Former ’EastEnders’ actor Danny-Boy Hatchard has admitted to feeling disappointed by the way his character was written out earlier this year.
Back in February, viewers saw Lee Carter leave Walford following a long struggle with his mental health, which saw the character contemplate suicide over Christmas.
Now, the actor has stated that he wasn’t entirely happy with Lee’s exit, which saw him move to Dover alone, after leaving a goodbye note for his wife, Whitney.
Addressing the storyline decisions made by the soap’s executive producer Sean O’Connor, Danny told the Sun: “He could have left a little more attention to detail. I feel it got a little brushed off.
In the months leading up to exit, Danny was praised for his portrayal of Lee’s struggle with depression, and the actor spoke to HuffPost UK about the importance of the storyline.
“It’s a delicate subject and it needed to be taken very seriously, and handled delicately, with an immense amount of detail and care,” he said. “As a company, I think everybody was considering Lee going down that route for a very long time.
“I’ve used the ‘EastEnders’ story team to communicate with various charities, and spoken to people directly, who are suffering.”
Since Danny’s exit, Sean has also left ‘EastEnders’ behind, quitting with immediate effect in June.
Danny’s comment come just days after former soap actor Ross Kemp blasted Sean’s ways, telling The Sun that he thought the producer was “working them [the cast] into the fucking ground”.
“He reminded me of a sort of schoolteacher of a kind of third-rate public school,” he said. “That’s not really what you want for the cast of ‘EastEnders’.”
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