EastEnders' Johnny Carter returns: New hunky actor Ted Reilly to play Danny Dyer's son
EastEnders are bringing back Danny Dyer's on-screen son Johnny Carter with hunky new actor Ted Reilly playing the role.
Johnny Carter, played by Sam Strike, came out as gay on the soap before leaving to “go travelling” with his boyfriend and made his last appearance in December 2014.
Now Johnny will return back on screen next month, only this time he will be played by Ted.
Ted is a rising star, having appeared in a number of London theatre productions as well as TV dramas including Call The Midwife, Casualty and Grantchester.
Ted Reilly will be playing Mick Carter's son from now on
A source close to Ted said: “He knows this is a big chance for him and he is really excited about joining the soap. Johnny was a controversial character before with lots of big storylines so he will come back onto the show with a bang.”
In January 2014, Danny Dyer has said that he received letters from fans saying they came out after the storyline which involved Dyer's on-screen son Johnny revealing that he is gay to his father.
Dyer, who plays Mick Carter, said: “It was a real positive thing. A lot of young gay men, who hadn't come out yet, they saw that scene and I was getting letters from these guys saying they came out the next day because of it.
How will Mick and Linda take their son's return?
The previous Johnny Carter, played by Sam Strike with on-screen parents, Linda Carter, Mick Carter and sister Nancy
“That's a powerful thing and I was really proud to be associated with that.“They spun it on the head for me, because obviously my perception and what people think I'm about – that I was going to react badly - and instead I just cuddled him (Johnny) and said, 'Listen, it's fine, I love you, no problem'.”
Johnny Carter is not the first EastEnders character to be played by more than one person.
Lucy Beale, Martin Fowler and Sam Mitchell are all characters played by more than one actor as they grew up in Albert Square.
Sam Strike previously played the role
EastEnders bosses confirmed a week ago they were bringing back the character Johnny Carter.
At the time a spokesman said: “There are so many more stories that we wanted to tell with Johnny, so we felt that the time was right to unite the Carter family again.
“The Carter family quickly became one of EastEnders’ most iconic families and there are lots of stories planned for them, but it felt it would be a shame if those stories had to be told without Johnny’s involvement. Whoever gets the job will be landing themselves a dream role.”
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