Former EastEnders star Charlie G Hawkins says he was forced to quit the soap after fame ‘broke him’

24 July 2020, 08:42

Darren Miller actor Charlie G Hawkins has said he struggled being in EastEnders.

Former EastEnders actor Charlie G Hawkins has revealed he had to quit the soap after the fame became too much for him to handle.

The 29-year-old played Darren Miller between 2004 to 2011, but has now admitted online trolling ‘absolutely broke him’.

He told podcast Distinct Nostalgia: "I struggled to deal with the profile of the show and I went from being this cheeky chappy who was really confident to being someone who wanted to be at the back of the room.”

After joining the soap when he was just 13, Charlie was even nominated for best young actor at the British Soap Awards.

He explained: "EastEnders really helped me in every avenue of life. The one thing it couldn’t manage me for was the feeling of fame.

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"I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that people only want to talk to me about EastEnders.

"You’ve got one strand, you’ve got nothing else to your bow."

Unfortunately, Charlie received some nasty messages on online fan site ‘Walford Web’, as he added: "You may have got 100 good comments but you’d get one bad one.

"I would stare at that one comment and it absolutely broke me. It really affected me.

"I did struggle with that but I never really wanted to turn my back on acting."

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Charlie is no longer on social media, and likes to keep out of the spotlight.

He last appeared on the BBC soap in 2011 when his character Darren returned to England after a stint in India.

Before leaving, Darren was part of some huge storylines along with his on screen brother Joe Swash, who played Mickey Miller.

The unlucky in love Walford resident is known for his romance with Libby Fox and having baby George with Heather Trott.

He departed the Square after cheating on his fiancée Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington) with Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) on his stag do.

Jodie later departed the soap to be with him, while it was revealed off screen that he received custody of George following Heather's murder.

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