Ben Hardy Admits Discomfort With Peter Beale's Shirtless 'EastEnders' Scenes

Ben Hardy whipped viewers into a frenzy when his ‘EastEnders’ character apparently developed an allergy to wearing a t-shirt last year, but as he makes the foray into Hollywood, he’s insisted that’s not something we should get used to.

The former soap actor admits he’s not all too comfortable with his character, Peter Beale, becoming a sex symbol in the months before his ‘EastEnders’ exit, revealing he feels there were times he was shirtless for “no reason”.

He tells The Mirror: “I don’t think about it. I try and not be topless anymore, because i don’t want that to be my ‘thing’.

“I don’t regret being topless in certain things, But there were some things in ‘EastEnders’ where there was no reason for me to be topless.”

A fair point, but we weren’t exactly complaining at the time.

Ben starred as Peter Beale in ‘EastEnders’ for two years, before snagging the role of Angel in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, which hits cinemas in the UK next week.

Over the course of his time in the soap, he was involved in some hefty storylines, most notably the ‘Who Killed Lucy Beale’ saga, during which time he was one of viewers’ main suspects in the case.

Despite the difficulties faced by some soap actors in shaking off the characters the nation has seen them play day after day, Ben has already landed his next big role, and is currently filming opposite Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth in the upcoming ‘A Storm In The Stars’.

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