Charlie Brooks has suggested that her character Janine's daughter Scarlett (Tabitha Byron) may play a part in her upcoming exit from EastEnders.
Both Janine and her fiancé Mick (Danny Dyer) will be leaving Albert Square over Christmas, although exactly how they will depart still remains a mystery.
Scarlett is aware that Janine was actually the one responsible for the car crash involving a drunk Linda (Kellie Bright), but she has been sworn to secrecy by her mother in an effort to keep their new family together.
"I don't think she ever felt very safe in that lie," Brooks said ahead of the climactic Christmas episodes. "She crashed that car, but she didn't mean to crash the car, and at the end of the day, Linda was drunk.
"Janine did think she was doing a good thing. Where she would have gone with Linda if the car hadn't crashed, I don't know. That is a question that I do sometimes ponder.
"When she dragged Linda's body into the driving seat, obviously, all that stuff was absolutely awful, but that is what Janine does when she's under that pressure.
"She thinks she's doing the right thing at that moment because she can't think straight, and she gets all mumbled, and she doesn't quite know what to do and makes the biggest mistakes, and that was one of the big mistakes.
"But in her head, I don't think she intended to hurt Linda or crash that car on purpose. She just makes really bad decisions."
As for whether Scarlett can keep up with the lie amid increasing suspicion from Shirley (Linda Henry), she continued: "We see a moment where [Janine] says 'My daughter can have whatever she wants, whenever she wants this Christmas', so there's an element of bribery and keeping her quiet.
"It's so nasty when she says the ultimatum 'Do you want the family? Do you want to be happy? Because if you do, then keep your mouth shut!'
"There's definitely deep-rooted fear around her, as Scarlett is a wild card, and Janine's never really had that close bond with her. She has tried a little bit, but she's never quite gotten there, so I don't think she feels safe. I think Janine gets a bit weirded out by her own daughter."
EastEnders continues Monday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
> Picture Spoilers: Next week on EastEnders (December 19-23)
Neil Wilkes
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