Taking on the role of a villain of Craig Ingram’s nature would give any actor pause for thought but it was a challenge that EastEnders star Matthew James Bailey was more than happy to undertake.
The 31-year-old joined the cast of the BBC soap earlier this year as part of an issue-led story that would see sinister Craig, a disgraced detective with a history of complaints made against him, target and groom local teen Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd).
EastEnders is working with Barnardo’s, End Violence Against Women and experts in the field on the story to ensure it’s portrayed as accurately as possible.
Matthew, who starred as lovable barman Ethan Williams in Hollyoaks, was approached by EastEnders boss Ben Wadey to take on the role of Craig and it was something that he gave a lot of thought to before coming to a decision.
‘Ben got in touch and said that they had this storyline,’ he told Metro in an exclusive chat. ‘They didn’t tell me what it was until we got deeper into the conversation but then they presented this to me and explained how it was going to go.
‘Reading these types of storylines as an actor can be incredibly jarring and scary because you can be terrified of what it will do to your public image. It’s a very scary thing to take on!’
But after giving it some thought, Matthew knew it was something he wanted to do, particularly because of how prevalent grooming and abuse akin to Amy’s ordeal is. ‘When you sit with yourself and think about the importance of the story, you realise that this is a story that needs to be told.’
‘This is an incredibly important thing that EastEnders is doing – they’re willing to speak up about massive social issues that need to be addressed. And as an actor, I think it’s important to take risks and tell important stories, and this is the reason I do it.’
‘I’ve grown up with incredible female role models in my life: a house full of sisters, my mother and my grandmother and taking on this role was kind of for them. And for all women, really, to spread the message about what manipulation and grooming can look like. It can come in all forms, shapes and sizes and it’s such an important story to tell so I’m incredibly honoured to be a part of that.’
Getting under the skin of a character of Craig’s nature wasn’t easy for Matthew, who – if you’ve spent even a minute of time in his company you will know – couldn’t be more different from his Walford alter-ego.
His previous work on Hollyoaks as Ethan, a reformed gangster and ‘goofball’ who was essentially a golden retriever in human form, is also a far cry from the likes of Craig.
‘Golden Retriever describes Ethan perfectly!,’ laughed Matthew. ‘And the only thing I can think of to describe Craig would be a cockroach or a worm. He’s just not likeable at all! For me, it was an extremely challenging role to take on, but I feel like it’s important to challenge yourself.
‘To get yourself to those places and to bring a character like that to life was an extremely difficult thing to do – going into work and playing such a dark character with such horrible energy. It’s a really hard headspace to be in because it’s ego-dystonic in the sense that it’s the complete opposite to who you are as a human being!
‘But no one who is evil sees themselves as evil. No one thinks what they’re doing is wrong, and Craig doesn’t think what he’s doing is wrong.’
‘I thought if I play it this way then I know what I’m doing – I don’t have to go to an extremely dark headspace because the way that will read to the audience is as inherently creepy. And that’s come with the tagline “Creepy Craig”, so I think it’s worked quite well!’
This is an incredibly important thing that EastEnders is doing – they’re willing to speak up about social issues that need to be addressed. And as an actor, I think it’s important to take risks and tell important stories
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Fans have very much made their feelings known about ‘Creepy Craig’, with the character receiving an overwhelmingly negative response from viewers – which is no surprise given the nature of the storyline.
Matthew, whose Hollyoaks character was a firm favourite with fans, revealed that the reaction to his EastEnders alter-ego was quite a shock to the system but he doesn’t take it personally.
‘It’s obviously a massive shock to go from a lot of love to a lot of hate, but that’s part and parcel of the job!,’ he said. ‘And I know it’s not hate towards me; it’s hate towards Craig, and it’s completely justified.
‘The feedback for Craig has been 100% negative, as it should be, but for me it shows that I’m doing my job right. Bringing attention to that character and storyline is ultimately bringing attention to these social issues.’
The majority of Craig’s scenes have involved Amy, which means that Matthew has spent much of his time in Walford thus far acting opposite star Ellie Dadd, who he had nothing but praise for, branding her one of the ‘most talented’ and ‘incredible’ people he’s ever met.
