EastEnders’ Zack Hudson star admits hard-hitting storylines ‘get on top’ of him

EastEnders star James Farrar has been involved in storylines about issues including HIV and stillbirth (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

EastEnders hunk James Farrar had admitted filming hard-hitting storylines is taking its toll on him.

The actor, who plays Zack Hudson, has been tackling topics including HIV and stillbirth on the soap in recent months. He told me: “Sometimes it gets on top of you when you’re doing 13-hour days. It does come home with you. But that means I’m doing my job properly. If I didn’t do that then I wouldn’t be committed enough.”

James regularly gets support on set to help him cope. He added: “Help is always there. I make sure I talk to people. Even if it’s not someone senior or a producer, it’s one of the cast members. I can sit down with someone and say, ‘I’m struggling with this and that’. There is a support system there. We have been so close at EastEnders recently. We are like a family.”

James Farrar said hard-hitting storylines can take their toll (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

James has been praised by fans for his performance on the soap in recent months. The star is thrilled he’s had the chance to raise awareness about important topics.

He said: “We do storylines about issues that people are dealing with. It’s great to be able to help them in some sort of way. People are living these things every single day and as long as we are giving people comfort, we are doing our jobs. I hope we are doing enough.”