Grantchester star Kacey Ainsworth played Maureen 'Little Mo' Slater between 2000 and 2006, and when asked if she feels proud to have been part of such an iconic, long-running show ahead of its 40th anniversary, she said: "Well, I can definitely say yes, really proud of the work that we all did there.
"We changed some of the landscape by being an all-female family who went in – that wasn't usual, and there were four of us."
Speaking specifically about Little Mo's storyline, in which she was abused by her husband Trevor, Ainsworth said: "I thought that the way they handled the domestic violence storyline did change the way people felt about domestic violence and made them understand coercive control and how difficult it might be to leave that situation.
"Before that, I think we probably focused on the violent side of it, but it's the emotional as well as the physical side of it.
"It’s the emotional toll that it takes on women, and I think that they wrote it really well. So I'm really proud of that storyline and will be for the rest of my life."
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Since leaving EastEnders, Ainsworth has become known for playing Geordie's wife Cathy in ITV detective series Grantchester.
EastEnders will mark its 40th anniversary in numerous ways, including with an interactive live episode, where fans will be able to choose who out of Jack and Ravi Denise ends up with.
Meanwhile, the soap will feature a return for Ross Kemp as Grant Mitchell, and the actor will also be presenting a new one-off documentary about the show's history for BBC One.
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