AN EastEnders legend slammed his ‘disappointing’ soap exit – and revealed if bosses asked him to return for the 40th anniversary.
The show’s impressive milestone has seen a number of past characters brought back on-screen.
Michael Greco played Beppe di Marco in the BBC soap from 1998 to 2002.
Over two decades on, the 54-year-old addressed his character’s low-key exit from Albert Square.
He told FruitySlots.com: “There were circumstances that prevented me from having a bigger send off, I won’t go into them as it’s water under the bridge.
“But I just left in a cab, didn’t I? I said goodbye to Lynn in the cafe and then had a packet of crisps and drove to Leicester. “
The Di Marco family were introduced to EastEnders as rivals to the Mitchell clan.
Alongside Beppe, the line-up also included brother Gianni (Marc Bannerman) and younger sisters Teresa (Leila Birch) and Nicky (Carly Hillman).
Of the family, it was Beppe who ultimately lasted the longest in Walford.
Elsewhere in his chat, Michael addressed whether he had ever been asked to return – especially in light of the 40th anniversary.
Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) are among the familiar faces who have reappeared.
Michael revealed: “I left over 20 years ago and there hasn’t been a day they’ve contacted my agent to ask me to come back.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”EastEnders legend Michael Greco breaks down in tears on Loose Women as he speaks about son’s hospital hell” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6294775261001″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“That’s fine. I don’t have any ties to any of the characters. There’s no link to bring me back.
“If the writers wanted you back they would create something.”
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D106672%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Continuing, Michael added: “One of the writers, Lilie Ferrari, who created the family originally, has always wanted the family to come back but it’s not going to happen.
“They’ve brought back a lot of people for the 40th anniversary just to dip their toe in.
“I haven’t been asked so if it was going to happen, it would have. I don’t think it ever will.”
He concluded: “It’s one of those things that it would be great to go back to but I don’t see it happening.”
EastEnders continues on BBC One and iPlayer.
Tracy-Ann Oberman – Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley – Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French – French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer – Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Ricky Groves – Groves returned as Garry Hobbs, a character who has not been seen since 2009.
Cliff Parisi – Parisi returned as Minty Peterson, a character who was last seen on the square in 2010.
Ross Kemp – Kemp has returned to play Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp’s storyline as “explosive”. Kemp said it was an “absolute honour” to return to the show.
Other aspects of the EastEnders 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.