EastEnders star Charlie Brooks has lavished praise on co-star Kellie Bright as their characters continue to feud on screen.
Janine (Brooks) recently got engaged to Linda's ex Mick (Danny Dyer) and is also expecting his child, but a spark continues to flicker between Linda and Mick and there are hints that he may be having second thoughts about the wedding.
Both Brooks and Dyer are leaving the soap over the festive period, and she has now admitted that she will miss the Janine-Linda rivalry.
"Luckily for me, Kellie is my soul sister, and we get on like a house on fire, so we have so much fun," she said. "I love it. I really want to see more of it in the future.
"It's a dynamic duo for sure, and I love working with Kellie."
Reflecting on Janine's naturally-devious tendencies, she continued: "Janine won't change her colours, and if someone turns on her, she will be the first person to retaliate. If she feels like all hope is lost, then you will feel her wrath.
"She's an emotional woman, she can't control that, and she doesn't behave well or appropriately because she doesn't know how to behave well or appropriately.
"My version of Janine is that there's a deep self-loathing in her and hurt people hurt people, don't they? There's a sadness to her, I think.
"There's so much grandiose 'I'm wonderful, and Mick's lucky to have me' and all that is on the surface but actually, what's going on underneath is a very small child, a little girl who's totally lost and trying to survive and has never felt looked after.
"There's been abandonment, she's had trauma, and it plays out in all the wrong ways."
Brooks has played Janine on and off since 1999, appearing in more than 1,000 episodes.
Neil Wilkes
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