Sean Maguire has shared his heartbreak after his cousin Jack Ryan passed away, just months after the former EastEnders actor lost his brother Darren
EastEnders star and pop sensation Sean Maguire has opened up about his double tragedy following a second family loss within months.
The 49-year-old actor, who disclosed in June the sad news of his brother’s passing, is now grappling with another heartbreaking blow to his family. Sean, currently residing in LA, announced the tragic news that his cousin Jack Ryan has passed away.
The distraught star expressed his grief in a poignant Instagram post. Sean, who shot to fame in the late 80s on Grange Hill, posted a photo of his dearly departed cousin. He revealed that Jack sadly passed away on December 7, with the funeral taking place yesterday.
Alongside the photo, Sean penned: “It completely breaks my heart to share this news. But today we say goodbye to my young cousin Jack Ryan. So kind, so talented, so handsome and far, far too young.
“Catherine & Shane, we love you so much, and we’ll all do our best to help you through this incredibly difficult chapter. He was such a credit to your & our family. Our loss is heaven’s gain. Rest in peace, cousin.”
The latest sorrow follows the passing of Sean’s brother in June. At the time, the star penned: “I’ve struggled to find the words or even choose the pictures for this. Because it means that it’s real but for those who don’t already know our beloved brother Darren Maguire passed away on Saturday, 11th January.
“He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family. He was a truly remarkable man, friend, son, brother, and father. He was so loved by everyone that knew him. I’m still in so much shock.
“I can barely form a sentence, but I know the world has lost one of its most beloved people and I have lost my best friend. We love you Darren and we’ll never stop loving you. Now go make them laugh and dance in heaven.
Sean first graced our screens in 1999 in the children’s show, Grange Hill. Following this, he made his way to Albert Square to portray troubled teen Aidan Brosnan. Joining the soap as a 17 year old in 1993, Sean tackled hard-hitting storylines centred around homelessness and drug abuse.
After leaving EastEnders, Sean transitioned into pop music, chalking up eight top 30 hits including Good Day which peaked at number 12 in the UK. In 2012, he joined the cast of Scott & Bailey. In 2000, Sean traded the British drizzle for sunny California and became a US citizen just in time to cast his vote in the presidential election.
His career has flourished across the pond. He played the lead role in the 300 parody Meet The Spartans, starred alongside Kevin Hart in the fantasy comedy Krod Mandoon, and took over the part of Robin Hood in ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Besides his acting career, he also mentors budding actors through his venture, The Players Conservatory.”
It was reported in 2022 that Sean ‘begged’ BBC bosses not to kill off his beloved character by suicide. Sean recalled the time he pleaded with EastEnders bosses not to kill Aidan off during an explosive Christmas Day episode. Scriptwriters had planned to write the actor out of the show by making his character take his own life in tragic scenes.
Lifting the lid on his character’s fate, Sean appeared on Celebrity Catch Up podcast, where he admitted that he felt it was ‘completely wrong’ for Aidan to be killed off in such a triggering manner.
The former soap star explained: “I got quite a lot of letters from young people, especially young people that were having a tough time, and when they told me the character was going to commit suicide, I said to them, ‘Please don’t.
“‘I’m happy to leave in any fashion you want, but please don’t have him commit suicide’. Because inevitably there are suicides around Christmas – sadly sometimes they’re young people and I know that the tabloids will say it’s a copycat death and they copied me or something, that’s possible – and I couldn’t deal with that.
“My conscience couldn’t deal with that. That would break me if I felt in any way responsible for something like that.” Unfortunately, Sean’s pleas fell on deaf ears as BBC bosses insisted the suicide was the only way his character was going to die.
Source: Mirror
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