Taskmaster star Josh Widdicombe may have made his name on the comedy circuit, but things could have been quite different for him had he accepted one particular audition.

The comedian, who also appears as a panellist on The Last Leg, revealed during an episode of Pointless (via RadioTimes) that he was asked to audition for a part on BBC soap EastEnders.

The audition was for the part of Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman), the boyfriend of Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), but Widdicombe revealed that he opted not to take up the offer due to the wording in the email to his agent about the role.

BBC

“About a year ago, I got asked to play Sonia’s new boyfriend,” he recalled, before joking: “They described him as a nerd. And they emailed my agent and said, ‘Thought this would be perfect for Josh!’ Can you believe that? I’ve never been so offended in my life!”

Had Widdicombe decided to go for the role, he would currently be playing out a pregnancy storyline for Reiss.

EastEnders confirmed in April that Reiss and Sonia are expecting a baby after going through the IVF process, with the couple overjoyed to have overcome a number of hurdles to getting pregnant.

BBC

While Reiss announced that he was ready to “tell the world” about their exciting news, Sonia requested that they keep quiet for a little while and “just enjoy” the pregnancy.

Sonia star Natalie Cassidy, meanwhile, recently played out emotional scenes as Whitney Dean left Walford behind, with Whitney’s departure leaving Cassidy in real tears.

“For my last scene, Whitney had to cry — of course!” Whitney star Shona McGarty revealed. “Natalie Cassidy hugged me in the scene and we both started crying. They kept that in — the director said Sonia would probably be upset.”