‘Ellie was one of the first people I met when I got to set and she was the most incredibly warm, kind and wholesome human being,’ he enthused. ‘She just cares so much about her job and the people in her life, and I think that shows in Amy too.’
Craig was introduced first as a colleague of Jack Branning’s (Scott Maslen) – Amy’s dad – before crossing paths with the teen when he was tasked with investigating the attack on Joel Marshall (Max Murray), a crime which Amy was suspected of committing.
Amy began to trust Craig and subsequently confessed to being guilty of the attack, something which Craig has used to his advantage, making her think that he’s the only one she can rely on – because he supposedly kept her name out of the investigation.
But little does Amy know that it’s all lies. Craig was suspended and then later sacked after he was the subject of several investigations following allegations of inappropriate relationships, which led to him being taken off the Joel case.
Amy has fallen more and more under is spell, unaware that she is being groomed.
‘Craig is a horrible human being and his whole motivation and goal is to manipulate Amy,’ said Matthew of his on-screen counterpart. ‘And I think he’s manipulated her to such an extreme that she thinks this is all coming from a place of love.
‘She sees this older man, who shouldn’t be anywhere near Amy, as this role model almost – this person who is so in love with her and does all these things because he cares. But what the audience are seeing is that, no, this guy is horrible.’
Amy was left confused earlier this week after jealous Craig, who found a shirtless picture of teen Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) on her phone, encouraged the young lad to send nudes, which he then used to blackmail him.
Despite getting the money he wanted, Craig proceeded to leak the photos anyway and then had Amy take the blame for it, knowing it would further isolate her from her loved ones. ‘He’s so manipulative and has got his claws so deep into Amy and is making her take the fall for something she didn’t want to do in the first place. It’s such a horrible situation.’
‘Craig’s constantly thinking about the next way he can manipulate this girl, because he doesn’t want her to leave him. He’s thinking: “How can I use Amy? Or how can I use this against Amy?”
With Amy having alienated her friends and family due to her false admission of guilt over Denzel, she was devastated when Craig revealed that he would be leaving. Not wanting to lose him, she suggested that she obtain access to her inheritance early and run away with him.
Craig’s interest was piqued. When asked if this was the character’s golden ticket out of the situation he’s in, Matthew said ‘one hundred percent’.
‘I think, deep down, Craig knows that this is all going to come back to bite him in the end. But I think he is always one step ahead of everyone, thinking about how he can get out of this.
‘He’s in a state of panic and he hears “inheritance” and once again his eyes light up. Like you said, this is his golden ticket out of here and he’s going to do anything he can. So he manipulates Amy to go and get that inheritance, and, again, Amy thinks she’s doing the right thing. She thinks she’s doing it for love.
‘Ultimately, Craig uses her love against her and uses that inheritance as his escape method.’
Amy, as viewers know, has sought help from uncle Max Branning (Jake Wood), who is in desperate need of cash himself to pay off Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) after she discovered he left Zoe (Michelle Ryan) to die – and thus he’s agreed to assist… in exchange for a loan to pay his debts.
Next week, the storyline reaches a dramatic peak as Craig and Amy hightail it out of the Square, much to the horror of Jack and Max, who have little choice but watch them speed by.
The scales fall from Jack’s eyes and he very quickly launches an investigation to find his missing daughter. But now officially all alone with Craig, just how much danger is Amy in?
‘I think Amy is in extreme danger,’ Matthew told me, teasing what’s to come. ‘She’s in a massive amount of danger and she doesn’t even realise it.’
‘From what we’ve seen of the storyline previously and how it’s all built up, you’ve seen this charming side of Craig in how he gets Amy on board. And you’ve had moments where Craig has played on her insecurities when it comes to her self-harm, where he’s shown this false vulnerable side of him to get her on side. He shows this false vulnerability which isn’t real at all – he’s using anything he can.’
‘But what I think you’re going to see next is this really dark side of Craig come out which show his true colours, because I don’t think he can hide it anymore. It’s been manifesting itself in such a horrible way. The audience will see a really horrible side of Craig that they’ve not yet seen.’
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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