EastEnders director sacked for bringing coronavirus onto set, reports claim

Crew member allegedly didn’t tell colleagues he was waiting for test results

An EastEnders director has reportedly been sacked after bringing coronavirus onto set.

Joe Nugent, who worked on the show as a first assistant director, spent two days on set while awaiting results for a Covid-19 test which eventually came back positive, The Sun reports.

Nugent had first developed coronavirus symptoms last weekend (17-18 October) and took a test without telling his colleagues.

He then proceeded to attend the show’s filming at Elstree Studios on Monday and Tuesday, receiving a positive test result late on Tuesday.

Nugent was reportedly then sacked for breaching coronavirus safety rules, with a source saying: “Senior actors were livid and felt let down. There was talk of a mutiny. He was given the boot, partly to assuage cast members.”

A letter written to EastEnders staff read: “You will all have heard we had an active Covid case on site.

“This should serve as a reminder that keeping ourselves and our colleagues safe is an ongoing situation and a shared responsibility.”

The Independent has contacted EastEnders reps for comment.

EastEnders was one of the first TV shows to resume filming amid the pandemic, with a number of innovative new methods being used to keep the set safe.

Protective screens have been placed between actors to help “cheat” social distancing rules, as well as enlisting the actors’ real life partners to use as body doubles.

This is in addition to camera methods being used to hide the two-metre distance between performers, including two shots being filmed separately and edited together with CGI.