EastEnders star James Bye will no longer need to worry about his initial concern, following his dramatic exit from the soap as Martin Fowler after 10 years
EastEnders actor James Bye and his wife have opened up about the highs and lows of their family life, which has included several miscarriages.
The Martin Fowler star and Victoria share four children together; Edward, ten, Louis, eight, Hugo, five, and Rufus, one.
The couple admit that they previously believed a fourth child would never happen, due to struggles with conceiving for over three years, Victoria’s endometriosis, as well as previous miscarriages.
In January 2023 however, the pair announced that they were finally pregnant with their fourth baby, but Victoria admits it was hard to stay positive following their past heartache.
More concerns grew for the pair when difficulties occurred during her labour.
The couple recall Rufus going from “pink to grey” and his heart rate dropping which almost sparked an emergency C-section.
Victoria said: “Because of the previous miscarriages with this baby, the whole way through the pregnancy, as I said, you’re constantly waiting for it to end every day.
“I’m going, ‘This is when it’s going to end. Like we’ve got him here and this is when it’s going to end,” she said on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast.
“And then we heard this wail and just, thank God, everything was fine and they placed him on us, and that was it.”
Ahead of conceiving Rufus, James admitted he had questioned whether they actually had enough time for another child.
He candidly admitted: “I’d say that’s one of the hardest parts of being a parent of a large family, is we had this conversation so many times about, do we have one more?
“This is obviously before. And my biggest concern is that, do we have time in the day?
“Like how do you split your time?”
Thankfully, the pair have figured out a good balance when it comes to juggling family life, although admit it’s not always easy.
James will now have more free time to focus on his family, following his exit from EastEnders after 10 years.
In heartbreaking scenes during the live episode this week, Martin was crushed while trying to save his ex-wife Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) during the Queen Vic fire.
Just minutes before his death, he confessed his true feelings for Stacey before dying in her arms as a result of his injuries.
Recently addressing his exit, he said: “Saying goodbye is not easy, but after 10 years at EastEnders and on the night of the shows epic 40th anniversary – the time felt right. It’s an honour to leave on a story of this magnitude.
“A huge thank you to all the fans of the show – EastEnders wouldn’t be what it is without you – and to the BBC and EastEnders team for trusting me with this role for so many years.”
He added: “This fruit and veg man will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s time to look forward, and I’m incredibly excited for what the future holds. RIP Martin Fowler.”
EastEnders continues tomorrow at 7.30pm on BBC One.
