EastEnders legend admits he spent a year desperate to quit the BBC soap

about his decision to exit, Ben revealed he had been "battling it" for a year.

Although the actor hadn't planned to stay in EastEnders long-term, his character was soon at the heart of juicy storylines - with a planned one year stint turning into two years.

Perhaps most notably, this included the murder of Peter's twin sister Lucy, which kicked off a long-running whodunnit storyline.

Ben said: "I have so much respect for everyone who works on that show. [But] I felt myself getting lazy as an actor, I felt myself constantly going ‘This scene doesn’t work.

"Like I was trying to make a diamond out of something that can’t be a diamond. That laziness scared me.

"I [said], ‘I have to get out of here."

After bidding farewell to Walford, Ben went on to enjoy Hollywood success.

A year after his EastEnders departure, the actor appeared in superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse, as Warren Worthington III / Archangel.

Two years later, he nabbed a key role in the Queen biographical musical drama Bohemian Rhapsody, which starred Rami Malek in an Oscar-winning performance as Freddie Mercury.

Ben played Queen's drummer and backing vocalist, Roger Taylor, while Gwilym Lee and Joe Mazzello portrayed Brian May and John Deacon.

The all-star cast also included Lucy Boynton, Tom Hollander, Aiden Gillen and Mike Myers.

His other film roles include action thriller 6 Underground, directed by Michael Bay.

Ben also had a lead role erotic thriller The Voyeurs alongside Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith, while Michael Mohan directed.

Meanwhile, Ben's predecessor Thomas Law returned to the role of Peter last year.

This was part of a dramatic storyline involving the return of the character's mother, Cindy, (Michelle Collins) from "the dead".

Thomas originally played Peter from 2006 to 2010, while Ben took up the part three years later.

EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.