Tamzin Outhwaite found it "very weird" returning to ‘EastEnders’.
The 46-year-old actress – who has Florence, nine, and Marnie, five, with her ex-husband Tom Ellis – is reprising her role as feisty Mel Owen following 15 years away from Walford, and she’s "excited" to be back, though it has all felt surreal.
She said: "I’m really excited. It’s like one big family. Plus I get to come home to my children every night.
"It was very weird [being back o set]. Lots has changed but it also felt very familiar. It felt exciting again."
Tamzin insisted she never thought about returning to Albert Square but admitted somewhere in the back of her mind, she always expected to make a comeback.
Asked if she ever thought she’d be back on the show, she said: "I didn’t think about it. Others did. In the back of my mind I probably thought so but I wasn’t sure."
Tamzin is thankful to have lots of help with her daughters but does her best to arrange her schedule to get lengthy periods of time off with them.
She told HELLO! magazine: "I have lots of support and childcare help.
"My children love the people who look after them, which is vital. They see them more as friends. There are always periods of time in this industry where you do get longer off, meaning you get more intense quality time together. I will always try my best to be around for the summer holidays."
The actress recently admitted it was her kids who persuaded her to return to ‘EastEnders’.
She said: "When I ask my kids’ advice – my eldest especially – I say: ‘I have got this job and I don’t know if I should do it?’ Her words are always: ‘Can you come home at night?’
"She basically doesn’t really ask what it’s about and if I can come home at night then she says: ‘I think you should do it.’ I was doing a lot of theatre before."
Tamzin Outhwaite found it ‘weird’ returning to EastEnders
