KING OF THE HILL

Simon Stabler speaks to an actor whose work caused controversy during the 1980s

- Simon Stabler

Between February and April 2020, more by accident than design, we had a former EastEnders actor on three successive covers. In the top right-hand corner of the February issue, there was a small cutout of Gretchen Franklin, who played the eccentric Ethel Skinner, while Pat Coombs, who had an all-too-brief stint as put-upon Brown Owl Marge Green, can be seen in the main image on April's cover.

But the star of the March 2020 cover is much more difficult to identify, being that it shows several Star Wars Stormtroopers. Among them is Gary Hailes who is best known for playing Nigel Flavin in Grange Hill, and Barry Clark, boyfriend of Colin Russell (Michael Cashman), in EastEnders from 1986.

"I first saw Star Wars when I was 11," explains Gary. "I was the perfect age for that film. That movie had such an impact on me, and I still watch it now, that and the 1989 Batman movie, they're movies I can watch over and over again.

"And I managed to get hold of a Stormtrooper helmet, which I had always wanted to get, and then one thing led to another, and I found myself involved in a group called the UK Garrison where you get to wear the costumes and go out and do stuff. And I've been running it now for the last 14 years, something like that.

"We've raised a lot of money for charity. There's a movie on Netflix called Heroes of the Empire, which talks about what we do, and I got a chance, along with five other members, to be a Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. How cool is that? So, I'm living the dream, as it were."

It was while attending primary school in Archway, north London that Gary first took to the stage, playing the Scarecrow in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. So well received was his performance that his teacher suggested that Gary should join the Anna Sher Theatre, a performing arts school in Islington, which trained many future stars of Grange Hill and EastEnders.