I’ve tie-dyed my old grey pants and turned loo rolls into butterflies

There have been big dramas for Karen in EastEnders. What would like to happen to her?

I’d love to see Karen win the lottery, like Del Boy did in Only Fools and Horses. They could do one of those specials and send the Taylors on holiday to Vegas. I am lucky as I get to do comedy and the tragedy. One week you’re crying non-stop, the next you’ll have a funny costume on, doing karaoke. Have you missed your co-stars while filming has stopped?

Yes. We’ve a WhatsApp group for the whole cast. We’re all chatting, posting things and there’s funny banter. I miss them all. Has your daughter, Nancy, been keeping you busy? We’ve been doing lots of creative things like colouring. We did some tie-dye the other day. We got all our knickers and stuff that was going a bit grey and dyed it. It came out brilliant. We’ve done loom bands, made butterflies out of toilet rolls – it’s been like Blue Peter.

What have you been watching on TV?

A lot of Frozen and Snow White and things I watched growing up like Annie, which I loved. On my own, I’ve been watching Unorthodox on Netflix. I loved that. I never knew about the Jewish community, it’s fascinating. I love Location, Location, Location, A Place in the Sun and Antiques Roadshow. I sound like an old fuddy-duddy. What’s the last series you binge-watched? Killing Eve. I’ve only just watched series 1 and 2, I was late to the party. I literally watched it all in a week. I worked with Fiona

Shaw (Carolyn Martens). My first job after drama school was touring a George Bernard Shaw play that ended up at the National Theatre, and she directed it. And Jodie Comer, my girl crush. That’s the best series I’ve watched in a while. Do you snack in front of the TV? I do snack, especially during lockdown. If I’m watching a film it’s popcorn, chocolate, crisps and biscuits. I can’t stop picking. Who were you most looking forward to meeting when you joined EastEnders? Dot Cotton has been my favourite character since the start. The first time I met June Brown my heart was racing – I was starstruck. I did a scene with her in the laundrette. I was folding a sheet with her and I was shaking. She was brilliant.