EastEnders legend slams soap after joining rival ITV show
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EMMERDALE star Joe Absolom has slammed the BBC for its treatment of its actors when he was previously starred in the soap.
The actor - who plays villain Ray Walters in the ITV soap - shot to fame in rival soap EastEnders as Matthew Rose.
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Emmerdale star Joe Absolom has slammed his former soap EastEnders
Credit: ITV
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The star appeared in the BBC soap for three years
Credit: BBC
He played the beloved character for three years between 1997 and 2000 before quitting the soap.
And it took him a quarter of a century to agree to return to soap after the experience - but this time, he says, is much better.
'Yeah, it's really good,' he told The Sun.
'Everyone's really nice. They really look after you, much better than the BBC did.
'When I was on EastEnders, it was like, 'Right, that's your time, see you then'.
'It was like a job, which is fine. But this is like, they look after me, they put me in a nice place, they pick me up.
'It's really nice. Everyone's very nice. I get my own cup, yeah, I got a pass. I can get into the building whenever I want.'
He added: 'I got lost already today. And then Brad came out and showed me where I was going.
'Everyone's very nice, yeah.'
But it's not just EastEnders as a show he's taken aim at - he wasn't particularly impressed with the casts of other soaps at the time either.
New Emmerdale star Joe Absolom takes a savage swipe at EastEnders 25 years after quitting soap
Joe added: 'And I remember when we did EastEnders I remember meeting all the other casts from the soaps and Emmerdale, always, by far the nicest bunch of people.
'Hollyoaks were like footballers, Coronation Street were quite, I don't know, they were never particularly friendly, but Emmerdale, I remember everyone in EastEnders at the time saying Emmerdale were the nicest bunch.
'And now I'm here and I've met them. I believe that's true.'
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