During his time on the soap, Ryder amassed a dedicated following of young fans and quickly cemented his status as teen heartthrob. But while some dream of topping ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ polls, the star found the attention “difficult to deal with”.

“Being a heartthrob was never something I really aligned with. I never quite understood it and I found it difficult to deal with, especially the frenzy of it all,” he told The Sun.

“Lucy Speed [who played Natalie Evans] and Nadia Sawalha [who played Annie Palmer], who were both on the show for years, used to say to me, ‘You weren’t just an actor, you were like a pop star.’ That was because of the scale of the character’s success.”

Though his beloved role on EastEnders launched his career, Ryder’s popularity extended far beyond the soap, resulting in various TV appearances and wide media coverage.

“The show was on every week, I was constantly in magazines, on the front of Smash Hits, and my work didn’t stop on a Friday night,” the actor recalled.

“I’d go straight into a car and head off to Live & Kicking on a Saturday morning, doing shows and appearances. I was very aware that I was a product of the show.”

He added: “The thing is, I loved the work. I loved being on set, working with the crews, being in front of the camera and developing relationships through the storylines with the actors I worked with. What I struggled with was the fame and the world outside the gates.”

Ryder may have only appeared on EastEnders for a few years, but his exit remains one of the most-watched moments in soap history. After being run over by a distracted Martin Fowler, Jamie tragically died in hospital, with Sonia Jackson – who he had planned to propose to – at his bedside.

Since his death, Jamie has been remembered on multiple occasions by his family and Martin. Most recently, Stevie Mitchell expressed his desire to get in touch with his grandson, with Billy breaking the news that Jamie had passed away more than 20 years ago.