One of the biggest storylines in EastEnders right now is about the mental health struggles of teacher Isaac Baptiste.
Isaac has stopped taking his schizophrenia medication and become obsessed with the idea that Ruby Allen’s late gangster father, Johnny, was responsible for the death of half-brother Paul Trueman back in 2004.
Isaac's suffered from schizophrenia for years — although viewers didn’t find out until February — and in recent months has been seen having several appointments with his health worker, Rafe Vaughn.
And if Rafe looks familiar, then that’s because he’s played by Daniel Boys, one of the finalists in BBC1’s 2007 entertainment show, Any Dream Will Do.
Hosted by Graham Norton, Any Dream Will Do was a talent show which searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
After initial auditions, twelve West End wannabees made it through to the live finals, performing in front of Lloyd-Webber, actors John Barrowman and Denise Van Outen, theatre producer Bill Kenwright, and singer and voice coach Zoë Tyler.
Boys was one of the early favourites to win, but ultimately became the seventh person to be voted off the show.
Lee Mead was memorably crowned the winner and, after his run in the West End, he went on to land the part of staff nurse Ben "Lofty" Chiltern in Casualty; appearing in the BBC1 medical drama from 2014 to 2017 and then in its sister show, Holby City from 2017 to 2019.
Still, Boys can’t be too disappointed, as he’s gone on to carve out a successful stage career for himself, having had lead roles in the likes of Avenue Q, Spamalot and Nativity! The Musical.
And, alongside EastEnders, he’s appeared on the small screen in the likes of Holby City and Endeavour.
He can also boast that he was once the voice of the Neighbours theme tune!
He and Australian vocalist Stephanie Angelini duetted on the famous track after entering a competition, "Neighbours Remixed," and were heard by the show’s loyal fans between April 2013 and December 2014.
Their version was replaced by one sung by Garth Ploog, who was himself replaced in 2020 by then cast member Bonnie Anderson, who played Erinsborough’s Bea Nilsson.
EastEnders airs Mondays at 8.05pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.35pm and Fridays at 8.30pm on BBC1 — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also watch all of this week’s episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
