BLEU LANDAU LAUNCHES CLOTHING BRAND AFTER EASTENDERS EXIT

Bleu Landau, who played Sharon Watts' son Dennis in EastEnders, has announced plans to launch a clothing brand six years after his character was killed off on the BBC soap. Landau revealed the venture, called Playa Cala, in a series of posts on Instagram, describing it as a "new chapter". He played the role between 2015 and 2020. He said: "For a while, I felt like I'd lost my purpose... Being on EastEnders gave me experiences, opportunities and memories I'll forever be grateful for. But eventually, that chapter came to an end."

Dennis drowned in February 2020 after a boat crashed on the River Thames during a celebration for the Queen Vic winning a best pub award. Ian Beale had locked Dennis on the lower deck after discovering he was responsible for putting his son in hospital; Ian tried to save him, but Dennis suffered cardiac arrest and died. The scenes aired a month before the UK's first Covid-19 lockdown began on 23 March 2020. Landau said productions stopped and opportunities became "limited" afterwards, making an already competitive industry harder to navigate. He said: "For the first time, I wasn't really sure what was next."

Landau said he does not intend to give up acting, adding that he still has an agent and is "still pursuing opportunities" while working towards his next role. He said he began to feel he was missing "a sense of direction, a purpose, something to build towards". Playa Cala, which he described as "stylish and classy", is set to release its first range later this week. The brand is followed on social media by Geordie Shore's Scotty T and Love Island's Reuben Collins.