Ross Boatman has confirmed EastEnders fans won’t be seeing Harvey Monroe on screen for a while after undergoing knee replacement surgery
An EastEnders actor has revealed they’re taking a temporary hiatus from the BBC soap following an operation.
The show has seen several departures this year, including EastEnders stalwarts James Bye, Patsy Palmer and Natalie Cassidy.
Additionally, early in new Executive Producer Ben Wadey’s tenure, characters played by Clair Norris (Bernie Taylor) and Matthew James Morrison (Felix Baker) were written out. In the coming months, Lacey Turner, who plays Stacey Slater, and Bobby Brazier, who portrays Freddie Slater, will also be exiting the programme.
One actor who will be notably absent in the final months of the year is Ross Boatman, who has portrayed taxi driver Harvey Monroe since 2021. Harvey was embroiled in a significant storyline this year that saw him betray his long-term partner Jean Slater with Kathy Beale following Martin Fowler’s death.
Back in May, a video of Harvey and Kathy sharing a kiss was played in the Queen Vic by Cindy Beale, seeking revenge for Kathy attacking her with a shovel on Christmas day. The affair was exposed at Harvey and Jean’s engagement party, resulting in Harvey being ousted from the Slaters’ home.
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During the latest episode of Matthew Rolland’s Isolation Interviews on YouTube, Ross confirmed that his character Harvey will be absent ‘for a while’ due to health issues, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The 61 year old said: “I won’t be on it for a while… I haven’t had a chance to shoot loads with Gilly (Gillian Taylforth) yet because I’ve just been off for two months; I had knee replacement surgery, so I haven’t been there.
“And now she’s on holiday, so I’m hoping we’ve got some stuff to shoot coming up soon, which will come out, maybe, towards the end of the year. Fingers crossed.”
With Harvey currently residing with Kathy and Ian Beale following Jean’s departure, Ross confessed he felt melancholy about his character moving away from the Slater household.
He said: “I felt quite sad with it because these stories are not within your control, and so I felt sad to be leaving the Slaters. They are amazing.
“Sometimes I felt lost because it feels like they’ve got this ready-made dynamic. It feels very real when you’re on set with them. They’re so natural. It was sad to leave.”
Harvey was most recently spotted on the programme starting a limousine venture with Kat Slater and Alfie Moon whilst he adapts to his fresh circumstances.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am
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