Sheepish James Alexandrou

Friday 27th February 2009 - 13:00:23

James Alexandrou's first role was playing a sheep.

The former 'EastEnders' star, who spent eleven years on the BBC soap, started his acting career dressed as the fluffy farmyard animal in his first year of school.

The 23-year-old said: "The school play was about the temptation of Christ: very dark! I played a sheep."

But it wasn't long before the budding young actor was given bigger roles to tackle – although he's not entirely sure who was writing the scripts.

There was some teasing from older boys but at 13 I had my growth spurt of an inch a month for a year. No one picks on a kid who's 6ft 2in.

He said: "My big break came when I played Dr Watson.

"I think this was a made-up story, because my sister played Superman."

Professional success came in 1996 when an eleven-year-old James scored the part of Martin Fowler in 'EastEnders'.

While onscreen Martin faced the hazards of Albert Square, including the premature death of his father Arthur, when he was a schoolboy James found a sudden growth spurt useful for dealing with bullies.

James said: "There was some teasing from older boys but at 13 I had my growth spurt of an inch a month for a year. No one picks on a kid who's 6ft 2in."