Perry, who has played Billy on the show for 20 years, revealed he was reluctant to take the role as he thought it would ruin his chances of acting in other programmes.
Speaking about his thought process at the time, he said: “I found out it was only three episodes initially, and I thought, ‘This will probably shoot me in the foot if the opportunity for a longer job comes along’.”
However, he was persuaded to take the role when his agent told him that he would be playing a Mitchell, adding: “But Julia Crampsie – who is the casting director here – basically said to my agent, ‘Look he’s going to play a Mitchell’. So I thought sod it, all right.”
Viewers will know Perry’s onscreen alter-ego Billy as a hapless, unlucky in love character but when he first appeared on the BBC soap in 1998 he was a villain.
Things have changed since then and Billy is now considered one of the most beloved characters on the show.
Perry told Inside Soap: ”I think they needed a villain, but when John took over, he called me into his office and said, ‘I’ve got a problem with you’.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh great, he’s going to let me go’ and then he said, ‘Billy’s nasty, but for some reason the public like you.’
“So, John created a background for Billy where he’d suffered terribly as a child – and overnight it changed. It’s weird talking about Billy like this because it’s as if I’m talking about a person I knew 20 years ago.”
Meanwhile, Perry’s character Billy will regret cheating on his partner Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) with Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) last year.
Billy and Honey’s relationship became strained after their daughter Janet was ran over by Tina and rushed to a hospital.
When Honey kicked Billy out of the family home he was consoled by Tina and eventually the pair ended up sharing a kiss.
In upcoming episodes, Pam Coker (Lin Blakley) will return to check the funeral parlour after discovering some worrying news about Billy.
Dissatisfied when Billy tries to explain himself, Pam will have no other option but to fire him.
Tina will comfort Billy after he loses his job but he will feel guilty about their fling and decide that he needs to come clean to Honey.
Eventually, Billy will tell Honey about his one-night stand with Tina and also break the bad news that he was fired from his job.
Will this be the last straw for Honey? Or can Billy find a way to fix things?
EastEnders continues tonight on BBC One at 7.30pm.
