EastEnders star Aaron Sidwell admits he had to do a lot of soul searching before returning to Albert Square

MOST actors would jump at the chance of a juicy part in top soap EastEnders.

But, having spent years in the show before, Aaron Sidwell says it was far from an easy call to return.

In fact, he’s told iN10 a lot of soul searching was required before he finally decided to go back to the BBC1 staple as Steven Beale.

He’d played the part for years before leaving in 2008, keen to challenge himself with other roles after what had been his very first job.

“I had to think about whether the timing was right,” confides Aaron as he takes a break from the ever-busy Walford filming schedule.

“I had long discussions with the producers and also with my agent.

“It really wasn’t a case of feeling I wanted to do more with the character or that I just had to get back.

“I was with a theatre show and there were talks about it moving into London’s West End.

“So that’s where my focus was and we had a real weighing up to do.

“But we knew EastEnders wouldn’t do my career any harm and, as it’s turned out, it’s been wonderful.

“I’ve been really happy with the decision I’ve made.”

There’s been plenty to keep Aaron occupied since his return and he’s right at the heart of things again this week.

Friday’s episode saw him blurt out – untruthfully – to Lauren that he has a brain tumour. And the consequences of that rash moment are set to haunt him.

“He does it out of sheer desperation not to lose the life he has,” explains dad-of-two Aaron, who recently took to Twitter to announce his divorce from wife Grace had finally come through.

“It’s something he immediately regrets and wants to take back, but he’s sort of talked into carrying on with it.

“He fears everything he has will go away if he opens his mouth and says he’s been lying.

“He’s caught between a rock and a hard place and doesn’t have a plan.

“He’s just a highly dangerous human being who’s on a path of self-destruction.”

Aaron knows it’s an extreme kind of lie and admits he’s had a lot of work to do to make sure he’s getting the portrayal just right.

“It’s been a hard one for me. When I had to actually say I had a brain tumour it was almost hard to stop laughing because it just felt so mad.

“So it’s been a real challenge, personally, and a really difficult thing to do.

“But there’s some incredible stuff to come in this story.

“What he’s lying about is absolutely awful, but I think people will feel sorry for him because he’s so unloved by the people he needs to love him.

“You really pity him. He’s such a tragic character.”

Giving his all to make sure what he’s doing is as authentic as possible isn’t new to Aaron.

In fact, the EastEnders’ angst would seem to be almost a walk in the park after taking on the part of a heroin addict in the West End musical of Green Day’s American Idiot.

He fasted to lose weight, seeing the pounds drop off to help look the part.

“I don’t see the point in doing something unless you’re prepared to give it your all,” he adds. “I thought that if I looked like an addict then it would make the audience invest more.

“I had great people around me but it was really hard. Let’s just say it’s one of those things you do and then don’t necessarily rush back to.

“But it certainly developed me and I miss it every day.

“The way it worked out, I was going straight from that to playing this all-American role, one of the Kennedys, in a play called Grey Gardens.

“So to look the part I basically had to eat everything possible for two months to put the weight back on.

“Pretty much nothing was off the menu as I piled on the pounds again.”