Johnny Carter

[Perdita]

EastEnders newcomer Johnny Carter will pretend to be romantically interested in Whitney Dean when he joins Walford.

Johnny, played by Sam Strike, pursues Whitney as he doesn't want his family to find out that he is gay.

Viewers will see Johnny move into the Queen Vic with his parents Mick (Danny Dyer) and Linda (Kellie Bright) next week, as they take over the pub following Phil Mitchell's decision to put it on sale.

When Johnny first meets Whitney (Shona McGarty) they have a shaky start, but it's not long before they begin to hit it off - and the Carter clan are pleased that he already seems to be a hit with the ladies.

Whitney and Johnny hit it off.
© BBC
Whitney meets Johnny

Johnny watches as Whitney walks away.
© BBC
Whitney and Johnny have a shaky start

Johnny and Whitney talk in the Laundrette
© BBC
Johnny and Whitney start to hit it off

Shirley (Linda Henry) is first to discover that everything isn't as it seems when she spots a drunken Johnny kissing Danny Pennant (Gary Lucy).

Johnny feels sheepish about the kiss over the following days, and when Danny starts to tease him about their passionate encounter, Johnny continues to pretend that Whitney is the Walford resident he's interested in.

Shirley is concerned that Johnny seems to be stringing Whitney along, but it's his sister Nancy who throws a spanner in the works when she joins her family on Albert Square.

Already in a bad mood after Mick kidnapped her from her own wedding, Nancy reveals the truth about Johnny during a family argument at the Queen Vic, having known his secret for some time.

Losing patience with mum Linda, spiteful Nancy claims that she knows nothing about her children and Johnny is gay.

Although Nancy later regrets dropping the bombshell and tries to take it back by claiming that she was lying, Johnny is given food for thought when Nancy and Shirley both advise him to just be honest.

When Mick assures Johnny that he would love him whether he was gay or not, will Johnny reveal the truth to his dad?

EastEnders airs these scenes on Monday, December 30, Thursday, January 2 and Friday, January 3 on BBC One.


Read more: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2...#ixzz2o5DdW8Fp

[lizann]

he joins a dating website and gets a date with someone we know any ideas who could be the new market inspector

[Perdita]

EastEnders star Sam Strike has predicted that his character Johnny Carter's sexuality will never be fully accepted by on-screen mum Linda.

Johnny told his parents that he is gay last month and while his father Mick was supportive, Linda (Kellie Bright) struggled to deal with the revelation.

More recently, Johnny lost his temper with Linda when she held out hope that he would settle down with Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) rather than being true to himself.

Speaking to the official EastEnders website, Strike explained: "The relationship with Johnny and Linda, where Linda's always babied Johnny, I think she partly blames herself for his sexuality - even though it's nothing to do with her, it could never have been anything to do with her.

"I personally think there's always going to be a problem there between Johnny and Linda. Even if they're on amicable civil terms, she's never going to be 100% happy that things turned out the way they did."

The 20-year-old also joked about fans who have been suggesting that he looks similar to singer-songwriter Conor Maynard.

Sam Strike as Johnny Carter
© BBC
Sam Strike

Conor Maynard 'R U Crazy' music video.
Conor Maynard

He said: "With the Conor Maynard thing, people were talking about it and you're kind of like, 'Must be someone's opinion'. Then Conor Maynard tweets saying, 'Why do people keep asking me if I'm on EastEnders?'

"Then there's me going, 'Conor Maynard's seeing this - I hope he's not too offended by this!'"

[Perdita]

EastEnders bosses have confirmed that Sam Strike is leaving the show after a year in the role of Johnny Carter.

An upcoming storyline will see the character of Johnny bow out from Albert Square, but show chiefs are keeping quiet about exactly when and how he will depart.

An EastEnders spokesperson told Digital Spy today (November 14): "We can confirm that Sam is leaving EastEnders. We wish him all the best for the future."

Writing on Twitter, Strike explained that it was his own decision to leave and thanked fans for their support.

Thanks for all the love this year guys. Means the world. Decided to bow out. couldn't have done it without you all . thanks @bbceastenders.

— Sam Strike (@SamStrike) November 14, 2014

Strike was cast in the role of Johnny in October 2013, shortly after the news that Danny Dyer would be heading up the Carter family as new arrivals taking over the Queen Vic.

Johnny made his first appearance on screen on Boxing Day last year, and was one of the first Carters to take centre stage in emotional scenes as he broke down in tears and told his father Mick that he is gay.

The well-received moment between father and son later earned a nomination for Spectacular Scene at the British Soap Awards, and more recently secured EastEnders the Media Recognition prize at the Attitude Awards.

