Interview for New Woman

This month sees the return of Sunburn to BBC1, with another ex-eastender, Sean Maguire, joining Michelle Collins for fun in the sun. Sean plays a hot new rep with an eye for the ladies, so we caught up with him to see if he can warm our cookies.

So, Sean, ever got drunk, fallen asleep and got sunburn somewhere nasty?

Not while I filming this. Last time I got burnt to a crisp "everywhere" was in Miami, lying on a rooftop at 110 degrees. Very sore.

What about fake tan - ever used it?

No, it's a girl thing. But I broke my arm - falling over drunk - when we started filming Sunburn and I thought I'd have to use it when the cast came off. Fortunately I didn't.

Having been in Portugal for months, are you going to take up life of Sunshine, give up acting and open Maguire's Bar?

I'd love to open a bar somewhere quiet and beautiful. Acting is so precarious that an investment like that is a good idea.

OK, so after you've opened it, what will be the house cocktail?

A slow comfortable screw against the wall.

And moving swiftly on .........remind us why you left Eastenders in the first place?

I felt I'd done all I could do. It'd been good for me but soaps can be difficult to shake off.

Did you ever think you wouldn't work again?

No, but I knew I needed to prove I had range.

So you tried a pop career instead! Are there times when you look back on that and think "mistake"?

No, I enjoyed it, but I was too young. I wasn't making music I wanted to. I followed advice instead of going by my instincts.

What's your instinct about how easy it is to go from soap star to serious actor?

You just have to hope that a director take a chance on you, because if you're good enough and it's the right vehicle, then the public will go with you too.