'EastEnders': New Johnny Carter Actor Ted Reilly Speaks On Succeeding Sam Strike

'EastEnders' newcomer Ted Reilly has spoken out about taking over from Sam Strike as Johnny Carter.

It was announced that the character would be returning to Albert Square earlier this year with a new actor in the part, and Ted was later revealed as the recast version of the youngest Carter sibling.

He has now claimed that he did not feel daunted about taking on the role of a character previously played by someone else.

Speaking to Digital Spy, he said: "I just feel that there is so much for the character to do.

"It would be daunting if I was stepping in when there wasn't much going on, but I feel there is so much for the character to do and ways for him to develop. So it wasn't daunting for me, no."

Asked if he'd had any words of advice from Sam on the character, Ted said: "I haven't spoken to Sam. I'm sure he probably still watches it, but I'm not sure. I am just relishing it really. He had great storylines before me but there is so much more for the character to do so it is really exciting."

Johnny was last seen on screen in 2014, when he left to go travelling with boyfriend Gianluca, and has been absent for some of the family's biggest dramas, including mum Linda's rape at the hands of evil Dean Wicks.

Sam previously spoke about his decision not to return, saying: “I wasn't ready to return any time in the near future.

"I hope they find lots for Johnny to do and give him lots of stories, and the new actor can have the adventure with Johnny that I would've liked to have before he became stale.”

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