'EastEnders' stars fear the axe from new show boss, says Dean Gaffney

The stars of EastEnders fear they will be axed in a shake-up by new series boss Kate Oates, according to soap veteran Dean Gaffney.

Oates has previously been in charge of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale, where she reputedly gained a reputation for killing off characters.

Gaffney, who is back in the East End soap as Robbie Jackson, said that among his fellow cast-mates, it’s ‘squeaky bum time’.

He told The Daily Mirror: “Of course Kate will make changes, that’s inevitable.

“I think you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t worried when your contract comes up for renewal.

“Mine doesn’t come up for a while, so I’m okay for the moment, but it’s squeaky bum time for every actor, no one is bigger than any show.”

38-year-old Oates, who is also in charge of Casualty and Holby City, has played down such talk, however.

Kate Oates (Credit: PA)

She told Metro: “It’s always been the case that cast members come and go from serial dramas.

“But I’m not a big fan of axing sprees because I think you have to have faith in the talent you inherit and need to work out the best way to use it.

“I’ve watched shows before when there’s been a mass-clear out.

“Sometimes you run the risk of changing the landscape so much, the show feels really odd and different for quite a while.

“It’s also not great for morale, which is important to me.

“I’d rather do my best with the existing casts that I’ll be working alongside, and hope that enables them to do their best with stories that feel true to their characters.”

Gaffney recently let slip that an iconic character is set to return to the show at Christmas.

“We’ve got a returnee coming back, which is exciting,” he told Digital Spy.

“For me, personally, I’m a good friend of this person — whoever they may be! I think they’re iconic with EastEnders. There’s certain people that come back to a show, they might not add to it, but this person definitely adds to it.

“It’s good to have this person back. Their storyline at Christmas will be very interesting.”

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