EastEnders star Bonnie Langford has revealed another reason why she has decided to leave Albert Square.
Speaking on This Morning, the actress, who plays Carmel Kazemi, discussed the knife crime storyline which saw her character’s son Shakil killed.
Langford explained that she felt that there was little else in terms of places for Carmel to go next because she is understandably a “broken” person, and that there’s a responsibility for the soap not to forget about the devastating events so quickly.
“That storyline was, for the character, so tragic and traumatising, there is nowhere else to go,” she said. “My son in the show, he was a victim of knife crime.
“It was treated so brilliantly, and I think EastEnders were so sensitive with the material and also invested in it so much. It wasn’t just a case of some dreadful event happened and the following week it was forgotten. They’ve looked at it from every single possible angle and treated it with such integrity, and I was so proud to be part of that.
“But also, it was gruelling to keep churning that out and for the audience to keep watching someone who is broken – but that person needs to be broken. What I didn’t want to do is to suddenly turn around and for it to be forgotten.”
Langford said in a previous interview that the schedule was a factor.
“In EastEnders, you don’t know when you are going to be needed,” she was quoted as saying. “You are on call all the time and don’t know your availability until the Friday before.
“Silly things, like booking a dentist appointment, become impossible.”
Langford has moved on to the West End, and can be seen in the musical 42nd Street as Dorothy Brock.
Carmel’s exit will tie in with the show’s ongoing knife crime story, which saw her teenage son Shakil killed in a fatal stabbing back in May.
EastEnders continues tonight on BBC One. Tickets for 42nd Street are available now.
Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest EastEnders spoilers, as Stuart names his attacker and Ruby Allen makes a return.
Source: Read Full Article