{"id":29840,"date":"2023-02-06T21:00:57","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T20:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1780531"},"modified":"2023-02-07T11:54:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T10:54:53","slug":"eastenders-star-reveals-ryan-malloy-has-agenda-of-his-own-with-return","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/eastenders-star-reveals-ryan-malloy-has-agenda-of-his-own-with-return\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders star reveals Ryan Malloy has \u201cagenda of his own\u201d with return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor Neil McDermott lifts the lid on the return of popular EastEnders character Ryan Malloy. <\/p>

By Lewis Knight\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 06 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Actor Neil McDermott has discussed his return to EastEnders<\/a> as Ryan Malloy for the first time.<\/p>\n

Ryan was a major character on the BBC One soap from 2009 until his exit in 2011 but returned for guest appearances since.<\/p>\n

The character was last seen on-screen in 2016 when he moved away to Wakefield with his prison officer girlfriend Helen who he later married off-screen.<\/p>\n

Next week in the BBC One soap, Ryan makes his explosive return to Albert Square<\/a> following news of his 12-year-old daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) being revealed to be pregnant.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI got a call to ask if I would be willing to come back and when I heard the story, I was really excited about what was going to happen and the role Ryan would play,\u201d revealed McDermott. \u201cI was really pleased the stars could align and I had the time to return. It\u2019s always good to revisit the character too because you\u2019re always wondering where he is and what he\u2019s up to. I also think it\u2019s good for the viewers to see the characters from the past re-enter the lives of Lily, Stacey and Whitney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, it has been years since we last saw Ryan on-screen, but has he changed much?<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously he\u2019s a bit older now and he\u2019s got a few more grey hairs, but apart from that I just revisit the same sort of thinking as I did when I was here before,\u201d noted McDermott.<\/p>\n

Ryan is reunited with Stacey and Lily despite not having a particularly close relationship with either of them in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows what the future holds for Ryan, and for Stacey too,\u201d teased McDermott. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to see if there\u2019s ever a prolonged period where they can be on the Square at the same time and to try and make that work. As I understand it, Ryan does want to be a good dad to Lily and he feels like Stacey has asked him to stay away and that\u2019s why he\u2019s not there at the moment. He\u2019s respected her decision but with the news of Lily\u2019s pregnancy, he feels he needs to come back and try to see how he can be part of her life more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actor added: \u201cHe\u2019s coming into the Square with trepidation because he\u2019s just found out from Whitney that his daughter is pregnant at the age of 12. I think he\u2019s in a state of shock and he\u2019s wondering what to do. We learn from the episodes that he and Helen have probably had a lot of conversations about the best way Ryan can behave when he\u2019s back in Walford and to get what he feels is right for Lily. I also think he\u2019s treading on eggshells a bit, trying not to frighten anyone off too quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lacey Turner as Stacey Slater and Neil McDermott as Ryan Malloy in EastEnders.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

However, does Ryan have a plan for what he wants out of his comeback in Walford? Well, it seems so\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cRyan comes back with a bit of an agenda of his own,\u201d confirmed McDermott. \u201cHe\u2019s of course not been around for a while, so whatever he thinks should be the right thing, isn\u2019t going to be taken too well by Stacey and other members of the Square \u2013 he hasn\u2019t been around, so why should he have a right to say anything at all, which I understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Ryan\u2019s mind though, something massive has happened here and he tries to be of some help. We learn that he\u2019s doing alright for himself and has money that could help the situation. He\u2019s carefully trying to tread his way through to become a bigger part of Lily\u2019s life, but it\u2019s whether or not Stacey, Lily and the family want him around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Lily is not the only character dealing with a troubled pregnancy, with Ryan\u2019s sister Whitney soon to be diagnosed with Edward\u2019s syndrome.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he first arrives to the Square, he obviously knows Whitney is pregnant but he doesn\u2019t know the full situation, but soon learns that during the episode,\u201d revealed the actor behind Ryan. \u201cRyan has always tried to be there for her \u2013 obviously when I was here but even in episodes towards the end of my time at EastEnders were about Ryan comforting Whitney and assuring her he\u2019s only a phone call away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a really good sibling relationship, although he messes it up sometimes and she does too, there\u2019s a lot of love between them but there\u2019s some things that get in the way sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Neil McDermott as Ryan Malloy and Scott Maslen as Jack Branning in EastEnders.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

McDermott revealed that he tries to keep an eye on storylines in EastEnders related to his character\u2019s family and will be looking to see how Whitney\u2019s storyline turns out.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got a lot to deal with over the next few months and Shona is a fantastic actress, so I think she\u2019ll play that with a lot of sensitivity,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n

The actor confirmed that viewers\u2019 first look at Ryan\u2019s return will be the character on his own \u2013 which was McDermott\u2019s first day of shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so lovely to see members of the crew that were here before,\u201d the actor revealed. \u201cI was in and out on my first day \u2013 when I shot that first scene. The next day, I came back and shot some more scenes with Shona and Lacey.\u201d<\/p>\n

On reuniting with former on-screen love Lacey Turner, McDermott revealed it was: \u201cLovely! We\u2019re good pals from when we worked closely together before, likewise with Shona. It\u2019s really nice to come back and work with the guys again and see what they\u2019re up to in their lives and catch up. We very quickly tried to get back into the rhythms of our characters; the way they would talk to each other and how they feel about each other. It was really nice to revisit.\u201d<\/p>