Maisie Smith wants Bianca back in EastEnders for good: "Patsy Palmer is like my second mum!"
Will Tiff's mum turn up to her wedding to Keegan?
EastEnders star Maisie Smith has called for screen mum Patsy Palmer, aka Bianca Butcher, to return to the soap for good ahead of Tiffany Butcher's upcoming wedding storyline.
Engaged teens Tiff and boyfriend Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) decide to elope to Scotland on Thursday 7th November and both disapproving families are soon in hot pursuit, although the bride's mother is absent as Palmer recently wrapped up a brief comeback stint as bolshy B – after five years away – and at present there are no plans for her to be back again.
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Nevertheless, Smith is holding out hopes that will change in the not-too-distant future, this time on a more permanent basis. "I've love to have Bianca back," she tells RadioTimes.com, "the relationship between her and Tiffany is so great, it was hilarious. They bounced off each other every day and it'd be nice to continue that.
"I'm often asked if Tiffany is turning into Bianca, but I think it's already happened! It's inevitable I suppose, spending so many years with her it would be quite hard not to.
"And Patsy is like my second mum, she always has been."
Smith and Palmer began working together in 2008, when Smith was just six years old (she turned 18 this year).
Having one of Walford's most fiery heroines as her mother has made Tiff pretty tough, and subsequently Smith is unfazed at the thought of her alter ego having gobby Karen Taylor as a mother-in-law: "I don't think it would differ that much to what she's experienced with Bianca – they are very similar characters.
"It would be intriguing to see how things develop between Tiffany and Karen though. But Tiff can handle her!"
As to whether the young redhead does tie the knot and become a Taylor by the end of next week, Smith is not saying, although she's supportive of the move in theory.
"I am quite protective of Tiff, she's been through a lot but is very strong-minded so I believe if she wants to get married then she knows what she's doing. Yes, her and Keegan are young, but they've both had to mature much quicker than a lot of teenagers. That's what has bonded them.
"Going on the run as they end up doing is not exactly how they dreamed it would be, but it doesn't matter – she is in love so marrying him any way she can will make her happy."
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