Johnny breaks down in Mick's arms
© BBC
Johnny and Mick's emotional scene

Since accepting his own sexuality, Johnny has enjoyed a brief romance with love interest Gianluca Cavallo after meeting him at a pre-Pride event, and has more recently caught the eye of Walford returnee Ben Mitchell.

Johnny is the second Carter family member to have an exit confirmed as Timothy West will also be bowing out as Stan at the conclusion of a terminal cancer storyline.

[Dazzle]

Disappointing news.

[tammyy2j]

Disappointing news.

First Stan now him this is disappointing

I cant take to Lee

[lizann]

he has been given much to do since he came out on the show and he is a decent actor and a likeable character

[alan45]

...

[alan45]

EastEnders boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins has spoken about Sam Strike's departure from the show for the first time, revealing that the door is "wide open" for him to return in the future.

Strike decided to leave the BBC soap earlier this year and will bow out on screen this week. Exact details of his exit are still under wraps, but fans will see his popular character Johnny Carter leave Walford after making a surprising choice about his future.


© BBC / Jack Barnes
Sam Strike as Johnny Carter

Johnny's departure will come just before an explosive festive season for the Carters, but he will still make a brief cameo appearance on Christmas Day.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about Strike's decision to go, Treadwell-Collins commented: "You have to respect it. I was sad he wanted to go because there was more that we wanted to do with Johnny next year, but it happens and the door is wide open.

"We've recorded a scene with Johnny that airs on Christmas Day because he's still part of the Carters and you always leave the door open. I hope the Carters are going to be in the show for a really long time, so who knows?

"Johnny was also loosely based on me as a kid, so I was doubly gutted!"



Johnny prepares to leave
© BBC
Johnny's exit scenes air on Tuesday

The show's executive producer also confirmed that he currently has no plans to recast the character of Johnny.

Treadwell-Collins explained: "I'd hope that Sam would come back. We only recast if we really think the audience would buy it and there's an important reason to do it.

"EastEnders has always recast. Mark Fowler was a recast and there's always been recasts in all soaps, but you've got to be careful. You've got to leave enough time and make sure the actor is convincing.

"There's also a lot of Carter stories at the moment. I miss Johnny, but I don't need to have him there so I wouldn't want to [recast]. You always hope that Sam would want to come back, so you don't want to close that door."

Treadwell-Collins also tipped Ben Mitchell as one to watch in 2015. The character returned to screens in September with Harry Reid taking over the part.

He said: "There's a lot more to come for Ben Mitchell as a character. When we met Harry, I thought, 'You're more Ben Mitchell than Ben Mitchell!' and he's making the role his own."

[alan45]

Sam Strike became an instant hit with EastEnders fans when he arrived as Johnny Carter at Christmas 2013, but his time on Albert Square proved relatively short after the young actor decided to bow out following a one-year stint.

Since completing filming at the BBC soap late last year, the 20-year-old has already bagged a film role in Bonded by Blood 2 and is currently auditioning for other projects too.

Little has been known about Sam's reasons for leaving until now, but this week he gave Digital Spy a call for an exclusive and refreshingly honest chat about his soap exit and future plans.



Now that you've left EastEnders, are you excited about what 2015 might have in store for you?
"I suppose I'm a mix of excited and apprehensive! You never know what's coming, so I'm more curious than excited or nervous."

We know you've just started rehearsals for your new film role in Bonded by Blood 2. How's it going so far?
"It's been really good, thanks. I did some rehearsals this week and got to meet the cast properly, so I'm looking forward to it. I wanted to do this role just because it's something totally different. I've always had different roles but EastEnders has such high exposure that people only really know you for that one thing.

"I played a spy for two years on M.I. High for CBBC and then a total ladies' man on a Comedy Central sitcom called Give Out Girls, but people really know EastEnders, so I'm looking forward to doing something that's totally on the other end of the scale.

"My character on EastEnders was quite vulnerable and a nice guy. My character in this has vulnerabilities too, but he's in with the wrong crowd and that's not something Johnny Carter would have been!"

How did the role come about?
"I knew one of the producers after meeting him in the past year and we'd spoken briefly earlier in the year about maybe doing something. I emailed him to ask if he had anything going on and he told me this film was coming up. I auditioned for it and got it off the back of the audition.

"Funnily enough I'd already seen the first film when it first came out about four years ago. In the new film, I've got quite a lot to do with an actor called George Russo. He did a film called Turnout which I was also a fan of, so I'm looking forward to working with him."

We know that you've been doing some other auditions, so are you concentrating mostly on films or are you open to different projects?
"It's interesting because I think in recent years, there's been a flip where you're getting just as high quality material on TV as you are on film, with TV series like Breaking Bad and True Detective.

