Dean Gaffney thinks 'EastEnders' bosses should hire older actors to attract older viewers.

The 39-year-old actor - who plays Robbie Jackson on the BBC One show - thinks the show's bosses are missing a trick as he admitted it is "hard" to replace veterans like Dame Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell) and Pam St. Clement (Pat Butcher).

He told The Sun newspaper: "I class myself as an older person in the show, and I think we need more of them. I think it's important to introduce more older characters. It's hard to replace people like Pam and Babs. The show does go through rollercoasters and I think the bosses do think, 'Oh we are in a young era where young people watch things like Hollyoaks' and there's a happy medium and I think that will be coming in the next few months.

"It takes time to build characters up. We have Christopher Timothy from 'All Creatures Great and Small' coming into the show and they are looking for older ones. I think they will come. At the moment the show is going through a transition period."

It comes after 66-year-old actor Patrick Bergin signed up to the show to play villain Aidan Joseph Patrick Maguire, a friend of Phil Mitchell's from prison.

Patrick said previously: "I am delighted to be joining EastEnders as I have watched and admired it since the days of Dirty Den. It is an iconic show that has the ability to shape the way people think, while also telling big explosive stories that keep the audience gripped. I am really looking forward to seeing what they have in store for Aidan as it's bound to be dramatic."