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What happened to EastEnders' 'Italian stallion' Marc Bannerman: Noughties lothario was axed from soap over co-star romance, then battled with booze before falling for Cerys Matthews on I'm A Celeb - while his girlfriend watched in horror
He was the 'Italian stallion' of Albert Square, who was so popular with female viewers that he once donated a sackful of knickers sent to him by lustful female viewers to Oxfam.
From 1998 to 2000, Marc Bannerman stole the show in EastEnders as Gianni di Marco, after landing the role by fibbing to producers that he was half Italian, despite being born in Dublin.
It was a rapid rise to fame that came crashing down equally quickly when his character was axed, and he descended into depression, piled on weight and turned to the bottle while struggling to cope.
He later claimed that the BBC got rid of him because he was in a real-life romance with on-screen girlfriend Nadia Sawalha, and it was dimming his appeal for female fans. But whatever the truth of the matter, it was far from the last time that his romantic liaisons caused a headache.
After being briefly linked with actress Suranne Jones in 2005, he found happiness with his Footballer's Wives: Extra Time co-star Sarah Matravers and the pair were said to be discussing starting a family together when he joined the 2007 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Imagine, then, Sarah's disbelief as he struck up a flirtation with campmate Cerys Matthews, from the Welsh band Catatonia, who had recently ditched her American music producer husband Seth Riddle after four years of marriage.
Viewer watched the pair gaze into each other's eyes over the camp fire, having meaningful conversations.
They also often cosied up together in the hammock, and fellow campmate John Burton Race even claimed that the pair were intimate under the stars and that producers decided to not air the footage.
He told MailOnline: 'There were times when the pair disappeared off together. I have to say that.
'I know what I know. You can guess the rest. We are all grown men and women and know what the game is.'
He said: 'There are things the viewers wouldn't have seen or heard in there. Relationships are formed.'
Marc confessed he behaved like a 'rat' after breaking Sarah's heart.
On the I'm A Celebrity... Coming Out Show he admitted: 'I just developed feelings for someone in there and I've got a Mrs at home, I'm a rat. I can't look for a scapegoat. The buck stops here.'
However, he insisted nothing untoward had happened, despite their 'deep' connection.
Nothing's going on [with Cerys], we got on fantastically. We bonded quickly. She's a fantastic girl,' he said.
'It's a difficult thing [being in the jungle]. It's a strange scenario.'
'I'm terrified. I'm gonna have to apologise. I've embarrassed her [Sarah] and I've embarrassed myself.'
He was then told by Declan Donnelly that Sarah had flown out to Australia to meet him, but had changed her mind after witnessing his antics and was already back in London.
While watching footage of himself and Cerys in the jungle, he said: 'I feel sick. I feel for Sarah watching that. I feel really stupid.
'There wasn't any sort of relationship between us in any kind of way. Anyway I can see why Sarah went home.'
Visibly shaken, he then called Sarah on his mobile phone. The first words he said before the camera cut away were: 'I'm so sorry babe.'
He also wrote an oddly formal letter to Cerys, saying: 'There are many problems in London and I've had to go back to try and sort them out - but I may well return to greet you when you come out, if that is your wish. Marc.'
Bannerman flew back to Britain to confront his domestic crisis, but his apology to Sarah ultimately fell on deaf ears.
Not only was there no hope of repairing the relationship, she also said there had been explosive rows during their two-year relationship.
The father-of-two said that he 'doesn't know what he was doing' with his life before his children were born
She revealed that she once reportedly had to stick her hand through a window pane to stop a drink-fuelled fight between them.
She told The Sunday Mirror: 'I was very, very scared. I remember thinking, "he's a bloke, he shouldn't be doing this to me".'
Sarah then explained how she their fighting, saying: 'I put my arm through the window in pure desperation. It was all I could think of doing. Yes, I've got a scar on my arm from it, but it worked. It stopped. Who knows where it could have gone - we could have unintentionally inflicted really very serious harm on each other.'
Speaking about his romance with Cerys, she added: 'I don't care what happens with them now. He's dumped, it's all over and if he thinks he can come back grovelling he can think again.
'It honestly feels like my partner has died... and people don't come back from the dead.'
She also claimed that she'd uncovered him cheating with a barmaid in the wake of his jungle tryst.
'Marc lied and cheated and if there's one barmaid, there's got to be more. I find it absolutely disgusting,' she said.
Elsewhere in an interview with Closer magazine, Sarah said: 'This is a man she's only known for a week, a man who she knew had a girlfriend. It's either incredibly cold-hearted or incredibly screwed up. They deserve each other and I hope they rot in hell.'
'Thank God I'm not carrying his child. If they do go out, he's bound to cheat again.'
Marc went on to have an on-off romance with Cerys, which finally came to an end the following year in 2008.
She dumped him just before Valentine's day because, it was said, he could not cope with her responsibilities as a mother.
Marc was also reportedly unimpressed with Cerys' wardrobe, commenting on several occasions that she should change outfits.
Cerys told the News of The World at the time: 'I remember him saying 'Have you got any other jumpers?' I think he was surprised that I lived so simply, hate shopping and don't have a fancy wardrobe.'
Cerys, who had two children at the time, also spoke of the complications being a single mother added to their relationship, explaining he was unable to cope with the kids when she took them to London to stay with him.
'It was a disaster. We all caught a cold and Glenys Pearl was screaming with a fever. We were switching beds all night and I remember Marc saying, 'This could be the rest of my life.' And he looked scared!'
Cerys is now a mother-of-three and has been married to former Decay singer Steve Abbott since 2011.
Since dating Cerys, Marc has continued to act, although EastEnders remains his most famous role.
Last year, he appeared in the action thriller Fyre Rises, and he also had a small part in an episode of the hit Netflix series The Witcher in 2023.
He also had a role in the TV series Snatch, a spin-off of the Guy Ritchie film.
Marc has kept his personal life out of the spotlight however, during a rare appearance on Channel 4 in 2022, he spoke about his two children, Grace and Leo.
Speaking on Steph McGovern's show, Packed Lunch, he said: 'I don't know what I was doing before I was a dad.'
Marc was axed from EastEnders 25 years ago, after playing 'Italian stallion' Gianni Di Marco for three years.
He explained that he had become depressed after the axe fell on the Di Marcos in EastEnders.
He told the Mirror: 'I suffered depression and turned to the bottle to get me out of it.'
He added: 'The whole thing was such a shock. It upset me so much that it's only now I feel able to talk about what it did to me.
'I remember feeling very bitter, especially at the way they got rid of us. There was no warning - we were just out.
'I have learnt to cope, but it hasn't been easy. I've not kept in touch with the other Di Marco actors because our departure was so traumatic. When I first found myself out of the show I didn't realise at the time but I started eating all the wrong things and I was boozing far too much.'
