Shona McGarty says Tom Wells’ portrayal of EastEnders’ Leo King was so realistic she was often left "really frightened" when acting out scenes with him.
The 28-year-old actress – who has played Whitney Dean since 2008 – admitted it was a "pleasure" to star alongside Tom, who departed the BBC One soap in February after Leo fell on his own knife and died during a grapple with Whitney, because he was great at bringing the character’s "darkness" to hard-hitting scenes.
She said: "Tom was so fantastic at playing Leo. We’d film scenes, and when the director called ‘cut’ I’d be in complete shock.
"I’d be like, ‘You really frightened me there – that was amazing!’
"He was just so, so good at playing that darkness, and you could see him thinking all the time.
"It was a pleasure to work with him – he’s so different from Leo."
While Shona admitted it was hard to act out Leo’s death scene, she thought of it as a choreographed dance routine.
She said: "It was tough, but at the same time myself and Tom love doing stunts and fights.
"It was almost like a dance routine, it had to be perfectly choreographed. So we both really enjoyed that."
Like all British soaps, ‘EastEnders’ have paused filming during the coronavirus lockdown, and Shona is missing her co-stars.
She added to Inside Soap magazine: "I miss the atmosphere at work, being around all of your friends and just acting – I really miss all of that.
"The cast has a message group, though, and we talk to each other pretty much every day, so it’s been really nice to do that and stay in touch."
Shona McGarty ‘frightened’ by Tom Wells’ realistic EastEnders portrayal
