Albert Square hardman actor Martin Kemp is quitting top BBC soapEastEnders for ITV. The 39-year-old actor, who plays dodgy nightclub owner Steve Owen and has enjoyed some of the programme’s juiciest story lines in recent years, has been tempted away by a two-year golden handcuff deal believed to be valued at £1 million.
He will move to rival station ITV – where he is expected to appear in a series of dramas – a month after his BBC contract is up in April. “This new relationship with ITV will be a great opportunity for me to develop my career across a range of projects,” says Martin, a former pop star with the Eighties outfit Spandau Ballet. “I have had a wonderful time at EastEnders and I will be very sad to leave. But it is time to move on.”
News of the move comes a day after the Beeb announced that its award-winning soap will be going head to head against ITV’s Coronation Street from next month when it will go out four times a week.
Martin, who first found fame as an actor when he starred alongside brother and former Spandau Ballet bandmember Gary in The Krays, has enjoyed a particularly high profile on the show recently. His character, Steve, was a key suspect in the “Who shot Phil?” storyline, and has made headlines again this week with a controversial incestuous screen kiss he shares with his dying mother, played by Sheila Hancock.
In defecting to ITV, Martin follows in the footsteps of several other soap stars who have made the move. Fellow EastEnders bad guy Ross Kemp changed sides last year to star in a series of prime-time shows, and both Nick Berry and Michelle Collins have enjoyed success with the independent channel.
The BBC only leaned of the star’s departure when details of the ITV deal were made public. “While we wish him well, his departure only opens a door for someone else,” commented a spokesman rather waspishly.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
