One of the most iconic and vicious villains from EastEnders has been scaring fans all over again by playing a vicious new character in a crime drama that is currently streaming online

EastEnders fans have been stunned to see an iconic show villain re-emerge in a terrifying new role.

Aaron Sidwell spent years terrorising Albert Square as Steven Beale – the wayward son of Adam Woodyatt’s Ian Beale – from 2007 until he was k!lled off in 2017. The 36-year-old actor played the role after three other actors had taken on the role – but is regarded by many EastEnders fans of being the best at playing the ruthless bad boy.

Fans scrolling through Amazon Prime Video have been shocked to discover Aaron can now be found starring in crime drama Fyre Rises – in which he plays a fanatic named Priest who encourages others to carry out extreme acts of violence. Soap fans have been startled by Aaron’s transformation for the role – which has seen him caked in make-up, with his hair slicked to one side, and a leopard print wardrobe that would make Pat Butcher jealous.

Aaron Sidwell played Steven Beale on EastEnders from 2007 until 2017 ( 
Image:
BBC/Kieron McCarron)

Aaron can currently be seen playing Bill Sykes in Matthew Bourne’s production of Oliver! ( 
Image:
Instagram)

His turn as the vicious character has thrilled fans who have taken to social media to praise Aaron for his acting. One fan wrote via Instagram: “He is incredible” – with another agreeing: “such a good baddie.” And a fan remarked: “Couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this role he is fantastic.”

Soap fans can currently see Aaron on stage in London’s West End in a revival of the classic musical Oliver! The musical is on at the Gielgud Theatre until September and has been lovingly brought back to stage by director and choreographer Matthew Bourne in a Cameron Mackintosh production featuring all the iconic songs of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical.

Speaking to BroadwayWorld, Aaron explained that he has always been a theatre fan at heart – having learnt his acting on the boards. Explaining that he has come full circle after starting his career in theatre before turning to TV, he told the outlet: “When I first started working in TV, I felt quite like a fish out of water, as opposed to when I first started doing theatre. Then when I left the TV show that I was on, I started to get a lot more auditions for theatre and the ball started rolling from there.”

He also explained that he felt nervous taking on the role of Bill Sikes in the musical – as the late Oliver Reed made the character so iconic in the 1968 film. He explained: “Bill’s been played by hundreds of actors all over the world. But really, when you say Bill Sikes, people think of Oliver Reed.

“I hadn’t anticipated how tricky that can be when putting that in front of an audience. Some people have a very specific idea in mind of not just what villains can be, but what specifically this villain has been in the past. And so whenever you’re reinventing something that’s thought of in that regard, it has its tricky areas, but the beauty for me is that I am able to bring something to it in the way that I see it.”

Fyre Rises, written and directed by Paul Knight, is available to watch on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Sky Store.