'Enders newcomer embraces heartthrob tag

EastEnders: E20 star Sam Attwater has admitted that he is happy to be billed as a potential new heartthrob for Albert Square.

The actor, who plays amateur boxer Leon Small in the online spinoff and main soap, confirmed that he is excited to see what response he will receive in the coming months.

Speaking to DS, Attwater explained: "I'm looking forward to it! Everyone keeps telling me that my life's going to change now, so I'd rather have that kind of attention as opposed to a murderous character or a serial killer character!

"I'm just excited about it now. Being a Lothario character, I get to work with a lot of the younger ladies in the cast, so it's not a bad life!"

Meanwhile, the soap star also revealed that he was surprised when he saw how many E20 scenes would require him to strip off on camera.

He said: "I got down to the gym quick! My first scene was me just in my pants, so I got it out of the way quite quickly. But then the semi-naked scenes kept cropping up all over the place. I didn't mind too much because I'd been to the gym earlier in the year, so I'd got myself into pretty good shape.

"In the two weeks we were filming, I was semi-naked six times - hopefully it'll die down a bit now. When you're outside on the Square, it was a bit cold in the middle of November!"

> Click here to read our full interview with Sam Attwater