EastEnders actor Danny Hatchard has described his return to the BBC soap as lifesaving, as he reprises the role of Lee Carter for the farewell storyline of screen matriarch Linda Carter ahead of actress Kellie Bright's exit from the show. The actor made the remarks in an interview published by Metro on 25 October, in which he reflected on more than a decade with the programme and the family at the heart of Albert Square.
Hatchard first joined the long-running BBC One serial in 2013 and has returned to Walford at intervals ever since. His latest comeback, alongside on-screen sister Maddy Hill, coincides with the departure of Bright, whose Linda Carter has anchored the Queen Vic's most famous family for over a decade.
'It just felt like coming home'
For a programme that has been a fixture of British teatime viewing since 1985, the Carter family has carried an unusual weight. Hatchard's comments suggest the affection runs both ways between actor and institution.
'It just felt like coming home,' he told Metro. 'I've got such a love for Lee, and over the years, he's had a real impact on many viewers, because of that, I feel a huge responsibility when it comes to bringing him to life.'
He added: 'What better place to do that than somewhere you feel so valued and loved?'
Hatchard said he has been part of the show periodically for over 12 years, and that returning has reinforced his commitment to the profession itself.
'Being able to return at different points throughout the show's history and the character's life has been brilliant, in many ways, it's been lifesaving and has reinforced my love for this line of work,' he said. 'Coming back always reminds me why I love acting.'
Why Lee Carter's return matters to viewers
The actor's candour about the personal value of the role has been picked up across the trade press. Brit Brief reported that Hatchard described the comeback as reinforcing his love for acting, while AOL noted that the reunion with Kellie Bright comes as she prepares to leave the soap.
There is something quietly reassuring in all this for the millions of Britons who still gather, four nights a week, around a programme their grandparents watched. EastEnders, whatever its critics say, remains one of the last shared national experiences on British television, and the loyalty of its cast suggests the institution is in better health than the usual doom-laden headlines about terrestrial broadcasting would have us believe.
Hatchard was open about why he left in the first place, and why the door stayed ajar.
'I'd always wanted to go out there and try other opportunities within my career, but I also hoped there'd be an opportunity to return because of how much I love both the character and EastEnders,' he said.
The Carters as an on-screen family
The bond with his fellow actors, he insisted, extends well beyond the script. Hatchard and Maddy Hill, who plays Nancy, have known each other since their earliest days on the show, and the familiarity shows on screen.
'Sometimes I have to remind myself we're not actually a real-life family,' he admitted. 'It's easy to forget because of how close we've all become over the years.'
'The people I work with on EastEnders, and the cast in particular, genuinely feel like part of my inner circle. I love them to bits. For me, the Carters are my Albert Square.'
His praise for Kellie Bright was the warmest of all. Hatchard credited her with shaping him both as an actor and as a man.
'Whenever we're in a scene together, I feel that maternal energy from her so strongly, and she brings out something in me as an actor that I wish I could access every day because she's just phenomenal,' he said.
'She's been such an important part of my journey, not only as an actor and in Lee's story, but also as a person. I really adore having her in my life.'
What happens next in Walford
The drama on screen is rather less harmonious. Lee and Nancy returned to Albert Square with a twist that unsettled viewers before it was explained: Nancy is heavily pregnant, and Lee is the father. The nightmare reading was quickly dispelled when Nancy revealed she is acting as a surrogate for Lee and his girlfriend Jess, played by Emma Lau.
Next week, according to Metro's report, Lee and Linda return to Walford to find Jess waiting for them, carrying revelations that could crack the foundations of the Carter clan.
'When Lee and Linda return to Walford this week, they find Jess waiting for them, who has a few bombshells of her own to drop,' Hatchard teased. 'Her arrival sparks another wave of drama for both the Carters and the wider Square.'
Lee's story has never been an easy one. The character has battled depression and struggled to hold down work, storylines that were praised at the time for their frankness. Hatchard said the latest plot gave him more to get his teeth into than almost anything before it.
'The storyline itself meant a lot to me, and it felt really important to get it right,' he told ATV Today. 'Out of all the storylines I've been involved in, this was one I was particularly excited to take on and really get my teeth into.'
He added that he was glad the Carter children had reunited for the wider farewell of 'such an iconic character'.
'Linda and Kellie deserve that,' he said.
An institution worth keeping
It is easy to be cynical about soap opera, and plenty in the commentariat are. Yet EastEnders has done more than most public institutions to hold a mirror to working-class London life over four decades: marriage, debt, grief, the pub as the village square. That it continues to command the loyalty of actors who could earn more elsewhere says something about the programme, and about the enduring appeal of shared national storytelling.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
FAQ
Why did Danny Hatchard say his EastEnders return was lifesaving?
In an interview with Metro published on 25 October, Hatchard said returning to the show at different points over 12 years had been 'lifesaving' and reinforced his love of acting.
Is Kellie Bright leaving EastEnders?
Yes. Kellie Bright, who has played Linda Carter since 2013, is leaving the soap, and the reunion of the Carter children forms part of her character's farewell storyline.
Who is the father of Nancy Carter's baby in EastEnders?
Nancy is acting as a surrogate for Lee Carter and his girlfriend Jess, so Lee is the biological father of the baby she is carrying.