In April 1994, by which time the character of Frank Butcher was one of the most popular on British television, Reid took a long break from the show due to stress from acting out a depression storyline for the show. Later in 1994, he starred alongside other fellow "EastEnders" actors Barbara Windsor and John Altman in his classic adult pantomime "Pussy in Boots", a spin-off of "Puss in Boots" where Reid played the main role of 'Big Dick'. In 1994 he provided a voiceover for one of the cows in the Anchor butter adverts. The advert was called ""Anchor: Never Seen Anything Like It"".