Former EastEnders star James Bye has revealed he made a special request to producers ahead of his exit.

The actor’s 11-year stint on the BBC soap came to an end during Thursday’s (February 20) live episode as his character, Martin Fowler, tragically passed away from cardiac arrest after being caught up in the dramatic explosion at The Vic.

Fresh from the emotional scenes, Bye appeared on The One Show on Monday (February 24) to reflect on his departure, with the star telling hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp that he made a special request to producers after being informed about the exit storyline.

“I was sworn to keep it a secret. Obviously the people involved in the storyline were told not long after I was,” he began. “In fact, I told the executive producer that, well after he made the decision, that you have to let me tell Lacey [Turner, who plays Stacey Slater].

“Anyone else you can tell. But that was the most difficult conversation; other than telling my wife – she wasn’t over the moon with it, to be fair. Telling Lacey was tough – it has been a really emotional couple of months. Joy and some tears, we have worked together a lot.

“But to do it on an episode like that, it’s such a special night. I will never forget it, I will probably never get the chance to do something like that ever again. I will never forget that and the response from the audience has blown my mind honestly, it’s so overwhelming.”

Whilst Bye’s exit only occurred last week, the actor has wasted little time in making his next career move, with the star set to play the iconic Mr Darcy in the upcoming stage production of Death Comes to Pemberley.

“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,” said Bye of his new role.