James Farrar, beloved by soap fans as EastEnders’ Zack Hudson has opened up to his Instagram followers in an emotional video, following the devastating loss of his friend and agent, Keely Silvester.
‘Keely Silvester, you changed my life as you did for so many lads,’ he began in the deeply heartfelt video clip. He then went on to describe his initial meeting with her.
‘I remember the day I walked into Mortimer Street and you were sat on the end of 20 bookers. You said, what do you want, what do you need?
I explained, I said I didn’t really fancy the modelling. You made me feel like I was part of something. There’s nothing better than feeling part of something.’
James went on to further talk of the bond he shared with his agent.
‘I got told at drama school: don’t be friends with your agents. It’s the worst bit of advice I’ve ever received. These people are a big part of your life, and there needs to be a connection. Keely’s been at our wedding. She was at my engagement to Ali. She was here the first few weeks of Summer being born.’
‘We shared some of life’s biggest highs and lows together, bless you for being kind at the same time as being one of the most incredible agents that I think the world has had.’
Speaking of her incredible career, he said Kelly had been: ‘All over the world, an incredible career in modelling up to life as a booker.’
James described Keely as a maternal figure and recalled a conversation he had with his mum about their relationship.
‘I often went back to my mum and said, Select are really looking after me and that one particular lady, her name is Keeley, and she reminds me of you. The fact that I felt like you looked after me like a mother would. It was inspiring.’
‘I want my little Summer girl to watch the likes of you. Where you can be kind and successful at the same time, I think we’re forgetting that in this world.
‘You were the perfect example early on in my career of what I needed to do – step into rooms, be good. Don’t just be very good, but be very nice, be kind. Thank you, Keely Silvester. Your boy should be proud cause the Select boys certainly are.’
A loved one from Keely’s Instagram account commented: ‘Thank you so much James for the beautiful words’, to which he replied: ‘Meant every word’.
Lainy Boyle commented: ‘Well you found the perfect person to represent you, cos I remember you coming in for castings when you started out and you’ve always been positive, kind and generous too! Massive love to you and your family’. James replied to Lainy: ‘mate, it was rare having the energy matched in the amount of rooms I walked into. But yours was always spot on!
Heidi, a co-worker of Keely added: ‘Beautifully said James, she is an absolute legend and we will all miss her so much. Love her’, to which James replied: ‘It’s rare to walk into a room and feel so welcomed. You all have the ability to see people, I’ve learnt a lot from you all.
Keels would call me and talk for 45 mins about me and Ali, the acting and what gardens she had visited that weekend – then drop in at the end of the call whether 1 fancy doing a job for 8 grand the next day. That never got old for a lad from south east London. SPECIAL.’
James has starred in EastEnders as Zack Hudson since 2021, emerging initially as the half-brother of Albert Square royalty Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
His first big storyline involved Zack discovering he’s HIV positive, following his old friend, Brett Nelson (Fabrizio Santino), with whom he shared needles with when they dabbled in steroid usage, revealing his own diagnosis.
Though he initially struggled in silence, he later opened up about his status in the packed out Queen Vic, receiving support from Sharon and friend Martin Fowler (James Bye), who lost his own brother when his HIV developed into AIDS.
Though he faced further scrutiny, the community at large soon came to accept him. The storyline was met with acclaim and was developed with the Terrence Higgins Trust to raise awareness and challenge the stigma surrounding HIV.
Zack’s next big story was the loss of his baby with Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) who was diagnosed with Edward’s Syndrome, a chromosomal disorder with an extremely low survival rate. After much emotional turmoil, the couple decided to terminate the pregnancy, with Whitney giving birth to their stillborn child, named Peach.
Although Zack and Whitney remained united, Zack cheated on her with Lauren Branning (Jaqueline Jossa), leading to their split and Whitney’s exit with their daughter, Dolly.
Zack later discovered he was the father of Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman), the result of a fling with Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington), leading to a showdown resulting in Zack being injured in a near-fatal car crash.