"I'm happy doing either, but I really wanted to do a film off the back of EastEnders because it's a totally different pace to doing TV. It's much slower and you get to work on things more. If something doesn't feel right, you have the time to change it and improve it, so I'm looking forward to that aspect of it.

"I have been auditioning for stuff - mainly TV. I like going to meet the casting directors, so I've had some room auditions. I've also had representation in America for the past two years. They send me scripts and I go on tape for different things - both TV and film."


Why did you decide to leave EastEnders? Was it purely to try new things, or were there other reasons?
"It was a mixture of things. One was definitely to try new things. I wanted to do acting as a career because you're constantly playing different people and that's what interests me. On EastEnders, you're playing a character more than you are yourself. You spend more time in your character's skin than in your own, so there was that aspect of it.

"I also didn't really feel like at the time my character was necessarily needed in EastEnders. When I was in talks about leaving, I spoke to the people that I'd been working with the most - including Dom the executive producer and the Carters. I said to them that if there was anything they really wanted me to do we'd do that, as I didn't want to leave people high and dry.

"At that time I didn't feel that Johnny was totally necessary, but I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot. I have a whole new respect for soaps and the vast quantity of work they have to do. It's a real feat that they pull off sometimes!"

When did you decide that you wanted to go?
"It's a difficult question, because I knew from the start that I was never going to be there for 10 years. It was just a case of seeing how things went, where the character was going and how relevant he was going to be in time to come. Dom has been really nice and said that he's not going to recast anytime soon and the door is open. That's a discussion we had when I left and I do owe a lot to them."

Johnny made an impact on the fans very quickly thanks to his 'coming out' scene with Mick. Are you proud of the work you did on that?
"Well that's the thing - I'm sure the writers and the people in the office had a lot more to give to Johnny, and it's an ensemble effort so everyone's got to get their bit, but I kind of feel like Johnny peaked quite early with that.

"Don't get me wrong, though - I was totally happy and really lucky to be given that storyline, as it was an opportunity to impress the viewers as soon as I went in. That was a blessing and I really appreciated that. It was a really nice thing to have. Also, they had that storyline written before they'd even cast me. I was really grateful for the fact that they trusted me to pull something like that off before they knew what I could do."


Did you expect that scene to have the reaction it did?
"It was nerve-wracking for me because it was an important scene. In this day and age, I think to be gay is not a big deal anymore - I don't think people care. You get the odd person who's still living in the caveman era, but I think society has accepted it, which is as it should be. The scene wasn't about fighting the world, but it was that simple day-to-day thing of just telling your dad that you're gay. That's what was important about that.

"It's a really real-life thing, which is what EastEnders does best. I didn't know that it was going to have that reaction, as I was really nervous. I wondered if I was going to pull it off, as you just never know! When it had the reaction it did, I was of course really grateful and glad that I'd hopefully done some justice by the people who have gone through it."

Johnny's exit was fairly quiet, but were you glad he got a happy ending?
"Well I can't say too much, but there was a timeframe in which I could have left. If I had left towards the end of the timeframe, there was the possibility of a more dramatic exit, but I chose to go right at the beginning of the timeframe and go out quietly.

"I kind of liked it, because Johnny was quiet! It was a symbol of what Johnny was - no fuss and off he went. I also liked the 'calm before the storm' aspect of it. I went out quietly, but then there were the big fireworks of Christmas Day and Boxing Day."

Would you return to the show?
"It's totally impossible to say, really. You never say never because it's a really great thing to be able to do what you love doing every day and get paid for it. That's a very nice thing to have.

"If they called me in the future and there was an event happening which they wanted Johnny to come back for, it's something I'd think about. You never say never!"



Are you still close to the other Carters?
"Yeah, definitely. Me and Maddy Hill [who plays Nancy] went into the show together. I'd auditioned with a couple of girls and I think they had quite a different idea for what Nancy was going to be. Then I read with Maddy and she was excellent. It was totally different to what they were expecting the character to be, but Maddy was awesome.

"Me and Maddy stayed in touch after the audition, and then a few days later it was in the paper that Kellie Bright and Danny Dyer were taking over the Queen Vic. I messaged Maddy and said, 'Weren't we painting the Queen Vic in our audition scene? What do you think?'

"As soon as I'd finished that message, I got a call from my agent to say that I'd got the role and Kellie and Danny would be playing my parents. Me and Maddy went through it together and discovered it together, which was great. I'm close with all of the others too. We went to Kellie's wedding together and we were a tight unit."

