EastEnders guest star Jake Rory has shared the advice he received from Phil Mitchell actor Steve McFadden.
The BBC soap recently teamed up with Comic Relief to air a special 5-minute episode during Comic Relief: Funny For Money, which focused on Phil’s ongoing mental health struggles and the importance of treatment.
The episode saw Phil make friends with another patient at the mental health unit named Andy (played by Rory), who shared details of his time at a homeless youth hostel.
Speaking to Oswestry and Border Counties Advertizer, Rory revealed that McFadden gave him some "really good advice" when he discovered that the episode would be shown on Comic Relief, as he didn't know this when he landed the part.
"He said as an actor you can’t let that affect the performance and to keep thinking of it in the same way I did before as a job, not to get too distracted by how it would be shown or received and to focus on the job at hand," he said. "Having that advice really helped me to not be daunted by the whole process."
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He continued: "We didn’t run scenes or rehearse that much because the idea was that Andy and Phil’s first conversations would be fresh and to let the friendship develop in front of the camera.
"The small scale of it made it feel more like a small play, as if it was just two actors on a stage rather than the big ensemble Eastenders usually is.
"I also learned from him how important it is to tell stories properly. Steve has been part of Eastenders for 35 years and doesn’t take any subject the show tackles lightly. He’s very aware of the severity of these subjects.
"These characters represent real people with real stories, not something to be brushed over."
Related: EastEnders legend shares real reason for exit after 31 years: 'It had to be a clean break'
The day before the Comic Relief episode, EastEnders aired another special episode focusing on Phil's mental health recovery.
The episode showed Phil opening up to another new friend, fellow patient Gaz, confessing that he'd never stopped loving Sharon.
In scenes set to air on Monday (March 31), Phil finally reveals his feelings for Sharon once they're alone at No. 55.
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
