EastEnders' newcomer Lisa Hammond insists her character Donna Yates isn't just a "hard-faced cow".
The 31-year-old star burst onto Albert Square as a tough market trader, who declares war on stall holders Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) and Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace), but the former 'Grange Hill' actress claims there's more to come from her alter-ego in the future.
She told Inside Soap magazine: "It was hard to launch into such a fiery character. Once I settled in, I thought, 'This is fun - people will hate me'. Initially Donna is very opinionated. But there is a humorous side to her. I don't want her to just be a hard-faced cow. There needs to be a glint in her eye, tinged with a bit of sarcasm as well."
Donna wasn't originally written as a wheelchair-bound character, but Lisa - who has a restricted growth condition - won over producers with her audition, and show boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins was delighted to have her on board as the "flinty, aggressive and difficult" stall holder.
He said previously: "Donna's not an easy character to like at first. As we get to know her better, we will discover a funny, loyal but also fragile woman underneath.
"Lisa is a brilliantly comic and sharp actress. We have been trying to get her into the 'EastEnders' cast for a long time so I am delighted."
Donna is the second regular disabled character to appear on Albert Square, following Adam Best (David Proud), who appeared from 2009 to 2010.

Eliza Doolittle wants to work with Pharrell Williams and Calvin Harris.
The 'Big When I Was Little' singer, who is working on the follow-up to her 2013 album 'In Your Hands', dreams of teaming up with the 'Get Lucky' hitmaker and superstar DJ.
Speaking at the Beats by Dr. Dre Drenched in Colour nail event in London last night (24.04.14), she told BANG Showbiz: "I'd love to work with Pharrell but it's annoying because everyone is working with him now and you don't want to be like, 'Oh, I want to work with you too'. But he is the dream.
"There are loads of people I'm looking to collaborate with that are on my list. Calvin Harris would be cool. I'm in the process of planning my next album but it's early stages at the moment."
The 26-year-old star went along to the Beats by Dre party, which celebrated the colourful range of Beats Solo headphones, to support friend and model Zara Martin, who was Djing at the event and has been spending time with Calvin's girlfriend Rita Ora in Los Angeles.
Zara said: "I know Rita, we've hung out in LA and London, it's crazy in America when she's there, when I was there last time she was pretty big, the paparazzi are so prevalent in LA, it's quite scary.
"I do have really good friends who are in the industry but I'm not going to exploit it by feeling like I have to get a picture or a selfie to post on my Instragram."

David Bowie has hinted that he is working on a new record.
The 'Starman' hitmaker has seemingly let slip he is making a "new album this year" during a congratulatory message to Columbia Records US chairman, Rob Stringer, who was honoured with the prestigious Strat Award at the Music Awards in London on Thursday (24.04.14).
In the tongue-in-cheek message to his record label boss, David joked: "When he asked me if I minded if he took a few Saturdays off from his duties as percussionist on my new album this year in order to catch the Luton Town football club fixtures, how could I refuse? It's the least I could offer to the man who with his own hands pulled my album to Number One throughout the world."
According to NME.com, representatives for David are yet to comment and while it's likely his comments were made in jest, fans have been speculating as to whether the singer is secretly recording new material.
In 2013 David Bowie returned to the charts with 'The Next Day', his first album in 10 years, and the album's producer Tony Visconti revealed that that there are two or three "astounding" tracks left over from the sessions for the LP.

Oasis guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs claims Liam Gallagher's cryptic Twitter posts could have been about a trip to the pub.
The frontman sparked rumours the band were set to reform last night (24.04.14) when he took to the social networking site to individually tweet a letter of the band's name every half an hour, but his former band mate claims he might have just been reminiscing.
Bonehead, who had spent the night drinking with Liam, told NME.com: "What did he tweet, was it regarding fig rolls or something? There were no fig rolls involved officer," referring to a joke Liam's previous tweet about Bonehead: "THE OASIS YEARS THEY FORGOT TO MENTION BONEHEAD USED TO STICK FIG ROLLS UP HIS A*** HA HA X (sic)"
Asked what Liam's latest tweets mean, Bonehead responded: "Probably the fact that I texted him going, 'Meet me in the beer garden'. That probably rattled his cage. Maybe that. I don't know though, because I meet him every f***ing month. Maybe he's just reminiscing."
The musician then took to his own Twitter account to spell out the word "PUB".
Liam's mysterious posts come just two months after Oasis announced they are re-releasing their debut album 'Definitely Maybe' with previously unheard tracks to celebrate the LP's 20th anniversary on May 19.
The band split in August 2009 after Liam and his brother Noel had a huge backstage bust-up in Paris, France, but rumours are beginning to circulate that they could be planning to headline at Glastonbury this year.
However, Noel turned down £20million to reunite with the Beady Eye frontman for an Oasis world tour in December last year.

