Ex-Emmerdale actress Deena Payne has opened up on Loose Women at her disappointment over her exit from the soap she’d worked on for nearly two decades.
She played Viv Hope, who was married to Bob, and was killed when she passed out drunk on the sofa and then there was an explosion at the Post Office below her flat.
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However, it certainly wasn’t how she wanted to leave the show and, even though it’s now six year’s later, she has hit out over the way it was handled.
Speaking to Stacey Solomon, Nadia Sawalha, Anne Diamond, and Saira Khan, Deena said: “Damp squib, I always say.
“I had a bit too much wine and all of a sudden I was burnt to death, but there we are.”
After Anne asked her if she wanted a bigger and more dramatic ending, Deena replied: “It would’ve been nice.
“When you’ve worked in a soap and ridden the waves for 18 years it’s quite nice to be remembered for your exit, which I will be because I didn’t even shout for help.”
Deena also revealed how she would have liked to have been written out, if she’d had any say in it:
“A nice build up to something like Ashley Thomas had. And something topical that you can get your teeth into.”
It turned out Deena wasn’t the only one unhappy with her soap exit as Stacey Solomon opened up about how her boyfriend, Joe Swash, had been disappointed with his EastEnders exit.
Joe played Mickey Miller in the soap between 2003 and 2008, with a brief return in 2011, but he quietly left the Square with his stepfather who got a job away from Walford.
Stacey said: “When I speak to Joe he’s always disappointed that he didn’t get that duff duff.”
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It seems to be a running theme at the moment, with other actors speaking out over how unhappy they were with their departure from big shows.
Former EastEnders actors Danny-Boy Hatchard (Lee Carter) and Riley Carter Millington (Kyle Slater) have also opened up about how their goodbyes weren’t handled very well by outgoing producer Sean O’Connor.