Jacqueline Jossa knew coronavirus was "actually serious" when ‘EastEnders’ bosses halted filming.
The 27-year-old actress played the role of Lauren Branning on the BBC One soap for eight years before her departure in 2018 and admits that the global health crisis began to feel like a real threat when her former show was affected.
In an interview with Metro.co.uk, she said: "As soon as I knew ‘EastEnders’ had stopped filming, that’s when I knew that this coronavirus was actually serious, and that we were all going to go on lockdown.
"As soon as I heard, that, I thought, ‘Woah!’ I could never imagine EastEnders to stop filming, it’s never really happened before. It’s such a shame I suppose but it had to be done. Hopefully we get back to normality at some point."
Meanwhile, Jacqueline – who was crowned the queen of the jungle on ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ last year – has teamed up with streaming service NOW TV to help keep kids entertained during lockdown.
She takes centre stage in a cook-along video, demonstrating how to create the ultimate NOW TV KidsTeav Party, using recipes inspired by some of the nations’ most loved children’s TV shows.
Jacqueline – who has two daughters, Ella, five, and 21-month-old Mia, with her husband Dan Osborne – said: "The NOW TV Kids TeaV Party brings some of my girls’ favourite TV shows to life and is something all the family can do together. I’m no cooking pro and often have to wing it, that’s why we’ve created these 7-fuss free and easy to follow recipes for everyone!"
Go to the NOW TV Facebook page [Facebook.com/nowtv] to download the recipes.
Jacqueline Jossa took coronavirus was seriously when EastEnders shutdown
