A role where Melvyn Hayes’ character on Eastenders made a move on TV icon Dot Cotton was the “womaniser with sexy scenes” part he was informed about by his agent
Melvyn Hayes, who played Gloria in the hit camp comedy IT Ain’t Half Hot Mum, thought he could finally get rid of Gloria when he was offered the role of a serial womanizer on EastEnders.
However, things didn’t exactly work out as planned because Dot Cotton, an OAP who chain smoked, was actually the rumored attractive women he was to pursue on the BBC serial opera.
As the effeminate Gunner Beaumont in the enduring sitcom, Hayes, a TV and movie actor, rose to fame in the 1970s.
Many fans believed he was genuinely gay like Gloria, despite the fact that he was happily married, after watching the BBC programme about the Royal Artillery concert party, which was seen by millions of people.
But he believed he could finally put the character to rest after all those years.
On EastEnders, he had been offered the part of “a womanizer with steamy sequences,” according to his agent.
Playing a saucy Romeo who ran after girls would be a long cry from his flashy comedic role, but alas, things did not turn out the way he had hoped.
Hayes, who is now 87 years old, revealed: “I have got you a dozen episodes in EastEnders and there’s a bird involved.” Oh, that’s good. Is she attractive? And he added, “I believe so.” When I asked him what her name was, he responded, “Dot Cotton!”
It came out that Melvyn had been cast in 2005 as Michael Rawlins, a driving instructor who makes a pass at a pensioner during a session but gets the elbow.
