‘EastEnders’ Sam Strike: ‘Gay storyline has helped people’
By Sam Rigby
EastEnders
actor Sam Strike has spoken for the first time about the reaction to his recent coming out storyline.
The 20-year-old – who joined the long-running BBC soap in December – said that he was “really nervous” when the scenes aired earlier this year.
In the scene, Johnny (Strike) broke down in front of his father, Mick (Danny Dyer), and told him that he is gay.
“With that scene where Johnny comes out to Mick, I was really nervous the night it aired, because you want it to look convincing but then you want to do justice by the people that have been there and done it.
“It was a real proving ground for me, because it was the first time I actually had to do any proper drama acting.”
“I’ve had letters and Danny’s had letters saying that we’d helped people to come out, and it makes things worth it,” he said in a behind-the-scenes video on the EastEnders website.
Sam also praised Dyer for helping him feel comfortable filming the important scene so soon after joining the programme.
“He’s just a really lovely guy,” he said.
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