He's won Sexiest Male far too many times to mention and now Scott Maslen's breaking all the womens' hearts by upping sticks and leaving Albert Square. The actor says he won't be reprising his role as Jack Branning once his contract is up next year.
Believe it or not, it's been SIX years since Jack first hit our screens. He's been through the wars, and the women since then, taking on both Roxy AND Ronnie to name but a few. His latest storyline sees him paired up with Sharon Watts, and locked in a bitter feud for her heart with boiled egg incarnate, Phil Mitchell (Jack may be a poor man's Dennis Rickman, Sharon, but he's certainly better than the less attractive Mitchell brother).
"I've loved playing Jack, and who wouldn't want to work on one of the most successful British TV series, but I've been offered many other roles and just not been able to explore them in the past, simply because of time and commitments to EastEnders, and so now it feels like the time to tread a new path for a while", Maslen said. "I'm incredibly attached to Jack, his family and EastEnders, but as an actor I'd like to take on some new challenges for a bit. EastEnders is just incredible, it's phenomenally rewarding and I love working here, but now it's time to move on to pastures new."
In other words, he wants to see if he can make it elsewhere, before reprising his role in the not to distant future. So long Scott, we're far more interested in David Witts now anyway...
