EastEnders' Tracy-Ann Oberman: 'Never say never to Chrissie Watts returning again'

But she's back! And although EastEnders has kept tight-lipped about the circumstances behind her return, the actress has spoken to press including RadioTimes.com about reprising her role once more.

How does it feel to be back after almost 20 years?

Tracy-Ann Oberman: "It felt very surreal. I wasn’t in EastEnders for very long as Chrissie but I spent a lot of my life down there because I was in so many episodes in a such a short space of time. There was a lot of the same crew present so it was lovely to see them and it felt a bit like coming home even after so long."

Had much changed since you left, or was it still largely the same?

TAO: "It felt exactly the same and that’s part of its charm, isn’t it?"

Did you do any prep to get back into Chrissie’s shoes once again?

TAO: "Well Chris [Clenshaw] did say, ‘Can you make your hair go curly again?’ [Laughs] I don’t think I’ve worn it curly since I left EastEnders so that was weird going back to curly hair. They did send me some of the episodes to remind myself of when we last saw her but I lived with that character for so many storylines and she got into such interesting scrapes within that time.

"On the first day, it was like putting a really nice old coat on that you’ve put away in the back of the wardrobe and you think, ‘I wonder if I’ll ever wear this coat again.’ As soon as I put it in on and as soon as I was down there, I thought, ‘Great, I love this character’. Chrissie has something of the old Hollywood about her. I love it. The storylines she had were very high-octane, very dramatic, and she reminded me of the 1930s, 1940s characters in those old films. Were they villains or were they victims? Nevertheless, they were very strong, and that is what EastEnders does best."

What was it like to reconnect with familiar faces again?

TAO: "It was really lovely to go back. I’ve got friends and actors in it now who are friends from outside of EastEnders, with people like Harriet [Thorpe] and Colin [Salmon]. It was great to see them there, and I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody I was in it as it was all kept under hush, hush and the scripts were written with a fake name, and a fake location. I was in the bath after the second night of filming, and I got a phone call from Harriet saying, 'Darling, will I be seeing you anytime soon?' and I said, 'what do you mean?' She said, 'I’ve worked it out, it’s you isn’t it?' So, it was good fun. Everything I did was kept very much under wraps for security because they didn’t want it to leak, but Harriet cracked it."

What are some of your favourite storyline moments from Chrissie’s last stint in the Square?

TAO: "The top three are cutting off Jill Halfpenny’s hair in the salon and then throwing a chair out the window [Laughs], being caught at the airport escaping was amazing, but my top favourite storyline was being pushed into Den’s grave by Barbara [Windsor].

"The other thing I love about Chrissie, is that you never know if she’s telling you the truth, or if she’s telling you what she thinks people want to hear. She’s a very manipulative, clever woman, because she knows how to survive. She can talk herself out of anything, so is she a reliable narrator of her own story? Who knows, but she’s bloody good fun."

If you could choose, who would you like to see Chrissie interact with from EastEnders from the current and past cast?

TAO: "I always loved working with Barbara [Windsor]. The opportunity to have worked with her was amazing because I adored her as a person, but also because I admired everything about her history. I spent ages asking her about Joan Littlewood and stories from her life. I found her fascinating. Working with Harriet would be a dream, and Colin, but my biggest wish, and my biggest joy is working with Letitia."

Would you ever consider returning to EastEnders again?

TAO: "I’m very lucky that I work a lot, and I do lots of very interesting thing, on stage, on screen and on radio. I’ve got Merchant of Venice coming up, and I’ve worked solidly over the years. I never thought I would come back, but Chris [Clenshaw] absolutely persuaded me and because I think he’s an amazing executive producer, I went with it. He loves the show and wants to honour everything about it for the 40th anniversary. I had such a great time, so you know what they say, never say never."

Read more:

• 5 EastEnders spoilers for next week: Dean's trial begins as The Six's woes continue
• EastEnders' Sharon Watts makes tactical new move in early BBC iPlayer release
• EastEnders spoilers as horrified Sonia Fowler and Reiss Colwell arrested in dramatic Queen Vic scenes
• EastEnders spoilers as Bernadette Taylor and evil Dean Wicks scheme to destroy killer Linda Carter
• Taylor Swift's show at Wembley Arena includes an unexpected EastEnders reference

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.