We've never considered the idea that Sam quit because he wants to pursue something other than acting. ..

It has been assumed Sam quit for new career opportunities but the fact is we do not not why Sam left. The only thing Sam said was "I have decided to bow out" and EE have made no comment.

Sam is still listed as an actor on his twitter account and he still has the same agent but whether he will continue to act or do something else who knows. There is nothing to indicate as to what Sam will do next. It is not out of the question that he wants a new career.

I still think he still wants to be an actor. That's my gut feeling anyway. He's proven himself to be a great drama actor (coming out scene, multiple emotional scenes with Linda) as well as a good comedy actor (Give Out Girls). He's clearly gifted, talented and experienced. He also has shown interest in Breaking Bad/Aaron Paul and lets face it when it comes to acting ability Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are close to the very top (along with Jessica Lange). I definitely think him quitting was simply for a change of pace/new acting opportunity. Having said that I would love for him to come back to EastEnders in the future!

I would agree with you that is seems likely to continue to act. I would love to see Sam pop up in shows like Dr Who or Atlantis. He likes his sci-fi and action and I am sure he would enjoy doing a guest role. Darin Little mentioned he would definitely be writing for Sam again maybe he turns up in the next series of Benidorm the ITV comedy he created that would be funny!

I guess whether Sam return to EE would depend if EE do a quick(ish) recast say in the next year or two effectively ending any chance he could return. Obviously if he goes on to great success he won't return!

It's actually a different person who created Benidorm. He's called Derren Litten and the writer is Daran Little. Very common mistake I even made a few years ago! Daran mostly does soaps, he was with Coronation Street for a long time, worked on a American soap and also wrote for Hollyoaks namely when McDean were outed at the engagement party. Definitely one of my favourite writers. I too would love to see Sam in more comedy roles but also something like a psychopath or a mentally ill patient as I think he'd smash that.

Oops Sorry for the mistake but as you say an easy mistake to make

Daran Little also writes for Made In Chelsea, doesn't he? Not that I can see Sam turning up on that. As much as I'd love to see Daran writing for Sam in the future, I'm not entirely sure it will happen due to Daran mostly doing soaps, but it's a nice thought.

The BBC are doing some top class drama at the moment. I'd like to see Sam stay in their stable for a while and appear in something like Peaky Blinders before looking at movies. I definitely believe he still wants to be an actor but maybe not in something with that "soap" environment which is possibly quite restrictive for someone who idolises the likes of Aaron Paul and River Phoenix.

We should get confirmation of Johnny last appearance in the next couple of days as the cast list and detailed spoilers for 18/19 December will come out. We might also get more information on his exit ie is it Luca related.

It is clear that Johnny's departure exit will be very quick lasting one or at best two episodes but that is probably not a bad thing. I think it best to get it over quickly and then move on

It was nice to get quite a few Johnny scenes tonight. Bit random his part in the Alek storyline.

What's happened to Johnny's accent? He seems to be getting more and more slurred between each episode. If you go back to his first few months, he moves his mouth a lot more than he does now. :O

It's nice to hear Johnny saying what we're all thinking.
"Just because we're both gay doesn't mean we're gonna sleep together."

He seemed like he was under the influence of something tonight, it just seemed a bit weird.

I thought it was great to see some interaction between Aleks and Johnny tonight, even if it was a bit random. In another universe those two would have made the hottest couple. Sigh. (Did I just say that out loud? )

You were totally in my thoughts while watching Elly!
I totally didn't think it was slurred just more gruff and Cockney than say 10 months ago. More like Sam's own voice I guess?

Ha, I'm so predictable.

It does seem like Sam's voice has deepened in recent episodes. Maybe he had a cold while he was filming, or maybe as it was getting towards the end of his filming he let his own more natural voice come through instead of Johnny's slightly shyer way of talking. It's a bit odd but then so is everything to do with Sam's exit from the show, let's face it.

I've had a think about it and I think it's actually as he's much more confident now and is trying to encourage Ben to be honest but it's coming across a bit smug. Yup, very odd indeed

I must admit I did not notice too much wrong with Sam but as you say could have had a cold which changed his voice.

As you say elly everything about Sam's exit has been odd so we should not be surprised that nothing makes a lot of sense.

Johnny is featuring without the Carters a lot as his contract comes to an end......Who knows if he had more screentime like this earlier in the year....maybe he would have stayed.

I'm probably gonna be a bit controversial on here - but tonight I didn't like Johnny. I literally can't believe I just said that. He was snarky and a bit funny - and again the actor has become unenthused in his role. I didn't get the random scenes with Aleks either, they were pointless imo. I miss the magic that was Johnny in the first half of the year.

With the Vespa it also seems like Sam Strike leaving the Square as supposed to Johnny (which is okay but not how I imagine Johnny Carter the character. I think Johnny 'left' as a character when Luca left. I think that's the reality of it.

Maybe because I know the actor is leaving in the next few weeks I'm just waiting for that - maybe even a little hurt by the fact that Johnny won't be on the show anymore. But atm tbh I'd rather Johnny leave now then have more of the Johnny we saw tonight.

Sorry for the bleurrgh post. I'm a fan of Johnny/Sam as you know but I'm struggling with him atm.

Let's hope this is not the case or it could explain his unexpected departure from the show and lack of comment from Sam or the BBC on the reasons for his sharp exit.

His exit wasn't sharp by any means, it's been known about since the summer. If there had been some sort of drugs offence then a) he would have been suspended, and he wouldn't have got the chance to say he had bowed out himself b) the papers would have found out about it - these things don't stay secret for long and c) they wouldn't have allowed him to film while stoned.

Come on guys, let's not post things like this about Sam on an Appreciation Thread, that's not what we're here for.


