Brian Conley is joining EastEnders, and he can't believe his luck.

He tells Georgia Humphreys about being a cheeky Cockney lad - on and offscreen.

When Brian Conley stepped onto Albert Square for the first time, he cried.

Nabbing a role in EastEnders, as Sonia Fowler's long-lost dad, clearly means a lot to the 59-year old Londoner; his own late father, who had bowel cancer, was a big fan of the BBC soap.

And, after nearly five decades in the entertainment industry - which has seen him host his own chat show on ITV, record four albums and appear in award-winning West End musicals - Conley also appreciates how lucky he is to have this latest job, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move into soapland sees him play Terry Cant, whose arrival in Walford will be a huge shock to Sonia. After searching for her father online to no avail last year, she had given up hope of finding him.

But Terry is the ultimate people pleaser, and could well be quick to charm everyone in Walford.

Here, charismatic Conley - who shares two daughters with his wife Anne-Marie - tells us more.

HOW DID IT FEEL WALKING ONTO THE EASTENDERS SET?

Much more nerve-wracking than I thought! My second day was in The Queen Vic - what an honour to be standing there. I was nervous because it's a big scene with a lot of the characters from the show. But I just looked over - I get emotional [talking about it] now - and on the shelf, there's a little cab. And I knew that was my dad because my dad was a cab driver. He's gone - he went 20 years ago - and it was just this [sign saying], 'You'll be alright'.

It was incredible coming home and telling my family about it. I wanted to take photos with everyone, and nick something. I took a beermat home.

TERRY HASN'T BEEN IN WALFORD FOR 35 YEARS. WHAT'S SONIA'S REACTION TO HIM TURNING UP?

It's very moving because she hasn't seen her dad and she is annoyed that he's not been there, and he's upset that he's not been there. And to turn up then and just go, 'I'm your dad'... I am gradually convincing her by telling her stories of when she was a kid. I used to take her to Southend and things like that. There are certain things where she just goes, 'No one would know that'. But at first, she's telling him to shut up. To work with Natalie, oh my god - she's been in it since she was 10!

WAS THIS ROLE CREATED SPECIFICALLY WITH YOU IN MIND?

We just got a phone call out of the blue. They went, 'This is the character, and we'd love you to be in it'. I was very lucky, I didn't have to audition and I'm glad because I'm rubbish at auditions; I can't turn it on in an office room. So for me to be part of it, and to have not gone through all that rigmarole - the stars aligned.

YOU'RE RENOWNED FOR BEING A COMEDY PERFORMER. SO, IS TERRY GOING TO BE A FUNNY CHARACTER?

I'm from London, I've always had the gift of the gab, and I'm a cheeky Cockney lad - and that's what Terry is. He might embellish on things. You don't know if [the story he is telling] is true. Even I don't; I'm going, 'Did he really do this?'. And that's what's so lovely about it.

WE HEAR TERRY IS A HIT WITH THE LADIES TOO...

If you can make a lady laugh, things could happen, and he does make a lot of them laugh. He tends to sort of chip away at them, but he is a romantic and a bit of a gentleman. And I am a bit of a gentleman; I think it's my age as well, I'm very respectful.

Initially, the writers didn't know who Terry is, and I didn't. But as these last couple of months have gone by, I can tell they're writing it for me now, and I have some input. I can go and talk to them. So, it does become you.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ANY MEMORABLE SCENES WITH OTHER CAST MEMBERS?

Linda Henry, who plays Shirley, I was really intimidated by. The character's very tough... Well, I'm telling you, she [Linda] is the nicest person there. She's so lovely and so warm and so caring.

I realised everyone knows what it's like for me. They've all walked in my shoes, they've all stood there. So, even now, they're very accommodating, and they don't mind maybe going over it a little bit more than they would, because I'm new.

The turnaround is very quick, which of course it's not in theatre; [there] you have time to go away, think about it, sleep on it.

WHAT'S IT BEEN LIKE FILMING DURING THE PANDEMIC?

What's nice is when you're [filming] in the market or outside you can be a little bit closer and it feels more natural because you would be having a bit of banter and standing away from someone. But inside, it is hard.

But we all know that it's important to do this. So we have masks, we do Covid tests very regularly.

Much to the amusement of my wife and my kids, they [the producers] have said, 'There might be bits where you might have to cuddle someone' - so my wife has been asked if she would come in and do a bit [of filming]. And one of my daughters is studying drama at Oxford, so she was like, 'I'll come in!'.

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