Yahoo Finance Former EastEnders star Devon Anderson on change to Billie Jackson's death
Former EastEnders star Devon Anderson has revealed an interesting fact about his exit from the soap.
Devon played the role of Billie Jackson between 1993 and 1997, with his character later returning for a short time in 2010.
Billie's return in 2010 led to his on-screen death, and now Devon has revealed that his exit scenes were supposed to look very different, being "more gory" than what aired.
Related: EastEnders' Iqra Ahmed and Mila Marwa take a big step after reuniting
Speaking to MyLondon, Devon said: "What's interesting about that is it was supposed to be more gory than it was. They've got contact lenses where they can kind of white out your eyes.
"I think the way it was originally plotted, and I remember reading the script, there was a line that says 'his lifeless eyes'. It was supposed to be [Bianca] comes in and says 'hello' and the camera was going to pan and you were just going to see his lifeless eyes.
"But obviously, because [it was] pre-watershed, they toned it down quite a bit. I think if they had gone with the way it was supposed to go, it would have been pretty shocking."
Related: EastEnders star Max Bowden pays cheeky tribute to co-star Jamie Borthwick
When EastEnders aired the sad event, Billie's half-sister Bianca Jackson (played by Patsy Palmer) found her brother dead.
Billie's cause of death was alcohol poisoning, after Billie drank an entire bottle of vodka given to him by his cousin Lauren Branning (played by Jacqueline Jossa).
The exit episode was nominated for the Best Single Episode award at the British Soap Awards in 2011.
EastEnders will be back for a double bill on Thursday night (June 24) on BBC One, airing 7.40pm and 8.05pm.
Alcohol Change UK offers information, advice and support with their questions about drinking and the problems that can sometimes be caused by alcohol. For more information, visit Alcohol Change UK's website. Drinkline also offers free, confidential advice to anyone who is concerned about their own or someone else's drinking on 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am–8pm, weekends 11am–4pm).
Readers can also contact Drinkaware.
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