‘It's a bit like taking your clothes off'

Kellie Bright on playing drunk and taking the plunge for EastEnders’ exciting 35th anniversary special.

- ALISON SLADE

Anyone who thinks actors lead a charmed life should have a chat with Kellie Bright. In the run-up to Christmas, the EastEnders star was filming scenes for this week’s 35th anniversary episodes, in which disaster strikes as the Walford residents are aboard a party boat on the River Thames. Let’s just say it wasn’t a glitzy affair.

‘We spent a week in a water tank in Basildon. The glamour!’ laughs Kellie.

‘Every time we did a take, they had to “murk” up the water. They used vegetable matter – it was pretty grim!

‘Your adrenaline is constantly flowing, so it was exhausting. But it was something I’d never done before, and I actually loved it.’

If being submerged in brown sludge doesn’t feel like much of a hardship, then that’s probably because Kellie has much bigger challenges to deal with.

In recent months, viewers have seen her character, Linda Carter, descend headlong into alcoholism.