Adam Woodyatt says EastEnders chiefs should have chosen other directions for his character Ian Beale to go, and not turned him into a "sociopath".
The actor, 53, quit the BBC soap last year after playing the businessman since the show's first episode in February 1985.
Adam believes there was nowhere else for Ian to go because he had returned to his "very unpopular" ways after his split from long-term love Jane Beale (Laurie Brett).