EastEnders star Jake Wood has returned to 2:22 A Ghost Story replacing People Just Do Nothing's Hugo Chegwin who was forced to resign following an illness during the play's rehearsal stages.
The EastEnders star will reprise his award-winning role of Ben, having previously starred as one of the show's original cast members back in 2021 alongside Lily Allen, Julia Chan and Hadley Fraser.
Wood, who is known for his portrayal of Max Branning on the soap, will now star opposite Girls Aloud singer Cheryl as well as actors Louise Ford and Scott Karim.
Related: Cheryl discusses if she plans to have a second child
He will perform in the thriller at the Lyric Theatre in London from 26 January replacing Chegwin until the end of the run.
Speaking of reprising the role that won him a What’s On Stage Award for Best Supporting Actor, Jake said he was "excited to be rejoining the cast".
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"It was an honour to originate the role of Ben at the Noel Coward [Theatre], winning the What’s On Stage best supporting performer in a male identifying role in a play Award for 2021," the Max Branning actor said.
Related: EastEnders to introduce newcomer Jed for Sonia Fowler story
"I am so excited to be rejoining the cast until the end of April. Danny Robins’ script is funny, touching, and so entertaining and easily the best play I have ever read," he added before urging fans to attend the performances.
"If you’ve seen the show before, come back and see it again and I promise that you will enjoy it just as much as I know I will the second time around.
"I've had the flu. Due to being poorly during the rehearsal period, I’ve had to pull out of the play. I’m absolutely gutted about this and I wish everyone involved in the play the best of luck. The cast are truly amazing," Hugo Chegwin said of his decision to leave the production.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
