an explosion. O'Maonlai claimed he cried when filming his character dying, partly due to the exhaustion of the filming and stunt work needed for the scenes. He commented, "I found working with fire tough, it was so hot. It wasn't just that I was in the heat, I also had to carry a baby and Little Mo out. I can look after myself but if I've got someone over my shoulder, it's quite freaky. I was well looked after, everybody was there to make sure it went smoothly." Reception The character was reportedly popular with female viewers with Ó Maonlaí receiving "raunchy" fan mail and being a hailed as a "sex symbol". In a magazine that marked EastEnders' 20th anniversary in February 2005, Tom Banks came 8th in a poll for EastEnders' "sexiest hunk". O' Maonlai was nominated for Best Newcomer in the National TV Awards for the role of Tom. Ian Hyland, critic for The Mirror, was critical about the way the character was introduced, describing it as "cack-handed". He also mocked the character's apparent flirtations, suggesting that he wore a chest hair wig. The storyline involving Tom's brain tumour was used as an example by The Telegraph'' of the phenomena dubbed "telly belly", whereby viewers, noticing symptoms of sickly characters in soaps, visit their own GPs complaining of the same symptoms. A study examinining doctors "concluded that media stories on health issues, such as those featured on the news or in soap operas, had a significant effect on people's perception of their well-being". A researcher commented, "[A viewer] has a headache and gets immersed in a storyline and thinks 'is this a headache or something worse?' In the end Tom [Banks] died in a fire." Dr John Henry, professor of accident medicine at St Mary's Hospital & Imperial College Medical School in London, said, "Anything which empowers patients to take more responsibility for their own well-being is to be applauded". References External links Male characters in television EastEnders characters Fictional firefighters Fictional Irish people Television characters introduced in 2002