Whether you are the biggest fan of EastEnders or just catch the occasional episode, let’s admit it – we all know enough about Phil Mitchell to be scared of meeting him in a dark alleyway.

So it was not without a little bit of trepidation that I sat down with the man who plays television’s most famous hardman, Steve McFadden, to find out why he is swapping the mean streets of Walford for a brightly lit panto stage.

“You never get a round of applause on EastEnders,“ explains the 55-year-old, who was hand-picked by producer Paul Hendy to tread the boards as evil henchman Fleshcreep in Alban Arena’s pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk.

“You finish a massive storyline, it ends, and then the next day you do it all again. You do feel a bit like a hamster.“ And boy has Phil seen some trouble. Since joining the show in 1990 he has been shot twice, battled with alcoholism and drugs, had a love triangle with his brother Grant and Sharon and been involved in countless fights and dodgy dealings. But Steve says it is this variety which keeps him on the show.

“It’s a very hard gig to beat. Where do you go from doing four episodes a week and I get to play everything. I’m hardly the romantic type, but I still get to play love scenes in EastEnders. I’m not the youngest, fittest guy on the block, but I still get to chase people around and beat them up. It allows you a range that I definitely wouldn’t be afforded anywhere else.

“As Phil I have played 100 different characters.“ The RADA-trained actor, who grew up in Maida Vale, says he got the iconic role almost 25 years ago “when they were looking for someone who looked like Ross“ and the producer’s secretaries picked him as their favourite.

But panto producer Paul, known to some of you as a presenter of ’90s programmes such as Don’t Try This at Home, says Steve was always top choice for the role of Fleshcreep.

“In panto you cast to type and Steve IS the baddie,“ Paul says. “People are always surprised that Steve is quite a nice bloke in real life.“ “Yeah, but I don’t want to let them know that – it would ruin my reputation,“ quips Steve who admits to being “a bit in awe“ of his co-star, St Albans actor Bob Golding, who he saw perform in Olivier Award-winning play Morecambe.

EastEnders is filmed eight weeks in advance, down the road at Elstree to give the actor and his co-stars a break over Christmas.

“They open the gate and let me free,“ jokes Steve, whose character Phil Mitchell is caught up in the soap’s big storyline – Lucy’s murder. “I honestly don’t know who did it,“ he promises us. “The cast are just as intrigued and having debates about it and it will all come out in February as part of the 30th anniversary.“ In the meantime he will be bringing a bit of the Mitchell gruffness to the stage at the Arena with a dash of Bill Sykes thrown in.

“I like being the baddie because you are after someone good and it’s a straight forward A to B. I think I look like a baddie and also I understand why you are bad. I can understand why someone does the wrong things but for the right reason or give that reason rational.

“Phil is someone I could have been, given certain circumstances,“ admits the father-of-four who made his acting debut in the 1988 television film The Firm alongside Gary Oldman.

That said you may be surprised to find Steve singing, joking and hamming it up on stage in St Albans.

“EastEnders can be very intense, gritty and miserable at times but panto is fun and uplifting and gives me the a chance to interact with the public.

“I trained to do theatre and this is my chance to do it,“ adds the Highgate resident, who will be keeping himself going through the run by finding some good pubs and an Indian restaurant to frequent.

“Panto is a place where people might come in a bit p***ed off because of the shopping and the stress and they go out with a big smile on their face having spent a special time with their kids.“

Alban Arena, Civic Centre, St Albans, until January 3. Details: 01727 844488, alban-arena.co.uk