A number of fan favourite characters have returned to the soap in recent weeks
Former EastEnders star Maisie Smith has teased that ‘you never know’ when quizzed about a potential return to the BBC soap.
Joining the iconic programme when she was just six-years-old in 2008 as Tiffany Butcher, Maisie would go on to become a fan favourite character.
Growing up in front of the world, Maisie would leave the programme in 2016 before making a full-time return in 2018.
Leaving again in 2021 after a stint which saw Tiffany marry Keegan Baker, she returned the following year for a one-off appearance to give their love story a happily ever after.
Away from Walford, The Wanted singer Max George’s girlfriend is preparing to star in a new stage adaption of The Talented Ripley, which had a Netflix series dedicated to it in 2023.
Appearing on Loose Women on Thursday (August 14), Maisie said she has ‘big shoes to fill’ as she plays Marge Sherwood, previously played by Gwyneth Paltrow in the 1999 film and by Dakota Fanning in the Andrew Scott series.
“She’s very smart, very classy. Nothing like me. It’s set in the 50s, she’s originally from Ohio, but lived in New York, she’s quite posh. It’s a very specific accent. I was with a dialect coach yesterday and I’m getting there.
“Being from Essex, I don’t pronounce vowels or consonants… The dialect coach was like ‘you have to move your mouth’,” she said.
Maisie added: “It’s a really exciting part, very different to anything I’ve done. I’ve never done a play. I’ve done TV and some musicals… I’m really excited to have a few weeks to prepare for a nice acting role.”
Always one to keep busy, Maisie reflected on her time competing on survival Channel 4 survival show Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which she won in 2022.
“I did cry the whole way through, it’s worse than it looks. Even when I was watching it, it was like 10% of how it actually felt… It’s the best thing I’ve ever done mentally and physically.
“It felt like the first day you have a New Year’s resolution, that’s how I felt coming out. Like ‘I’m starting my life with a completely new outlook of who I am’.
“The fact I was so young, I was 5 foot 3, 20-years-old, I had to stay until they physically removed me,” she recalled.
Asked what was harder between Celebrity SAS and Strictly Come Dancing, which she competed on in 2020, Maisie said: “Strictly was scarier because it was my first time being myself on TV.
"I’m used to learning lines and being a character, that was quite a shock to the system. SAS was so physically demanding and mentally. You can’t compare them, they’re so different.”
Towards the end of the interview, presenter Kaye Adams asked Maisie if EastEnders is ‘something’ she’s moved away from.
She replied: “You don’t know, you never know. I’m really enjoying being on stage and it’s so much fun and so different. This show I’m doing is going to be incredible. It’s the first ever UK tour of The Talented Mr Ripley.”
Considering Zoe Ryan actress Michelle Ryan recently returned after two decades, fans will remain hopeful that Tiffany will be back before they know it.
