Laila Morse has slammed ‘EastEnders’ for no longer being "fun".
The 71-year-old actor was made famous by her portrayal of Big Mo in the BBC soap which she starred in for almost two decades between 2000 and 2016, but she has now hit out at the programme for not having the "kick" that it used to, and failing to make audiences laugh.
She said: "I still watch ‘EastEnders’, but it feels like all fun has gone. It used to make people laugh. It’s not like that any more, it’s just not got the kick in it that it used to have."
Laila’s character was written out of the show last year when she left the East End to move to Kent, but the star isn’t happy she "never officially left the show", as her 16 years of service to the programme went without so much as a "leaving party".
She added: "People come up to me in the street everyday and ask why I’m not in ‘EastEnders’ any more as Big Mo used to make people laugh. All of a sudden my character disappeared and I wasn’t in it any more, but I’ve never officially left the show – I’ve never had a leaving party or a present."
But because she never officially left, Laila hopes there’s room for Big Mo to make a return to Albert Square in the future.
She told The Sun newspaper: "I hope Big Mo comes back. I like all the cast, they’re lovely people, so it would be good to film with them again."
Meanwhile, soap bosses recently introduced the Taylor family to the show, who caused a raucous when they arrived in Albert Square, and Lorraine Stanley – who plays matriarch of the family Karen Taylor – has hailed her character as a loving "lioness" who is "not to be messed with".
She said: She’s a lioness, she smokes fags – 20 a day – and she has a heart of gold. She doesn’t have a job, as she’s got two younger sons with learning difficulties, and that takes up a lot of her time. She does everything for her kids – she’s a strong woman who’s not to be messed with. She doesn’t take nothing off no one!"
Laila Morse: EastEnders is no longer ‘fun’
