‘EastEnders’ are to air a special New Year’s Eve (31.12.19) episode focusing on Linda Carter’s alcoholism battle.
The episode will be told entirely from the point of view of the Queen Vic landlady – who is played by Kellie Bright – as her love of the bottle "spirals further into addiction".
Executive producer Jon Sen said: "Over the past few months, we’ve watched as Linda Carter struggles to cope and finds solace in the bottom of a bottle.
"Over the festive period, Linda spirals further into addiction, culminating in a New Year’s Eve special episode told completely from Linda’s point of view."
And the ep will show how Linda’s issues impact on her family, who include husband Mick Carter (Danny Dyer).
Jon added: "This blistering episode portrays the harrowing consequences of Linda’s alcohol abuse on her friends and family alike.
"It is one of the most unique and important episodes we’ve made since my arrival a year ago."
Kellie recently admitted she found acting drunk was "daunting" and "challenging".
She said: "I’ve never had to play being drunk consistently before – it’s quite daunting.
"I wanted a lot of real footage and listened to my fellow actors and any advice they had.
"Given the turnaround of filming here, it’s been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do.
"I just had to do a lot of preparation so that when I walked into the studio I was ready to go and knew how drunk Linda needed to be in that particular scene."
Kellie was "really chuffed" to be given the hard-hitting storyline, but she’s now looking forward to a break from the intensive scenes over Christmas.
She added: "I was really chuffed when I found out about Linda’s story because it’s an amazing one to play.
"I felt very lucky, although at the same time I thought, ‘Oh God, now I have actually got to do it.
"So I’m looking forward to Christmas as it’ll be quite low-key for us.
"I have my husband’s family coming to us for Christmas Day this year, which will be lovely."
EastEnders to air Linda Carter special episode
