EastEnders star Bobby Brazier revealed his plans to take a break from the soap as he opened up about his struggles with fame.
The 20-year-old actor, who plays Freddie Slater on the soap, made it all the way to the final on the latest season of Strictly Come Dancing – which saw Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola crowned champions.
Reflecting on his rising popularity, Bobby told The Times: ‘I don’t want to be famous. Maybe I did when I was younger, but now I just want to act. I went on Strictly because dancing makes me happy.
‘The more I learn about fame, the less I’m interested in it. There were a couple of weeks during Strictly when it got too much. I only felt peace when I came home to be with Freddie, Dad and Kate, my stepmum.’
He added: ‘I wanted to get voted off. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. I love being on EastEnders and I love modelling. But I’ll probably take a break at some point. Just travel, get inspired, meet new people. Dad will understand. Who knows, he might come with me.’
The last time Freddie was in Albert Square, he found himself in serious trouble after attacking Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis) in a bid to stop him raping Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
After hitting Theo firstly with an iron and then with his fists, Freddie was arrested for attempted murder, before being released on bail.
With Stacey and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) having altered the crime scene to make it look as though Freddie was acting in self-defence, the youngster was under a lot of pressure to stick to their story – which left Jean Slater (Gillian Slater) concerned.
Hoping to keep him away from gossip and make it easier for him to keep up the lie, Jean encouraged Freddie to go and stay with mum Little Mo, which is where he has remained ever since.
Freddie’s exit from the show was only ever temporary, in order to facilitate actor Bobby’s appearance on Strictly Come Dancing.
Now, with Bobby’s calendar clear, Freddie is back – but he wasn’t alone.
After suspecting that his flat has been burgled, Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) calls Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) in a panic.
However, it isn’t long before he comes face to face with the supposed burglars and lashes out with a child’s baseball bat – only to realise that the culprits are Freddie and Big Mo (Laila Morse).
