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Privacy NoticeIt’s been 35 years since George ‘Lofty’ Holloway exited EastEnders for good, with actor Tom Watt going on to pursue a very different career away from soapland. The iconic character was introduced as part of the show’s original cast in 1985, but after three years on Albert Square he made the decision to leave. Tom, 68, opted to abandon acting to pursue a career as a sports journalist. He has worked for the likes of talkSPORT, Channel 4 and the BBC, having established himself as a sports pundit. He presented the drivetime show Season Ticket on talkSPORT for over four years after his soap exit, before moving over to BBC London to present live weekend football coverage. He also presented weekly show Fans’ Forum on Arsenal TV up until it was axed in 2013.
Tom Watt exited EastEnders in 1988
(Image: Getty)
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Tom also contributed to the club’s matchday programme. More recently, Tom has worked as a presenter for BT Sport as well as a writer and consultant for EA Sports. Arguably one of the most fascinating projects he’s been a part of is David Beckham’s 2002 autobiography, My Side. Tom was a ghostwriter for the book. While he’s stopped focusing on acting, Tom did reprise his role as Lofty in EastEnders on two occasions. He made a shock return to Walford in 2019 to attend Dr Harold Legg’s funeral, before coming back again in 2022 for the funeral of Dot Cotton. Speaking about returning to the soap, he said on This Morning: “I really enjoyed going back to do it, acting’s something I love doing I’m just not great waiting for the phone to ring and I’m out of town. They came along with this and I’ve got to say it wasn’t just ‘oh let’s get someone from the past back’. It was really well-written absolutely the right thing that Lofty was there for the funeral.”
Lofty returned to Walford for the funerals of Dr Legg and Dot Branning
(Image: BBC)
Tom, as Lofty, was part of the original EastEnders cast
(Image: Getty)
He looks back fondly at this time on EastEnders. Speaking on Steph’s Packed Lunch in 2022, Tom said: “Lofty was a really rewarding character to play – a beautiful mix of comedy and proper drama. I had really good working relationships with people like Leslie Grantham, Anita Dobson, and Susan Tully.” During Lofty’s time on Albert Square, his romance with Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) was one of his main storylines. He was hopelessly in love with Michelle, yet his affections weren’t reciprocated. He decided to exit Walford after their marriage broke down and he realised Michelle had terminated their baby. Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEastEndersNostalgiaWhere Are They Now
