The arrival of the Carter clan in EastEnders truly ushered in a new era, and the family were instant hits with audiences.

The family of Walford stalwart and undisputed Queen, Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), comprised of loveable patriarch Mick (Danny Dyer), explosion of pink glamour, Linda (Kellie Bright), eldest son, Lee Carter (Dan Hatchard), fierce tomboy daughter, Nancy Carter (Maddy Hill) and intelligent but troubled baby of the family, Johnny Carter (Sam Strike, Ted Reilly and Charlie Suff) made a huge splash on the Square when they arrived and immediately took over the Queen Vic all the way back in 2013.

Today, only Linda and Johnny remain from the original line up, bolstered my Linda’s mum, Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe), as each of the actors who played the family members have moved on.

While Dan, who played Lee, was given a number of meaty storylines, most prominently, his struggle with depression, the arrival of new executive producer, Sean O’Connor, saw him axed from the show in 2017.

While he’s gone on to continued success in the industry, starring in Our Girl, Ridley Road, and The Madame Blanc Mysteries, Dan took to TikTok to highlight the harsh realities of being a working actor.

Dan Hatchard on the realities of the industry

‘I’ll tell you something, this acting games hard,’ Dan began the video.

‘I’ve been, I’ve been in this business for 13 years now, and on the surface, right, it looks like I’m a raging success and everything’s going smashing. And don’t get me wrong, I’m very, very, very proud of my list of credentials on TV and theatre.

‘I mean, I’ve literally just finished a gig in Northampton, which was amazing. We turned an entire theatre into a skatepark and it was great.’

Dan then went on to detail the darker side of working in the acting industry.

‘But the gaps in between…there’s still a ton of rejection. It’s incredibly competitive and it is not for the weak,’ he started.

‘The only reason why I carry on doing this is because it’s a need, not a want. I don’t wake up in the morning and want to be an actor, I wake up in the morning and I need to be an actor, I need to be creative. It’s like I’m in a constant state of having creative blue balls.

‘And don’t get me wrong, it is tiring, and I’m just on here to have a rant, but if you are thinking about being an actor, only think about being an actor if you feel like it’s a need, not a want, because I genuinely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.’

Dan’s comment section was flooded with support.

Jimmy Briggs wrote: ‘You need to be an actor and we need you on those stages and screens my pal’, while Amyix added: ‘You are an amazing actor Dan! Lucky enough to have seen you on stage and screen. Will always be supporting you whatever happens, like I have done the last 9 years’

Tash said: ‘Give Rowland Beckley a call and get back to EastEnders like we all want vou to do!’ to which Danny replied: ‘Very sweet. But my future is outside of Walford’, before adding a teasing: ‘Not to say I won’t pop back from time to time!’

Why Dan left EastEnders

‘It was a comfortable job but it is like a revolving door that place, as people do come and go and things change. It is like a chocolate factory and we bang out scenes like no tomorrow. We have a responsibility and we have to make sure it is done right. You can’t really let your hair down.

On the positives of leaving, Dan was pleased that he wouldn’t be typecast.

‘My concern was that staying in one place too long does not help you to grow as an individual and it does not allow you to reinvent yourself and that is what is important.

‘I had a life outside EastEnders, and there are some people in EastEnders who let it consume them. I was very serious about it and I enjoyed every second of it but it was just time for me to go. I guess now I will never be typecast.’