Brian Conley warned Queen Camilla that he could “burst into flames” when she and King Charles visited the EastEnders set.

The 64-year-old star, who played Rocky Cotton on the BBC soap, told the royal – then the Duchess of Cornwall – that his Union Jack suit was a potential fire hazard when they greeted each other.

Brian recalled Charles and Camilla’s guest appearance in Walford for a 2022 special episode marking Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee and told Inside Soap magazine: “The cast stayed in character, while the royals treated it like a normal garden party.”

“I was supposed to shout, ‘Oi! You’re late!’ because Rocky felt annoyed, thinking he had booked their lookalikes.”
But I mimed it and we added it on later, rather than me shouting at them when they had no idea what I was going on about!

“I was wearing this nylon Union Jack suit, so when I met Camilla I said, ‘Don’t shake my hand too hard, I could go up in flames!'”

Brian burned down his wife Kathy Beale’s (Gillian Taylforth) café in an insurance scam and went to jail, which caused his exit from EastEnders in 2023, but he enjoyed playing his charismatic alter ego and even made a brief return earlier this year for Sonia Fowler’s (Natalie Cassidy) exit from the show.

The actor said: “He was such a great character to play because you were never sure whether he was telling the truth or lying.

“For example, he said that he knew Harry Redknapp, then Harry Redknapp really did turn up! But Rocky was a compulsive liar. You’d be shouting at the telly, ‘Just tell them the truth!’

Even though his character is languishing in prison, Brian is open to an Albert Square return in the future.

He said: “Rocky’s supposed to be in prison for 10 years, but you never know, he might escape.

“Never say never!”

Brian now plays Doc Brown in the West End’s Back to the Future: The Musical and feels delighted to have landed the part because he loves the iconic 1980s movie.

“I auditioned for the American producers who didn’t really know my work, and I felt chuffed when they said yes.”

“The fact that Doc is a mad professor means I’ve got the opportunity to do funny stuff, plus I get to sing four songs and drive a DeLorean every night!

“One night, I trapped my boot in the pedals and couldn’t get it out, which everyone on stage found very amusing!”