Adam Woodyatt slams EastEnders for turning Ian Beale into a ‘sociopath’

Adam Woodyatt was a regular on BBC One Soap EastEnders from 1985 to 2021 but has said he hasn't always agreed with the direction of his storylines

Adam Woodyatt has slammed EastEnders after turning his character of Ian Beale into a 'sociopath' during his time on the programme.

The actor played the iconic character from 1985 to 2021 but has since said that he didn't always agree with the direction his character was taken within storylines.

The 53-year-old hasn't ruled out returning to the soap but like what his character turned into.

He's explained that it wasn't his decision when it came to storylines and sometimes he didn't like the way the plot went for his character.

During an appearance on the White Wine Question Time podcast, Adam said: "Don't get me wrong, I don't always think some of the changes were right. And maybe they should've chosen other directions in which to go. But they weren't my decisions, they were stuff that the bosses obviously chose.

Adam didn't like all of Ian's storylines

Image:

( BBC)

"Did it make Ian unpopular? Yeah, at times, because he was quite forthright and quite rude to everyone, even people he loved."

He went on to describe his character of Ian as claiming to be a 'great father' when actually he was 'an absolute narcissist'.

He added: "I mean some people would actually say he's actually a sociopath, if you really want to analyse, really psychoanalyse him."

Adam believes that during Ian's marriage to Jane, played by Laurie Brett, his character was balanced out but when that ended it started to go wrong again.

Things went from bad to worse as Ian and Jane split up and his son Bobby killed his sister Lucy.

Adam starred in the soap from 1985

Image:

( BBC)

Adam said this storyline made Ian unpopular and meant there was nowhere else to go with the character after that.

When asked what he thinks is in store for Ian Adam said he hasn't 'got a clue what's gonna happen'.

The actor hasn't yet been asked to return to Albert Square but he said right now he's happy what he's doing.

Since leaving EastEnders in 2021, Adam has turned his hand to living in a motorhome which he says he 'absolutely loves'.

He hasn't got any plans to move out and is enjoying the different way of life away from the showbiz industry.

Adam took part in 2021's I'm A Celeb

Image:

( ITV)

Originally Adam had more acting work lined up for when he left the soap as he was meant to be involved in a theatre tour but due to Covid it kept getting postponed.

Adam also appeared in 2021's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! which again was filmed in the Welsh castle due to coronavirus restrictions.

Along with Olympian Matty Lee, Adam and him became the sixth and seventh stars to be voted out of the series.

When leaving the show, he said he'd enjoyed his time in there, saying it would be a 'new start' for him.

Before entering the castle, Adam had split with his wife Beverly Sharp in 2020.

After 22 years together, it's thought the split came as quite a shock.

Read More

Read More

Most Read

Don't Miss

Celeb obsessed? Get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox

Invalid Email

Something went wrong, please try again later.

Thank you for subscribing

We have more newsletters