Bonnie Langford still supports families hurt by knife crime.
The ‘EastEnders’ actress – whose character Carmel Kazemi grieved her son Shakil’s (Shaheen Jafargholi) death following a stabbing last summer – has reveled how she is doing what she can to help those in need almost a year after she left Albert Square.
Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday newspaper, she said: "I am still in touch with many of the people who told their stories. When we worked on the episode I built such a strong bond with them.
"I felt that they were so brave. I’m honoured to know them. And I still have people coming up to me on a regular basis, sharing and offloading.
"It’s heartbreaking to hear their stories, but I feel very honoured to be a listening ear and hopefully that makes them feel better."
Although Bonnie, 54, does her best to help people going through such awful experiences in real life, she acknowledged she is fortunate that she was just portraying the scenes on a soap.
She added: "I am lucky. I was an actor. I was just portraying what happened to them and what is happening daily on our streets.
"I didn’t have to go through it in real life. The brutal reality is we’ve got families being broken daily and no one knows what to do."
The show’s bosses were praised for raising awareness of the rise of knife crime in London, which has hit its highest levels for eight years.
The star is hopeful that the storyline could make a difference and even save people’s lives.
She said: "If it gets a conversation going and creates a sea change in something, then maybe one less family will have to grieve."
Bonnie Langford helps families of knife crime victim s
