Jamie Bamber has teased what EastEnders fans can expect from his new character Ned Hawkins, and it sounds like the arrival of his family could cause plenty of trouble in Albert Square.
The former Battlestar Galactica star is joining the BBC soap as part of the Hawkins family, who are set to arrive in Walford after their home is destroyed by a fire. Rather than arriving with much more than a few suitcases and cardboard boxes, the family are immediately thrown into a very different life, turning to Nicola (Laura Doddington) for somewhere to stay.
Ned's calm demeanour and military background
According to Jamie, Ned is the one person in the family who seems remarkably calm despite the complete disaster unfolding around them.
'The first thing you notice about Ned is that he is put together. He knows the cut of his cloth. He knows the impact he makes,' Jamie explained. 'He's someone who believes in discipline, making the most of your own opportunities in life. He is a failure when you first meet him, and yet he doesn't behave like a failure.'
That confidence is likely to make Ned stand out from the rest of his family, particularly as they find themselves starting again from scratch.
'This family are essentially refugees from Essex. They rock up with cardboard boxes and suitcases with nowhere to go,' Jamie said. 'We knock on the door and knock into her house like a tornado, like a hot mess of people whose lives are ruined.'
Family tensions and past history
The Hawkins have gone from seemingly having it all to losing their home and possessions, leaving them with no choice but to turn to family. The character has a military background and has since trained as a therapist, specialising in PTSD. He also has experience diffusing bombs.
Jamie believes those skills explain why Ned is so composed when everything around him is falling apart.
'He's a former military man. He's from nothing. He's worked his way up through the ranks. He's become a therapist, which is a strange pairing, but he's trained in the army as a PTSD therapist.' 'He's someone who can talk, someone who can listen. He used to diffuse bombs, so he stays calm in extraordinarily tense situations.'
That could come in handy in Albert Square, because it doesn't take long for tensions to emerge within the family. Ned already has history with Nicola, and Jamie teased that their relationship will be particularly interesting to watch.
'It's quite apparent straight away that there is some tension between him and the only other character he knows on the square, which is his sister in law Nicola.'
Family at rock bottom
The Hawkins may be united by the disaster they've been through, but Jamie says there is much more bubbling underneath the surface.
'You're seeing this family at rock bottom. They should be in bits. But they're not. They're something weird about that they're able to function.'
Before the fire, the family had been doing well, with Ned enjoying a successful business, a comfortable home and the sort of lifestyle that suggested they had plenty to look forward to.
'The Hawkins have been doing fine. Ned has a successful business, the house, the cars, they probably had aspirations to build a pool. It all went south.'
Now, the pressure of starting again could put those family relationships under serious strain.
'That can be super stressful. People can go for each other's throats. They can blame each other, they can hold each other accountable for the crazy decisions, and believe me, they've made some crazy decisions to get to this point.'
Despite all of that, Jamie insists there is a strong bond holding the Hawkins together.
Executive producer's approach
EastEnders executive producer Ben Wadey also explained why introducing such a large family was something that had to be carefully considered.
'It's something that you don't take lightly. It's a big thing to do,' he said. 'I deliberately waited quite a long time before bringing in a family of this size.'
For Ben, timing and storytelling were crucial to making sure each member of the family had their own place in the Square.
'You want to make sure that you have the space in story terms to actually give all of these characters stories in their own right.'
As Jamie puts it, there are some big questions surrounding the family: 'Why does this work? What binds them together? Why is Ned not worried?' 'It's really about what you do to survive and what you'll sacrifice. Where does your moral boundary lie? Is it just the family or a bit beyond?'
Those are questions EastEnders looks set to explore, and with Ned's bomb-diffusing past, fans might want to keep a very close eye on what happens next.
