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One of the original cast members of the classic soap EastEnders way back in 1985, Tom Watt, could often be seen in pride of place behind the bar of the Queen Vic watching Albert
Square's drama unfold in front of him. Aged 29 and playing George 'Lofty' Holloway, he was also involved in his own scandal when his love interest Michelle Fowler had an
abortion behind his back after becoming pregnant with his child. Known just by his nickname because of his height, he made his debut on the show's third-ever episode. But after three
years, he decided that a career on the soap wasn't for him, choosing to leave EastEnders to pursue his passion for sports writing. As a sports journalist, he would appear, write and
comment for talkSPORT, BBC and Channel 4. He had his big break on talkSport presenting the show Season Ticket, taking the station's illustrious drive time slot for commuters heading
home. Off the back of his show, he made the move to BBC London, hosting the radio's channels football coverage live on weekend matchdays which he did for around seven years. During this
time, he never fully gave up on acting, appearing in an episode of the BBC detective show New Tricks, as well as a small cameo in the Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr film Sherlock Holmes.
Then, in classic 00s fashion, when each team had their own channel, Tom made the move to his beloved Gunners, Arsenal TV. He hosted a weekly fan show on the channel while also taking a job
writing the official matchday programme. His writing talents continued when it was uncovered that he worked as a ghost writer for David Beckham, writing the football star's
autobiography, My Side. But the soap that gave him his first big break wanted him back, and Tom was happy to oblige as the actor returned to reprise his role as Lofty in special episodes in
2019 and 2022 for the funerals of Dr. Harold Legg and Dot Cotton. On This Morning, he said: "I really enjoyed going back to do it, acting's something I love doing, I'm just
not great at waiting for the phone to ring, and I'm out of town. "They came along with this, and I've got to say it wasn't just 'oh let's get someone from the
past back,' it was really well-written, absolutely the right thing that Lofty was there for the funeral."