EastEnders: the Beales will have a big New Year plotline, reveals Aaron Sidwell

But the 28-year-old actor, who plays Steven Beale in the BBC1 soap, said that he's currently being kept in the dark by executive producer Sean O'Connor:

"I've been in to see Sean and we had a really good chat. I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing which, as an actor, is disheartening at time. I've been doing theatre for eight years - so I had a beginning, middle and end every night. But that's part of being in a soap - not knowing."

As for the direction which EastEnders is taking under O'Connor's leadership, Sidwell believes that the drama will be harking back to the show as it was originally created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland:

"You can only have so many people dying, going missing, doing horrible things and then just carry on like nothing's ever happened. I think seeing these people struggle with the things we all struggle with is much more endearing.

"Sean's got a very definite style and a belief in how the show should be done. He wants to make the show that Tony and Julia intended. think he wants to make a soap opera - but how they were."

As for what happens next for Stephen, he'll soon find himself growing jealous after Lauren decides to share a video of baby Louie's first words with Peter.

So does this mean that we might yet see a return for Ben Hardy as Peter? "Peter's involvement can be done off screen," said Sidwell. "However, me and Jacqueline Jossa would love to see him come back. Peter is as much part of this story as Lauren and Steven are. I think we'll find just as much about Peter as we will about Steven and Lauren at the end of this story."

You can watch a 60-second rundown of next week's episodes of EastEnders below.

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