Lin Blakley is "so sad" to be leaving ‘EastEnders’.
The 68-year-old actress is set to bow out of the long-running soap as grieving grandmother Pam Coker over the coming months and, although she’s looking forward to exploring other roles, she’s devastated she’ll no longer be able to work with her on-screen husband Roger Sloman.
She explained: "Yes, I am [so sad to be leaving]. I’d be silly and telling you a lie if I said I wasn’t. Of course I am, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being with Roger [Sloman, who plays Les Coker]. I’ve enjoyed being Pam and I’ve enjoyed having those two characters together. It’s also lovely to know in my heart that it’s achieved a lot, because the Cokers have got a lot of fans out there. I shall miss that.
"And I shall miss the people up at Borehamwood [where the show is filmed], because I’ve made some great friends.
"But I saw Roger yesterday. We had a coffee, a chat and a walk in Richmond Park. So I won’t be losing a friend. We’ve been joined at the hip for two years, so I don’t think we could say goodbye to each other altogether."
The blonde star is also heartbroken she’s having to wave goodbye to her character after two-and-a-half years.
She explained: "I’ve not played a character like that for two-and-a-half years. I’ve played characters in theatre for about nine or 10 months, but nothing this long. So I will really miss playing Pam and I will really miss being with Roger."
Lin is currently in the process of shooting her departure scenes but she’s already started thinking about her future.
Speaking to Digital Spy, she said: "I would like to continue playing different characters, I really would. I’d like to make a dent in comedy, heavy drama and tragedy. I want to play it all, I really do. I want to do film, television and I want to do theatre. So hopefully all of those doors will open.
"I’d like the next person I play to be different from Pam, so I’d really love to play different characters. So would any actor when they’re coming out of something."
Lin Blakley is ‘so sad’ to be leaving EastEnders