'Taken 3' has "nothing" to do with Liam Neeson and his family.
Producer Luc Besson admits the forthcoming thriller starring the Hollywood hunk is hugely different from the first two films which centre on his daughter and wife being kidnapped.
Talking to collider.com, he explained: "['Taken 3'] is shooting right now. Taken 1 and 2 is, in fact, the same film in two parts. The first act, someone is taken, and the second act is that revenge. You can see the films back to back and they go together. The third film is another story that has nothing to do with him and his family. No one is taken. The dog is not taken. It's another story with the same characters."
Besson - who co-wrote the script with Robert Mark Kamen for the follow-up to 2012's film - insists the success of the 2008 original came as a surprise and they weren't expecting it to be as well received as it had been.
He added: "It's different, but it's very good. It's probably the best of the three for me, in terms of the script. The first one was really not pretentious. It was a small film. We were surprised by the success of it because it was honest. Liam [Neeson] was not a super kick-ass actor."

Michael B. Jordan's 'Fruitvale Station' character is expected to act in a "certain way" since he's African American.
Director Ryan Coogler's hit back at claims that the portrayal of Jordan's alter-ego Oscar Grant, who was shot and killed by a BART police officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, on New Year's Day, 2009, is too rosy and insists they tried to be as accurate as possible.
In an interview with website DigitalSpy.com, he revealed: "We wanted him to be accurate, you know, 360 degrees, and the performance that Mike gave meant we had a lot of variety in the editing room. We could have cuts where he was really nice, we could have a cut where he was a little more aggressive, we wanted to paint the full perspective. You see him with his boss, you see him in prison and he's very threatening. You see him selling drugs, riding past police with drugs in his car, doing something that could get him right back in jail.
"You see him argue with his girl, you see him argue with his mum, so it's all these different things. But in this case, the fact that he's an African American male in this environment, people expect certain things from a character that looks like that. I think that's what a lot of it boils down to. If he wasn't a black male from Oakland, nobody would say his character was too nice."
Coogler was inspired to make the film after becoming "emotionally moved" when he saw footage of the tragedy.
It is believed the officer drew his gun and shot Grant once in the back after officers detained him and others following reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco.
He added: "When Oscar was killed, once I saw the footage and was emotionally moved by it, I couldn't help but personalise it."

Rebecca Ferguson's baby is due in November.
The 'Nothing's Real but Love' singer - who was a finalist on 'The X Factor' UK 2010 alongside Matt Cardle and One Direction - announced on Twitter earlier this month that she is expecting a child with her mystery boyfriend of over a year, and she has now revealed she is going to become a mother in seven months' time.
In a telephone interview with panel show 'Loose Women', she said: "I'm due the first couple of weeks in November."
Rebecca - who has children Lillie May, nine, and Karl, seven, from a previous relationship - found out she was pregnant after collapsing during an appearance on the very same show in February, where she performed her new single 'All That I've Got'.
The 27-year-old star recalled: "I took a test because I was thinking, 'This is weird, what's going on with my body?' It came up with negative, so I was like how strange because I've got all the pregnancy symptoms.
"After the show I ended up spending two days resting in bed but I was saying to everyone, 'I've got pregnancy symptoms!' A couple of days later, I took another test and it was positive."

Kim Kardashian will have three wedding ceremonies.
The 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star is set to tie the knot with her rapper fiancé Kanye West once in Southern California and twice in France and the couple's lawyers have advised them to have their civil ceremony in the United States, since they're both American citizens, prior to their French nuptials on May 24 to avoid any unnecessary paperwork problems.
A source told RadarOnline.com: "Typically, the US recognizes citizens getting married in France, but dealing with a foreign government and paperwork could be a nightmare.
"So just to make sure it's legal, Kim and Kanye will first be having a civil ceremony in Southern California."
Kim and Kanye - who have nine-month-old daughter North together - will have to have a religious ceremony after the civil wedding because of French custom.
The French Embassy in Washington D.C. said: "A religious ceremony has to be performed after a civil ceremony, never before.
"The minister, priest or rabbi will require a certificate of civil marriage before any religious ceremony takes place."
The couple are planning a lavish ceremony and Kim will have three dresses for the French event.
A source added: "Kim will have at least three dress changes on the big ceremony day in France.
"It will be over the top. Kim and Kanye want it to be the wedding of the century."

