James Bye will rock the Regency look in his first role since leaving EastEnders, with freshly released images seeing him as a Jane Austen hero.

Bye, who bid farewell to Walford and his character Martin Fowler in the recent explosion storyline, is ready to play Mr Darcy in the theatrical world premiere of the Pride and Prejudice unofficial sequel.

Published in 2011 by late author PD James, Death Comes to Pemberley is a follow-up to Austen’s beloved classic, picking up with Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy six years into her marriage.

The couple will have a suspicious death on their estate to deal with, and it looks like their no-good brother-in-law Mr Wickham could be behind it.

Elizabeth rushes to comfort her sister Lydia and vows to find out the truth, while Darcy struggles with his conscience as his former childhood friend could be executed.

First-look pictures of Bye as Darcy have been released, seeing the soap star in a caramel coat with red lapels and a beige waistcoat and trousers. In one of the images, he stands beside Jamie-Rose Duke, who plays Elizabeth Darcy.

Weighing in on switching from EastEnders‘ dramatic storylines to taking to the stage in a period play, Bye seemed thrilled about his new endeavour.

“I am leaving EastEnders on an absolute high after the explosive live 40th anniversary episode,” he said.

“After a decade of gritty storylines it’s going to be quite a switch to put on period clothes as one of literature’s romantic leading men, but I can’t wait for this new chapter to begin.”

Death Comes to Pemberley — which was also adapted into a series that’s been a hit on Netflix — will tour across England, starting in Reading on May 1 and finishing off in Richmond in September.

The play is directed by Joe Harmston, with the novel being adapted for the stage by Duncan Abel and Rachel Wagstaff, the writing team behind the theatre adaptations of The Da Vinci Code and The Girl on the Train.