EastEnders’ Bonnie Langford likes to read scripts in advance to find out what’s happening.
The 53-year-old actress has been playing Carmel Kazemi on the long-running BBC One soap for almost three years but she has admitted she still can’t resist peeping at the running schedule ahead of time because she likes to see what bosses have up their sleeve.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, she said: "I sometimes read the scripts just to see what’s actually happening.
"In fact I always read the scripts thinking what are we doing this time, who is in what. How does this transpire, it’s always very exciting, I’m always excited when we get the scripts."
The soap has come under fire recently because viewers believe the storyline – particularly the recycling bin plot – are too mundane but Bonnie has defended this and believes they have to be realistic otherwise people will complain that they’re too "fantastical."
She explained: "I mean it is the minutiae that actually make the world go round unfortunately. And it’s the big things that happen every now and again, but that’s not what really thankfully happens all the time. And although we’ve said you have to tell things in a different time frame I think sometimes it’s good to take time on it, because then you get the different layers and then when the actual explosion or whatever happens it’s even more important because everyone is then invested in with you. You’ve brought your audience with you."
But, despite this, Bonnie still feels under pressure to perform well on screen.
She added: "When you see reams and reams of script it’s terribly exciting and then at the same time you think it’s quite daunting.
"And you want to obviously play it for its truth more than anything and that’s what’s really important – being able to tell the story realistically and not make it fantastical. Because you know it’s a wonderful way to empathise with other people and be able to get that story across."
EastEnders’ Bonnie Langford reads scripts in advance
