‘The one thing that has really tortured him for some time is how he has treated his family and how he has blamed his mother for what he has lived for. He spends more time with Jean and sees what she is going through and what he has done to her and he becomes more and more sure of what he wants to do.
‘The beautiful thing about this sequence is that there is somebody else in life who understands suicide, depression and mental health better than him and it’s his mum.’
And Rob has nothing but praise for Gillian as an actress. He enthused: ‘Working with Gillian and Lacey always presents unbelievable material. Regardless of your experience of mental health and whether you care about the issues, I think the scenes will engage you.
‘You will be stunned by what Gillian Wright can do every single scene, day after day. 99% of the actors I have worked with couldn’t do this job. This is the hardest job I have ever done – if you can be good in a soap, you can be good in anything.
‘Casting directors in England still won’t see me because I was in a soap. Producers used to say they loved me but I needed more work between EastEnders and the movie they were working on. But how do you get that? I had to leave the country – I didn’t have a choice. People don’t want you to go on from these shows but people should appreciate that Jake Wood is still the best actor I’ve ever worked with and Gillian Wright is just as good.
‘Lacey Turner – you don’t find talent like that anywhere else. I have worked with some of the best in the world – Idris Elba, Reese Witherspoon, Sir Ian McKellen Guillemero de Toro – and these people I work with at EastEnders could do that as well. We should be more appreciative of the talent that Jake and Gillian and the others have. We should be proud.’
Sean is prepared to walk away tonight but Jean encourages him to join her for a day away from Walford just the two of them. But as Sean eventually agrees, will Jean pick up on what he is planning and help him through the darkness he is feeling?
EastEnders continues on Tuesday 30th April at 7:30pm on BBC One.
Source: Read Full Article