I do get what you mean, Neu. I didn't mind the scenes with Aleks; they were random but pretty much inoffensive, but the way he was with Ben and Abi bothered me a bit. It was a similar scenario to the Lucy/Danny situation back at the start of the year, and I thought Johnny back then handled it wonderfully. He didn't gloat or string things out, he was genuinely worried about Lucy, he told her right away, and he was there for her as a friend afterwards. I can see that Ben has pushed Johnny further than Danny ever did, and that Abi is a completely kettle of fish to Lucy, but I just don't believe that Johnny would act in the way he did in this episode.

If I was giving the writers any credit I'd wonder if maybe they were deliberately writing Johnny like this so that he'd have a realisation that Walford has changed him over this year; that he's more cynical and judgemental now, and that's one of the reasons why he decides to leave, to 'find himself' again. But I unfortunately don't think that's the case. I think that they're just writing Johnny to fit this Ben/Abi plot, which has never really been about Johnny - he's just a plot device in all of this.

Sam clearly had an episode quota to fulfil which is why they're using him a bit more randomly now, and without the rest of the Carters who must have been on a break at this point before the big Christmas scenes, and because the writers would have known what was coming up for Johnny, they didn't spend any time developing his character. I think Sam would have looked at the script for an episode like that and just thought 'Meh, this is filler stuff' and his boredom showed as a result.

I kind of agree with the people on here that are saying they're ready for Johnny to leave now. I don't think the current disjointed writing for Johnny's character is doing him any favours, and I want to remember Johnny as a sweet, sensitive person rather than someone who just makes snarky comments to someone struggling with their sexuality.

Elly you have pretty much summed up what I think this as well. I don't think I could have relayed it any better

I just hope that the remaining scenes are better but we have the scooter row which does not seem promising. I am hoping that the Linda/Johnny scene where she comforts him when he has a fall will be good but I suspect it will all about Linda being a mother again rather than Johnny

In terms of Johnny's last scenes we have appearences on 5, 8, 9, 11, 18 and maybe 19 December before he goes.

I agree. It was almost to the point where if Johnny came up to me like he did to Ben in the market I'd have reacted like Ben did, shouting at him to go away or to shut up because Johnny was so snarky towards Ben and Abi last night. I like Johnny but this isn't Johnny - this is becoming more of a cynical and evidently bored Sam Strike rather than Johnny Carter the character. Unfortunately I feel as though that is a fact.

I wish I didn't have to say these sort of things - It's almost like Johnny Carter is breaking up with us - we've been on this sweet roller coaster ride with him - and even some of us have come out out of the closet and ended up much happier as a result of him - even falling in love with him a bit (or in a few cases quite a bit ) . But now he's acting like an idiot - and its gone on too long now. Johnny Carter just get on your Vespa and drive off out of Albert Square - and hopefully Sam Strike finds his sweet happiness again - or maybe he already has after a few months away from EastEnders.

I can fully understand what you are saying and I agree with the main point you are making about how Johnny has changed. I do feel however are being a bit harsh about last night.

I did not really see Johnny shouting at Ben in the market. They met and had an awkward discussion given what took place and in the end it was Ben who was shouting. In the Vic yes there was sarky tone to Johnny's comments to Ben and Abi but in the end he did keep quiet for Ben and did not cause Abi any hurt. Maybe he could have handled it better as he did with Lucy but this is a different situation and he has tried to get Ben to do the right thing.

I totally agree that the recent scenes have not been great and it is a shame that the Johnny we saw and loved in the beginning has maybe gone but I would not go as far to say he is acting like an idiot. For example the scene in the cafe last week with Ben last week Johnny was really nice when he made up and for Johnny to call him a mate meant a lot to Ben. There have been good moments like this and when he forgive Lee for punching Ben to show that lovely side of him has not gone

We maybe have Johnny on a bit of pedestal and when we see him act a little bit it off it maybe becomes a bigger thing than it should be. Let's be honest Johnny is a saint compared to most of the other residents in Albert Square and if being a bit sarky once or twice is worse he has done that is not bad is it? As we care so much about Johnny we can also over analysis scenes too much and sometimes we take away something that was not intended when the scene was shot

I do agree that it is best Johnny goes quickly and we don't have many more of these random rather pointless scenes and let's just remember the early months of Johnny and what made him so special to us

To be fair, it's not Sam writing these lines. Perhaps he could have played it a bit more sympathetically but it's hard when the writing isn't there for him to do so. I do think he looked a bit bored last night during his scenes and there really isn't an excuse for that but I expect that Sam was just on autopilot at this point and was probably particularly uninspired about the fact that he was being used as a glorified plot device for Ben and Abi's issues.

I hope that in the time we have left with him, it's more about Johnny with the rest of the Carters. This Ben plot has dragged him down, IMO, thanks to the lazy writing, and I don't see what else they can do with it now.

What? Johnny never shouted at Ben in the market? You must have got confused. I meant when Ben shouted at Johnny.

Its not just about last night. Its the last few months generally speaking aside from the odd episode here and there (e.g. the Elaine episodes). Yes there are glimpses of Johnny occasionally but the actor has lost the Johnny spark overall and the writing hasn't been amazing for the character. Also any scenes that can direct towards the Johnny we all know and love are majorly rushed - there have been a number of these sorts of scenes in recent weeks. What we need is for Daran Little or Leo Richardson to write every Johnny ep, even if Sam Strike is leaving. They seem to be the only writers who get Johnny and don't turn him into a cynical Carter extra/plot device.

I just hope that Johnny's exit isn't rushed and he has some genuinely heartfelt scenes before he leaves. That way we remember him as Johnny - the sensitive sweet beautiful guy inside and out. We may have that next week tbh when he falls off his bike and Linda looks after him - but that might be more from Linda's account than anything else.