James Bye spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com from the NTAs red carpet.

By James Hibbs

Published: Thursday, 13 October 2022 at 12:00 am


It was confirmed just earlier this week which characters are returning to EastEnders for the funeral of Dot Branning, which will honour the character’s life as well as paying tribute to actress June Brown, who passed away in April aged 95.

Following this news, RadioTimes.com caught up with Martin Fowler star James Bye on the National Television Awards red carpet to get a sense of what we can expect from the emotional episodes.

Bye said: “The funeral for Dot is coming up – Martin plays quite a huge part in that, and for Sonia, as a support network for Sonia.

“And we’ve been filming those episodes today and any EastEnders fans are gonna struggle with it, because it’s really tearful. It’s beautiful, Natalie Cassidy gives the performance of her life. There’s not a dry eye in the house.”

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James Bye
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

He was speaking with RadioTimes.com tonight (Thursday 13th October) from the NTAs 2022, which are taking place at the OVO Arena Wembley, hosted by Joel Dommett, and are airing live on ITV and ITV Hub.

The show was opened with a performance from Sam Ryder, who earlier this year came second for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest.

You can keep up with all the action from the NTAs with our live blog here.

Additional reporting by Lauren Morris.

The National TV Awards are airing on ITV from 8pm on Thursday 13th October. Find something to watch with our TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for all the latest news.

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