Bingo, he says that at the height, he was receiving around 20,000 letters a week, with fans chasing him down the street and even fainting at his mere presence.
Now 44, Jack insists he prefers a quieter life in the countryside. However, he has nothing but fond memories of life on set, from affectionate moments with Barbara Windsor and Steve McFadden to the time he got to hang out with the Gallagher brothers during a break in filming…
Speaking to new online bingo brand Zingo Bingo, Jack Ryder shares:
Your death on EastEnders was a heart-wrenching moment. What memories do you have from shooting your final scenes?
Those memories are a little hazy now, a bit blurred, but I do remember being in a hospital bed. I remember the whole storyline, Jamie dying, and of course, the Christmas Day episode. There were so many elements entwined with Jamie’s demise. Filming those scenes was a mixture of emotions for me.
In what way?
The decision to leave the show had been made by me, but the decision for the character to die hadn’t. I wanted to take some time out, but the producers couldn’t see a believable way for him to simply leave Sonia and disappear. At that point, I really needed a break from that life. The pressure of being on a soap, the long hours of filming, and the intensity of the fame felt quite suffocating. At the same time, there was real sadness in saying goodbye to people like Steve McFadden and Natalie Cassidy. They were people I’d worked closely with for years, but I also felt ready to go. Once you make a decision like that, you start to move on, and it’s worth remembering that I stayed on the show for another year after that decision was made. It wasn’t sudden, and the storyline took a long time to develop.
You say you struggled with fame. How hard was the fandom to deal with?
Girls chasing me down the street, groups of ten screaming girls, it was honestly hard to cope with. People would say, “That must have been amazing,” but it wasn’t easy at all. What I did enjoy were the one-to-one interactions. Meeting someone in the street, who’d have that initial moment of excitement and then realise you were just a normal human being, and you could have a genuine conversation. That was always lovely, and I really valued those moments. But the frenzy, the crying, screaming, fainting, and complete loss of control was overwhelming. I was getting 20,000 letters a week. It was a lot. When you can't calm people down or make it stop, I honestly don’t know how anyone truly learns to deal with that.
Despite your intense fame, you never seemed to let it go to your head…
I’ve always been pretty level-headed and confident in my choices, even from a young age. I never really cared about being popular or following the crowd. I’ve always been more of a do-my-own-thing person, so that stuff never really affected me. I’ve always known who I am, what I like, and what I don’t like. I’ve had that sense of certainty for as long as I can remember, and because of that, I’ve never been easily swayed.
Do you think you’ve changed since then?
I’m older now and I look back on EastEnders with fond memories. It taught me a lot. Creatively, I’m much more open now too. I’d be open to going back if the storyline felt right. I’m open to creative possibilities.
You were on EastEnders during its heyday. Do you remember any real ‘pinch me’ moments?
For me, it was the last Golden Age of television, and I was working alongside some huge stars like Martin Kemp, Barbara Windsor, and Mike Reid. Top of the Pops was filmed next door to our studios, and I remember being backstage one day and just hearing, “Jack!” When I turned around, it was Liam Gallagher. I was a huge Oasis fan. I sat and had this lovely chat with him, then Noel turned up and started talking to me. We got on really well, and they asked what I was doing. I told them I had a two-hour break, so they asked me to come and watch them rehearse in the studio. An afternoon like that was amazing and felt like a real moment.
The cast were so iconic then. What was life like on set?
It was a time before smartphones and social media, so we had a lot of fun on set. No one was staring at a screen between breaks. We talked to each other, and sometimes those breaks would last hours. Michael Greco, Dean Gaffney, Sean Williamson and I would do skits and try to make each other laugh. We’d do impressions, take the mick out of each other, and laugh our heads off. Then Barbara would come on set and we’d sit and talk about life. When I did Holby City before the pandemic, that was a shock on set. It was a lovely cast and crew, but I noticed that between takes, people were on their phones.
You filmed a lot with the late Barbara Windsor. Do you have any fond memories from your time together?
I was very close to her. We filmed most days together, and I was a huge fan. I grew up watching the Carry On films. She was always very affectionate and made me feel right at home when I turned up on set. She’d always say ‘Oh here he is,’ when she saw me, and give me a hug.
You were also very close to Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell. What was he like to work with?
He took me under his wing and taught me a hell of a lot. Not many people get close to Steve, but I would stay at his house a lot and go into work on the back of his moped. We’d be hitting car wing mirrors and my bag would be flying everywhere. He obviously wasn’t aware of it, and I’d just stay quiet, trying to hold on to my things! What was interesting was that families really did stick together, at least that was my experience. The Mitchells were very close off camera, but James Alexandrou, who played Martin Fowler, would tell me he barely spoke to Steve. Those family ties ran deep back then.
What’s Steve like off camera?
Steve is such a skilled actor, and what people don’t realise is how committed he is to the craft. Even if we were filming a scene in the garage and he was under a car bonnet, he’d want to know the intricate details of what his character was doing so it felt authentic. I learned a hell of a lot from him, not just as an actor but as a man. He’d blush hearing me say that, but he was very paternal towards me on set. I remember being really unwell once and being sick in the toilet, and he carried me to the bed in his dressing room and shut the door. He always looked out for me and knew I had a lot to take on with the fame and intensity of it.
Do you have any fond memories from filming scenes together?
Jamie scrapped a lot. I felt like a black eye was part of my look because I had one so often.
Steve and I were shooting outside on the lot once. The Vic on the backlot is basically an empty shell. You would film entering it, but there was nothing inside, at least not in my day. We had to shoot a scene where we came out mid-fight into the Square. There was a shaft of light across Steve’s face, with the rest of the place in darkness. We hadn’t even called action yet when, under his breath, he said, ‘Hit me’. You don’t say no to Steve, so we just started fighting. It was rough. You could twist an ankle or pull an arm out. Then we heard ‘Action!’ and carried on. We burst through the doors, I had a back brace on, and Steve threw me across the street. That was a regular night. It was gruelling, but incredibly rewarding to work that way.
When did you last see Steve?
We had a lovely reunion just before Covid when I was filming Holby City. It was early morning and pitch black outside when this moped came screeching round the corner. I had no idea who it was until Steve popped his helmet off. It was the morning of his 60th birthday and we stood in the cold chatting and catching up. He’s a great guy.
Your blonde curtains were iconic. Were they non-negotiable?
I had them when I auditioned, so it was my own look. But I do think if I’d wanted to shave them off, the producers wouldn’t have been happy! It was part of Jamie’s look.
