EastEnders’ Ryan star Neil McDermott’s life off screen as he returns to soap

A lot has changed since he left EastEnders in 2016.

But now Neil McDermott is set to make a sensational return to Albert Square as Ryan Malloy.

Ryan will be back in Walford next month after hearing that his daughter Lily Slater, who is 12, is pregnant. He’ll also discover that his half-sister Whitney Dean is expecting a child too.

His character had some big storylines on the show, marrying (and then divorcing) Janine and having an affair with Stacey.

He was also put in prison for a short time for accidentally killing Rob Grayson whilst defending his little sister Whitney.


He left the show seven years ago, moving to Wakefield with his girlfriend Helen, a prison officer.

But when he returns to the BBC1 drama next month, things are going to be far from smooth sailing.


Away from his drama-fuelled character, Neil lives a pretty wholesome life.

The 43 year old actor is married to his long-term partner Michelle Edwards who is also an actress.


On Instagram, the couple often share glimpses into their family life and have recently jetted off to Gran Canaria on a holiday with their two young children.

Michelle also founded the Mishmak Youth Theatre in January 2010 and Neil often gets involved.

On the website Michelle wrote: “I wanted to create an inclusive, non-competitive environment in which creativity would be nurtured and bravery in performance encouraged.

“I am so proud of what we have built at Mishmak, it really is a family and feels safe. A family in the literal sense too as my husband often teaches when he isn’t performing and both my children are young professional actors.”

Since being away from EastEnders, Neil has starred in lots of familiar shows including: Casualty, Doctors and Doctor Who.

When he’s not behind the camera, Neil is also found on stage and in 2018 he played Chief Weasel in The Wind and The Willow: The New Musical.

A year later he played Robert on stage in Club Tropicana alongside X-factor winner Joe McElderry and recently finished up the production of Pretty Woman with Hollyoaks actor Danny Mac.

His CV is pretty extensive, also listing his performances as Lord Farquaad in Shrek The Musical and Captain Georg Von Trapp in The Sound of Music.

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