EastEnders icon Shaun Williamson is so used to people referring to him as his soap alter ego, that he’s thinking about making a pretty drastic change.
The 58-year-old actor played Barry Evans on the BBC soap, and fans were left devastated when dramatic scenes of his death aired in 2004.
Following his wedding to Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), he found himself tumbling down the side of a cliff after being pushed by his bride, where he hit his head and tragically died.
Although it’s been nearly 20 years since Barry was last on our screens, Shaun, who recently teamed up with Deliveroo for a new food bank campaign, revealed that devoted fans still refer to him as the cherished hopeless romantic.
He told Metro.co.uk: ‘I’ve recently seriously thought about changing my passport. People will be like “Barry, why are travelling under Shaun Williamson’s name, what’s going on?”‘
Despite the ongoing attention, Shaun also understood why many still hold his alter-ego close to their hearts, but reckons a full-time return has to be off the cards.
‘Let’s be honest it would have to be a pretty quirky storyline!’ he mused. ‘I just think he should come back as a ghost and haunt Janine for revenge. She’s killed about four people!’
Reflecting on his time in the show, he continued: ‘I think at the time it was just four channels and it wasn’t that much else on the other side so people would tune in [to watch EastEnders] anyway,’ he added.
‘We would get 10-12 million people tuning in to watch Dot Cotton folding laundry and there was a biggie with Barry pushed off a cliff… 20 million.
‘These are extraordinary figures and you’ll never get those figures back unless there’s a funeral or England win the World Cup.
‘Then I was lucky that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant adopted me for Extras and called me Barry in there. You might as well be known for something rather than nothing.’
In the run-up to Christmas, singer Shaun led an off-key carolling squad and the donations raised by customers will provide vital support to the food banks in the Trussell Trust network this winter.
Fans are aware that the actor can successfully hold a note, but insisted there was a reason why the aim wasn’t to show off his impressive vocals.
‘I’m not that bad, I don’t often sing off-key,’ he said.
‘We wanted to make people aware of this wonderful partnership so we formed the not so silent night choir with Honey G. I watched that series of her on X Factor and she lasted a few weeks and of course she’s a character and we need that and she joined in and made us even worse.
‘I’ve been lucky, even growing up in a council estate my mum worked and my dad worked and I’ve never had to use a food bank in my life and I feel blessed about that.
‘Nothing worse than being homeless at Christmas because everyone is walking around and there’s an aura in the air.’
