The following article contains discussion of themes including depression and suicidal thoughts

Rest assured, EastEnders fans, Steve McFadden isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The actor, who recently won the National Television Award for Best Serial Performance, addressed the exit rumours surrounding his iconic character, Phil Mitchell.

Speaking to the St Albans Times, McFadden noted that his acceptance speech at the NTAs may have led to some confusion. “Because you’re reflective, it makes you sound like you’re leaving, but I’m not leaving anytime soon. It was genuine emotion, and there’s nothing like your friends and colleagues being nice to you to soften you up,” he explained.

A historic moment for McFadden, the TV star, who joined EastEnders in 1990, won his first ever NTA for Best Serial Performance, after taking on a hard-hitting storyline in which Phil experienced a severe bout of depression, leading to hallucinations and a suicide attempt.

As part of the storyline, EastEnders worked with The Samaritans, Rethink Mental Illness, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), and Mind to ensure the storyline was handled with great care and sensitivity.

As he headed to the stage to collect his award last week, McFadden said he was “over the moon” with his win and thanked his “generous, brilliant, stunning, wonderful” cast mates as they cheered him on.

Asked about his win in an interview with Radio Times, McFadden said: “This particular story obviously touches a lot of people. Those people that haven’t got a voice, those people that people don’t listen to, and to be given such an important storyline was an honour for me.

“I’m very happy that it landed as well as it did, because it obviously touched people and had a massive effect, which I’m chuffed to bits about.”

Meanwhile, Adam Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale, penned a moving tribute to his long-time colleague on Instagram. “I have no idea who captured this image, @aaronthiara_ found it and made it b/w, but it just perfectly captures the moment Steve finally got the award he has deserved for so long. To see the whole audience standing to applaud him was magical,” wrote Woodyatt.