Linda Davidson had no idea she had joined a soap until ‘EastEnders’ was ready to air.
The 54-year-old star – who played Mary ‘The Punk’ Smith – was part of the original cast for the BBC series when it first hit the small screen in 1985, and she admitted the actors weren’t totally clear on what it was they had signed up for at the time.
Appearing on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’ on Monday (18.02.19), she said: "We were all contracted for six months, and the BBC called it a bi-weekly drama. So, we didn’t know we were in a soap until all the press went out in the February.
"We were cast in 84, so we’d been working on it quite a few months before it went out in ’85. All of a sudden, all the press started calling it a soap!"
The soap star stayed in Albert Square until 1988, and in the late 1990s she left acting to pursue a new career in digital media.
Now working across celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s brands, Linda will be making a return for the on-screen funeral of Dr. Legg (Leonard Fenton) alongside fellow Walford original George ‘Lofty’ Holloway (Tom Watt).
Although it’s just a brief return, the star admitted she would consider making the occasional appearance now that her on-screen daughter Annie is set to return with Marilyn O’Brien taking on the role as an adult.
She added: "I don’t know. I mean, I absolutely loved it. My current fantasy is that Annie – who goes back into it full time – is that she goes back into it, and Mary pops in for a cup of tea every now and again."
Linda Davidson: Original EastEnders cast didn’t know they were in a soap
