EastEnders’ bad boy Ryan Malloy returns to Albert Square
From musical theatre to soap, actor Neil McDermott is at home whether it be Albert Square or Club Tropicana or even, the Sound of Music.
EASTENDERS bad boy Ryan Malloy is returning to Albert Square after a break of seven years and actor Neil McDermott is delighted that the stars have aligned to allow him to rejoin the long-running soap.
When I last met up with him back in 2019, the then 37-year-old was about to embark upon a national tour of the Eighties’ musical Club Tropicana, causing him to admit that he had never really dreamed of being a musical theatre star. In fact, he revealed that, initially anyway, he had no intention of being an actor.
Becoming a professional footballer was his goal, until he met inspirational drama teacher Frank Whately, brother of Morse and Lewis star Kevin Whately.
He explained, "I was born in Southport, Merseyside, so really, as a lad growing up there, life was all about football.
"Everton and Liverpool were both very good sides at the time. I was an Everton fan but my brother was a Liverpool fan and we were both naturally very competitive, I think that's why.
"All I wanted to do was play football but then we moved South when I was about eight."
It wasn't a happy time he recalled, "Ferry Cross The Mersey was No 1 around then and I remember the lyrics, ‘...cause this land's the place I love and here I'll stay...' and of course, we were leaving. I remember my brother and I were crying in the car on the way down to London as we moved away."
Down South, it wasn't long before the teenage McDermott had his dream back on track, playing for Chelsea's youth team.
"Around 15 or 16 I realised that wasn't really going to happen for me so I took up an easier career, one in show business, acting," he grinned.
"I had a very good drama teacher, a guy called Frank Whately and he really encouraged me because although I was quite out-going and able to express myself on the sports field, in real life, drama helped me come out of my shell.
"From there it was three years at drama school, getting an agent, and then doing it."
McDermott’s stage credits have since included the aforementioned Club Tropicana and the pivotal role of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, just two in a long line of musicals in which he has starred.
Candidly he admits that musical theatre was never a route he really saw himself taking. Quite the opposite in fact, it was an art form he actively avoided.
"Despite that, it's something I have always done," he mused. "My first job after drama school was a musical, then I worked at Chichester Festival Theatre and went to the London Palladium to play Rolf in The Sound of Music with Connie Fisher who won the TV show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
"They were all big, big productions but I didn't realise how big at the time. I always had a feeling that I wanted to do more serious stuff. So I stopped doing musical after appearing in a production of La Cage Aux Folles with the brilliant Douglas Hodge.
"Luckily I then did about four years of TV work but when I finished EastEnders I thought, 'Why have I got this thing in my head that musicals aren't as good as plays or anything else.
"It's just another way of telling a story and, actually, with a good story, the fact you can add music, singing and dance means that if you get it right, a musical can be the best type of theatre."
So returning to musicals is exactly what he did - he has since appeared on London's West End in Shrek and The Wind in the Willows as well as starring in Eugenius!
That said, he’s now ready to reprise his EastEnders’ role, for a short stint at least, this February.
Having already done so briefly in 2016, he is heading back to Albert Square with the release of the news that his character’s 12-year-old daughter, Lily, is pregnant.
It’s safe to say his return will be far from smooth-sailing, but viewers will have to wait and see the drama unfold onscreen.
He says, “When I heard what the story was I was really pleased that the stars aligned and I was able to revisit Ryan and set foot back on the Square. It was so lovely to see so many old friends.”
Chris Clenshaw, EastEnders’ Executive Producer, adds, “It’s wonderful to welcome Neil back to the role of Ryan Malloy. Although we haven’t seen Ryan for some years, his character is still intertwined in the history of two of the show’s major characters. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have him back for a short while as he’s thrust into the heart of the drama.”
Byline: Líam Rudden
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