Charlie Clements didn’t want to be killed off in ‘EastEnders’.
The 28-year-old actor was pushed out of the long-running soap in 2009 when his alter-ego Bradley Branning dramatically plunged to his death from the roof of the Queen Victoria pub but, although he asked to leave the show, he didn’t expect bosses to make his shock exit permanent.
He explained to The Sun newspaper: "I didn’t let them kill me off but before I started on the show I always said that I wanted to do four years and that was it. It was my decision to leave."
And, although the BBC One programme has a history of resurrecting characters – such as, most recently, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) – the flame-haired hunk is adamant he’ll never be persuaded to return to the show as a ghost.
He said: "I can’t say I’ve watched ‘EastEnders’ since I left. I don’t miss it because if I hadn’t left I wouldn’t be doing other shows which I prefer doing. They resurrect characters sometimes but even if they wanted Bradley back as a ghost I wouldn’t take up that offer."
Charlie will next be seen on screen as Henry VII in Channel 5’s forthcoming show ‘Henry VII and His Six Wives’, but he also has his sights set on another American fantasy drama.
He added: "I would love to be on ‘Game Of Thrones’."