What memories are you taking away from your time on the show?
"With all of the Carters, it just blended very nicely together and it was very organic. I've had it before, not on EastEnders, but where your character is meant to be close with somebody and you pull it off on screen but it still feels awkward. With the Carters, there were no boundaries. It was scripted but it was almost as if it needn't be!

"They're such a great bunch of people. I've been a fan of Danny for years. Kellie has also been in the game for such a long time and it's amazing that people now are saying, 'Kellie Bright's a wicked actress'.

"I was grateful to have that big scene with Danny, but I was also glad to have so much story with Kellie. Our characters could either rip chunks out of each other or be really close, so I loved working with her. I didn't have to do much acting - she gives off this natural presence where you don't even have to think about what you're doing."


Have you always wanted to be an actor?
"It was interesting for me, actually. I wanted to be a musician until I was about 15 or 16, so that was a possible career choice and I played in some bands. We didn't have Drama classes in primary school, but then when I went into secondary school, it was on the syllabus and I had my first lesson.

"I'd always liked that kind of thing as a kid - I'd dress up as Batman rather than play with Batman toys! When I did this first Drama lesson, I loved it. I had a natural aptitude for it and my teacher told my mum on my first parents evening that it was something I should think about doing.

"When I was about 15, there was a local dance school in Southend, where I'm from, and my sister was going for a dance audition there. I thought I'd tag along just to make sure she was okay and there was an agent there. She asked me, 'Have you ever thought about acting?' I said yes, but I am quite introverted and quite shy, so I'd never have gone out there myself to try. I wouldn't have known where to start!

"She asked if I was interested in going to stage school, but I said it wasn't my thing as I couldn't dance or anything like that. But she put me in adult drama classes, and then she put me on her books and sent me out auditioning."

How did it go after that?
"I auditioned for a good three years without any results at all. I think transitioning from the type of acting you do in school to acting on screen is very different, because acting on screen is a lot more subtle. Nothing happened for three years and I was just about to pack it in, which was a shame because it was the only thing I really cared about.

"But then I got a phone call from my agent saying that I had an audition in Edinburgh. I thought I'd go there as a last push but after that I didn't want to do it anymore, but I got the job and it was my first role - that was M.I. High.

"From there I've been quite lucky. There's been quiet periods as there is with every actor, but it's not been too long a gap between each job. It was something I'd always wanted to do and that lady gave me my first opportunity, so it all kind of aligned itself!"

Has that made you prepared for the ups and downs of life as an actor?
"I was always pretty thick-skinned because I went three years without booking a job, and I was always getting down to the final two and not getting the roles. I've known other actors who've gone for their first job, got it, and then worked every day since, but I've got no problem sitting out because I did that for three years.

"I like to think I'm pretty prepared for that and once I've done the audition, I just forget about it otherwise you're more disappointed if you don't get it."


You mentioned earlier that you're quite introverted. How do you feel about the fame that's come with your soap role?
"It's difficult, because I appreciate the fans. First and foremost, you're nothing without them and I really appreciate that, but I've always been quite shy. I think that's why I've always wanted to be an actor, because you're not yourself - you're somebody else so it gives you licence to not be shy!

"I've read some stuff where people have said, 'If he's an introvert, he shouldn't have become an actor' and all this kind of stuff, but I didn't become an actor to become famous - I became an actor because I enjoy acting.

"It gets a bit much sometimes, but it wasn't really a big transition for me because I wasn't going out clubbing before EastEnders and I certainly wouldn't now, so it's not like I've had to change my life massively. There are times when it gets the better of me, but I suppose it is part and parcel of the job. It's not always a walk in the park but it could be worse - nobody could give a s**t, so I appreciate the fans!"

Would you be interested in going over to the US for a pilot season?
"This is another thing - people think I'm leaving EastEnders to go and crack Hollywood. That makes me laugh because I've never said that! People make these assumptions. Like I say, I've had representation in the States for a couple of years - long before EastEnders. I've had a couple of close calls but I'm not in any great rush.

"I want to crack on in England and learn my craft more. I don't think I'm going to leave EastEnders and become a movie star because it's just not realistic. A pilot season is not something I'd totally rule out - anything's possible. I could go back to EastEnders, I could go out to the US, or I could end up as an IT consultant! For now I want to see what I can do over here and learn my craft, as you never stop learning."

Finally, is there anything you'd like to say to the fans who have followed you on your journey as Johnny and beyond?
"I'd like to say thank you for investing in my character, supporting me and being pretty non-judgemental through thick and thin. I think the main thing is that they've stood up for me and for my character. It means the world - it really does. They're so loyal and a great bunch. I'm really lucky to have them."