New EastEnders star Brian Conley has said he was overcome with emotion the first time he walked onto the soap's Albert Square.
The West End star has joined the cast of the BBC soap as Terry Cant - Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) long-lost father.
The Press Association reports that ahead of his Walford debut next week, Conley said: "There's so many of my friends who are not in this position, and I cannot tell you how lucky I am.
"And that's why when I was on that square the first time, I cried.
"Because I appreciated how many other people would die to be here and would die to just be part of the business that I personally, and so many of my friends, have grown up in.
"In two years' time, I will have been in this game for 50 years.
"I started professionally when I was 12.
"I went to stage school and I had my Equity [actors' union] card at 12, and I paid my way at school doing adverts, doing this, doing that.
"And so, I've grown up and I have had serious withdrawal symptoms during this lockdown."
Londoner Conley also revealed that due to social distancing protocols on the EastEnders set, he has been delivering his lines to a tennis ball, rather than looking at one of his co-stars.
Conley said it is difficult "because you can't play off" other actors. He has been rehearsing at home using tennis balls.
"I put a tennis ball on a stick, just so that I'm used to doing it, and I even call it 'Sonia'," he added.
Fans can watch Conley's debut as Terry on RTÉ One and BBC One on Tuesday, 18 May at 7:30pm.
EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
