Brian Conley admits the ‘weirdest’ things he was asked to do in EastEnders including unexpected snogs
Former EastEnders actor Brian Conley has spoken out about some of the oddities of playing his character Rocky Cotton over the last 2.5 years – including intimate scenes with partner Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).
Viewers will remember that Brian bowed out of the role at the end of December, with his character Rocky being sent down when Kathy reported him for the botched insurance job on her café that endangered grandsons Bobby Beale (Clay Milner-Russell) and Peter Beale (Thomas Law).
Kathy was terrified when Rocky began piecing together information from the night that she and five of the square’s women buried Keanu Taylor’s (Danny Walters) body under the floor of her burnt out greasy spoon.
Since leaving the BBC soap, comedian Brian is now embarking on a nationwide ‘3rd Farewell’ tour.
In an interview with the Swindon Advertiser to promote his new project, Conley has discussed some of the more bizarre parts of his stint as Rocky.
‘Being in EastEnders meant I really had to work on the accent’ he said, speaking of Rocky’s cockney twang.
Brian was born in Paddington and raised in North West London, meaning that the accent wasn’t too dissimilar to his own.
Supping pints of Luxford and Copley’s finest ale was the biggest struggle for teetotal Brian: ‘Being in the Vic drinking a pint I used to hate as the non-alcoholic beer tasted a lot of salt.’
But it was watching his scenes back with family that really made tea-time awkward: ‘Kissing someone else was weird as we used to watch the show as a family – so there I was kissing Kathy Beale’ he said.
Poor Kath.
Despite the door being firmly closed on Rocky’s cell for the time being, Brian has teased a return to the show in the future: ‘I am in prison, so I haven’t died and that’s a nice thought that I could get off with good behaviour.’