Dolly Parton claims her goddaughter Miley Cyrus has now "made her point" as an artist and should now calm down her controversial antics.
The 'Jolene' singer, who has always defended the 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker's flesh-baring music videos and revealing stage outfits, insists she's not worried about the star but hopes she calms down.
Writing about Miley for Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list - which the former 'Hannah Montana' star was named in - she said: "If I didn't know how smart and talented Miley is, I might worry about her. But I've watched her grow up. So I don't. She knows what she's doing.
"She made her point, she made her mark, and more power to her. I'm hoping that now she can relax and show people how talented she really is.
"Cause the girl can write. The girl can sing. The girl is smart. And she doesn't have to be so drastic. But I will respect her choices. I did it my way, so why can't she do it her way?"
The 68-year-old country musician accepts Miley, 21, has become so sexual and controversial because she wanted to do something extreme to destroy her squeaky clean Hannah Montana image for good.
Dolly added: "She was very proud of the work she did as Hannah Montana, but people were gonna leave her there forever.
"And she was just smotherin' and chokin' in it. So she felt she had to do something completely drastic."

Britney Spears had a "blast" at her sister's wedding.
The 'Perfume' hitmaker took a break from her Las Vegas concert residency to attend her 22-year-old sibling Jamie Lynn Spears' nuptials to James Watson last month.
Britney - who broke of her engagement to her former agent, Jason Trawick, in January 2013 and is reportedly desperate to tie the knot with her boyfriend David Lucado - insists the time she spent in New Orleans for the wedding was wonderful.
Speaking in the new issue of People magazine, the 32-year-old pop star said: "My time off was a blast. It was probably one of the best breaks I've had in a long time. I went to Jamie Lynn's wedding in New Orleans.
"I can't believe my baby sis is all grown up."
Following Jamie Lynn's big day, Britney then flew to Hawaii with her partner David and her two sons, Sean, eight, and Jayden, seven.
The 'Alien' hitmaker said: "Afterwards I spent a few days running around on the beach in Hawaii with my boys."
Britney has been showing off a slimmer figure recently after working hard in the gym and pushing herself in rehearsals for her 'Britney: Piece of Me' shows at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
She said: "I feel great, I really do. I've been trying to change up my workouts by getting outdoors more. I'm channelling my inner athlete, playing a lot of basketball and more recently taking tennis lessons. Serena Williams watch out!"

Matthew McConaughey came to the rescue of a baby seal.
The Oscar-winning 'Dallas Buyers Club' star reportedly told a group of teenagers to "back off" after they began poking the animal with a stick while he was surfing on the beach in Malibu, California.
A source told the National Enquirer: "Matthew told the kids the seal wasn't hurt, it was resting and sunning itself - and that young pups do this all the time while the mother seal's swim close by until they are ready to re-enter the sea.
"After a 20-minute lecture on sea life, the kids were so anxious to get away that they didn't even bother to ask the star to pose for a photo."
This comes after Matthew's mother Kay McCabe praised her son for his kind-hearted nature last month.
She told People magazine: "Matthew makes me proud because he is very humble and sincere and a very thoughtful person. He is just a great son."

Chris Addison says Peter Capaldi is the "perfect" choice to play 'Doctor Who'
The 42-year-old actor insists his former 'The Thick of It' co-star, who has taken over the role as the titular Time Lord in the sci-fi series, will be fantastic as the Doctor and believes he will bring back an air of slightly menacing mystery to the part.
In an interview with ShortList magazine, he revealed: "I've said it for years - he's the perfect Doctor. We've had terrific Doctors recently, but they've all been missing this note I loved when I was a kid: that you didn't know if you were safe with the Doctor. He was this terrifying, mercurial figure, he could be an imp or an evil genie; it would turn on a sixpence."
Chris believes Peter's portrayal will be "darker" than Matt Smith's incarnation as the Eleventh Doctor and David Tennant's Tenth Doctor.
He also believes Peter might be able to reach the high standard set by Tom Baker, who starred in the series between 1974 and 1981 and is the longest running actor in the role.
He added: "There were moments of darkness in Matt Smith's and David Tennant's Doctors, but Peter's able to play that note of imperiousness. I think he'll be this generation's Tom Baker."