As well as acting in EastEnders and Holby City, he has weaved numerous artistic threads into the tapestry of his career as a theatre actor and as director in theatre productions like the Full Monty, Calendar Girls and Take That’s musical The Band.

His latest venture, which he is visibly excited about, is as a children’s author which is a dream come true for him.

It began with the publication of the first in his Jack series last year with Jack’s Secret Summer.

Jack’s Secret World is the latest in the series. It tells the story of Jack and his friends on a magical journey through a secret doorway to another world, with magical potions, talking butterflies and lots of adventure.

However, Ryder said it wasn’t books that captured his imagination as a child, he adored film.

“I wasn’t a massive reader as a kid. I did dip into stuff like the CS Lewis books and Roald Dahl books were the ones that really captured me as a boy, but it was films and stories in films growing up like E.T. and Back To The Future.

“There was a magic nature about those stories and visually with the scores and the music and the kind of hairs standing up on your arms. That element has never left me, and I still search for it all the time.”

It is clear he relishes telling these stories and with such a variety of strings to his bow, it is a quote from director, Steven Spielberg, he uses to explain why this was perhaps always destined for him.

“I watched him [Spielberg] do an interview and he talked to a group of graduates and said, ‘Always listen to the whispers.’

“I remember hearing that and thinking, ‘Okay.’ And that was the thing that was whispering to me was children’s book writing because I loved being a kid. I loved kid’s movies, I still love kid’s movies, I loved cartoons, they were my happiest memories.

“But that was the whisper. It was always drawing me. I think that I never really clicked for a long time.”

The “Jack” series started out as a screenplay, but he and his publishers reworked it into two books. Ryder is adamant about treating younger readers with “respect” and his books do touch on tougher themes like loss and separation.

When he was younger Ryder went through a difficult time in his own life when his mother and stepfather separated, and he drew upon this for the book.

“The whole nature of the story came from when I had a very sort of peculiar couple of years where my mum and my stepfather separated, and these are real things that kids have to go through. I try and always incorporate the reality in my storytelling as well.

“It’s not just about being silly and fun and making it for the child, it’s like, well what’s real here and then how can we present it in a way that’s fun, but also heartfelt and genuine. Kids can see through that, absolutely they can and it’s very important.”

The series began life originally as a screenplay for a mix between a Goonies meets Boyz N The Hood.

“As I was writing it, it just kept going back to the kids and I got 20 pages in and I thought, “this is a kid’s book” and that’s when it landed, that’s when it really landed.

“I think when I’m writing, I somehow find it in moments and I try and get that across and get that feeling of youth and humour and comfort and just try and wrap everyone in that kind of warm blanket where everyone feels quite safe, everyone feels very optimistic.”

Ryder became a new dad to baby Marnie last July and dedicates the book to her and his partner Ella.

“It’s a mixed bag [fatherhood]. It’s just everything, it’s everything. Every peak and trough and kind of just crazy. You really are living when you’re a new parent and the nature of Covid and everything in the world being sort of tipped upside down and becoming a parent at the same time, it’s been an incredible experience.

“Marnie is an incredible little girl. She’s glorious.”

With lockdown he said there was good and bad that came with having a new baby.

“One side of it is, ‘oh my god.’ You want the family to be around, you want her to be mixing with everyone, even things like other babies. You want them to be together and experiencing all that, and even for me and Ella having a little bit of support at times would have been absolutely a blessing.

“But then with Covid as well, I’ve been there every step of the way, every day, every night. I’ve been able to witness every smile, every first milestone that was hit, I was present. And what we’ve got now is an extremely secure and confident little child. That’s wonderful. Part of us is very grateful, and there was loss involved in it, too.

When he reflects on the time he had acting in what many regard as the “golden age” of EastEnders, he is refreshingly open without an ounce of bitterness or a roll of the eyes that some might have when asked about what happens when you leave something so enormous.

“For me, it was my decision to leave the show because the character had kind of done so much and it had sort of run its course. I’d started to notice that the storylines were becoming quite repetitive. That said to me that he’s either going to start working in the café or do something where he’s just going to be in the background slightly.

“I kind of hit this fork in the road where I thought “Right, I can either stay here and just coast and earn my keep, or I can go out there and see the world.”

At just 21, he was still a young man and wanted a change and to get on with his life. It would be natural for anyone to expect the phone to ring off the hook with offers after such a huge role. But Ryder was surprised when it stayed silent.

“It went very quiet, and I think it does for a lot of people who leave that show. So, it was a lot of time to reflect.

"In a way, I appreciated it because it was time for me to just get back to me. Even though the press was still around and there was still a lot of people noticing me and stuff, I was moving forward with my life.”

Having been spotted by a producer at 16 and “given” EastEnders he always felt like “a bit of a fraud.” He stuck his head down and treaded the boards doing plays by the likes of Alan Bennett and Tim Firth.

Getting away from showbiz and touring the UK gave him a new perspective.

“It wasn’t about the fame and the glam and the glitz and being a soap star, it was actually about the work and that’s what I’ve always loved, is the work.

“I’ve had a lot of variety in my career, and I feel very, very privileged for that. If you’re a working actor or director you can’t expect everything to land all the time, you’ve got to just keep striving.

“Luckily for me, especially with writing I’m able to, even in those quiet periods, do my work and be imaginative and write this all down and create. I think that’s a wonderful place to be.”

Next for Ryder is his next series of children’s books with a new story, as well as The Jack Ryder Sessions, his online, one-to-one acting classes.

And, of course, ensuring he holds on to his inner Peter Pan.

Jack’s Secret World is published by Hodder Children’s Books for £6.99