‘Never been so offended!’ Josh Widdicombe’s outrage at character EastEnders tried to cast him as

Comedian and presenter Josh Widdicombe has revealed that he had ‘never been so offended’ after being asked to audition for a major EastEnders role.

During a recent episode of Pointless, EastEnders icon Natalie Cassidy, who plays Sonia Fowler, came up as an answer to one of the questions – which prompted Josh to reveal how he had been asked to audition for the role of her current boyfriend, Reiss Colwell.

‘About a year ago, I got asked to play Sonia’s new boyfriend,’ he told a surprised Alexander Armstrong, before revealing that he turned down the opportunity.

‘They described him as a nerd. And they emailed my agent and said, “Thought this would be perfect for Josh!” Can you believe that? I’ve never been so offended in my life!’

‘Nerdy’ Reiss, who is now played by esteemed actor Jonny Freeman, has made quite the impact on fans since his first appearance in Albert Square at Dot Cotton’s funeral.

Reiss and Sonia hit it off straight away, bonding over their love of brass instruments – though it would soon become clear that Reiss was hiding a big secret: He was married.

Eventually, he came clean to Sonia, who threw him out before he could explain.

After some convincing, Sonia allowed him to tell her the full story, and he revealed that his wife had fallen into a coma after suffering a stroke in the bath.

Understanding, Sonia agreed to give their relationship another go, though they hit another roadblock when Sonia believed she was pregnant, and Reiss accused her of cheating after revealing that he couldn’t conceive.

After reconciling, Reiss and Sonia decided to undergo IVF treatment in order to have a baby of their own, and recently Sonia revealed the joyous news that she is pregnant.

However, what she doesn’t know is that Reiss stole money from wife Debbie in order to fund the treatment.

Will Sonia ever find out, and how will she react if she does?