Tracy-Ann Oberman has teased that she would be open to returning to EastEnders on a more permanent basis, after reprising her role as Chrissie Watts for a short stint.
The legendary Walford character made a shock return to screens after 19 years away on Thursday, as part of the next chapter of The Six’s story.
Rather than appearing back on Albert Square, Chrissie is set to come face-to-face with ex-stepdaughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) behind bars, after the latter was held in contempt of court at Dean Wicks’ (Matt Di Angelo) murder trial earlier this week.
Chrissie is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Sharon’s father Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) back in 2005.
With Sharon only serving a week’s sentence, it is set to be a short-but-explosive reunion for the two women – but Tracy-Ann hasn’t ruled out another longer comeback.
Asked about the possibility, she says: ‘I never thought I would come back, but Chris [Clenshaw] absolutely persuaded me and because I think he’s an amazing executive producer, I went with it.
‘He loves the show and wants to honour everything about it for the 40th anniversary. I had such a great time, so you know what they say, never say never…’
Tracy-Ann says it ‘felt very surreal’ to play the character again after nearly two decades.
‘I wasn’t in EastEnders for very long as Chrissie but I spent a lot of my life down there because I was in so many episodes in a such a short space of time,’ she explains.
‘On the first day, it was like putting a really nice old coat on that you’ve put away in the back of the wardrobe and you think “I wonder if I’ll ever wear this coat again.” As soon as I put it in on and as soon as I was down there, I thought, “Great, I love this character”.’
The actress also praised co-star Letitia Dean, who plays Sharon, for being ‘an absolute joy’, admitting that while they hadn’t seen each other since she last appeared in EastEnders, they still ‘work extremely well together’.
‘Acting in a scene is like playing tennis, and having a good partner means you get a really good volley,’ she says.
‘When we both met up, there was an acknowledgement of how much we enjoy each other’s company, and how good it was going to be to acting in these two-hander scenes.’
Teasing the drama ahead as the Chrissie and Sharon come face-to-face once more, she adds: ‘It’s a real rollercoaster of a ride.
‘I think all the emotions will be present – love, jealousy, hatred, passion, joy and revenge. Will there be a resolution? That is the big question over the week and will they both come out of it alive and will they both come out of it with some closure? Who knows…’
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on iPlayer.
