Former Hollyoaks star Jeremy Edwards has revealed why he has turned his back on fame after being a poster pin-up in the nineties.
At the height of his fame the actor, 52, played Kurt Benson in the Channel 4 drama and was engaged to S Club’s Rachel Stevens, but Jeremy has now given up acting up for good in favour of a very different career.
Jeremy revealed last year he decided to part ways with his acting agent – and he couldn’t be happier living a life out of the spotlight.
‘When Rishi Sunak was chancellor in lockdown he was saying that actor’s should look at other skills they could do. I agreed with him. I think that people don’t use their transferable skills enough,’ Jeremy told The Sun.
‘During Covid the simple fact was there was no work and now there is an actor’s strike in America. There are so many reasons why you can be out of work and I thought, this is so unpredictable and I have a family. I thought I’ve got thirty years of experience here, what am I doing?’
Fresh start: Jeremy Edwards has revealed why he has turned his back on fame after being a poster pin-up thanks to his role in Hollyoaks in the nineties
Heartthrob: The actor, 52, played Kurt Benson in the Channel 4 drama and was engaged to S Club’s Rachel Stevens in 2002, but has now given up acting up for good (pictured in 2004)
Jeremy decided to teach drama at Film UK in Hampshire and has had parents sheepishly tell him he was on their wall when they were teens.
The former soap star is now a father-of-two and happily married to wife Lydia Metz.
Jeremy briefly dipped his toes into a career as a builder back in 2011 but went on to star in a few plays.
But it was after an acting job where he got paid ‘pittance’ he decided to turn his back on showbusiness for good as he said it’s ‘dog eat dog’ and he ‘never enjoyed being famous’.
‘It doesn’t matter how much you have done in the past, they treat you like s***. You are playing to half empty theatres and you think, what are you doing with your life? I really like acting but I don’t like the business. People are mean. You are just a product’, he said.
Jeremy said he gets more nervous now teaching a class of excited students than recording in front of the camera.
He said the job security is much better and even though it’s long hours, he’s determined to provide for his family.
Earlier this year, Jeremy said he was convinced Rachel Stevens cheated on him while they were together in the early noughties after it emerged she was dating her former Dancing On Ice partner Brendyn Hatfield.
He told The Sun: ‘Since this story came up, it’s brought all this up again. And I’ve thought about it more, I’ve thought about our relationship, and I think she did have a fling.
Throwback: Jeremy decided to teach drama at Film UK in Hampshire and has had parents sheepishly tell him he was on their wall when they were teens (pictured in Hollyoaks in 1995)
Noughties: At the height of his fame, Jeremy was engaged to S Club 7’s Rachel Stevens
Career change: Jeremy with his wife Lydia Metz. The couple have two children with Jeremy now teaching drama after giving up his agent (pictured 2012)
‘I would never have had her doing the bedroom bolero with a Dancing On Ice pro.
‘I would never in a million years have thought she would do something like this.
‘But because of the story that has come out, it just makes me question our relationship.’
A spokesman for Rachel said Jeremy’s allegations that Rachel cheated on him are ‘false.’
The couple were engaged from 2002 to 2003 and it was previously reported they split because of his drinking.
Although he now insists they went their separate ways after he struggled to trust her.
Jeremy and Rachel’s relationship blossomed after they met in 2000.