Brian Conley took EastEnders role 'after gigs dried up amid COVID-19' Andrew Bullock For Mailonline He will shortly join EastEnders as Sonia Fowler's long-lost father. And it has been claimed that Brian Conley took on his new soap role as his other work dried up due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Famously claiming he didn't want to act in soaps - turning EastEnders down twice in the past - Brian, 59, has seemingly lost out on West End and corporate gigs due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Sun reports that he can take home as much as £25,000 per corporate engagement and has been paid up to £120,000 for stints in high-end pantomimes.