Declan Bennett: 'I don't want Charlie to take after Nick'

Declan Bennett has said that he hopes his character Charlie Cotton doesn't take after his villainous father Nick.

The actor made his debut as Charlie earlier this month when he turned up on Dot's doorstep as she received the news that her son Nick had died.

Charlie has been trying to help Dot come to terms with her loss, but viewers have been left wondering what his true motives are.

Speaking about the plot on Lorraine today (March 25), Bennett said: "All I can say is keep watching this week and you will find out.

"We are going to have to wait and see. I don't want to take after my dad too much but that is the whole flip to the story.

"Is he there to look after his grandma and take care of her, or is he going to be going down a slightly darker route?"
Speaking about working with June Brown, who plays Dot, Bennett said: "She's an absolute legend and one of the funniest people I have ever met in my entire life.

"She's amazing - it's pure joy. We go and sit in her dressing room and drink tea and eat biscuits. She tells me about her diet and what she does with her days. She's incredible."

Bennett also revealed that EastEnders is his first proper television role after coming from a theatre background.
He said: "It's the first TV thing I have ever done. I have done a couple of little movies but it's the first big TV show I have ever done. It's so different from being on stage.

"On stage you tell an entire story from start to finish and there is an audience of a thousand people a night and you are doing the same thing eight times a week.

"Then when it was transferred to being on TV, stories on soaps never end. There is no beginning and no end - you are always in the middle of it and obviously there is no audience, so it is totally different."