“Rainie will give Stuart a run for his money!”

Tanya is backing her alter ego all the way…

So Tanya, how is Ricky Champ, who plays Stuart, shaping up as your new Walford nemesis?

Oh, it’s been great fun working with Ricky! It’s a completely different energy to Rainie and Max. Rainie and Stuart are, in a way, a mirror of each other – so it’s been really enjoyable to play.

Of the two of them, who do you think would come out on top?

Rainie would definitely stand up to Stuart. She has the courage to give him a run for his money if she needed to, and she’s definitely brave enough to go head-to-head with him.

Rainie finally has the family package she’s yearned for – Max and baby Abi – but she still doesn’t seem very happy. Why do you think that is?

It’s because that package is gone at the moment. Rainie thinks that if she can prove what Stuart’s up to staying at Dot’s, that’s a feather in her cap and she can take that information back to Max. She really wants to fulfil a role within the

Branning family.

We’ve seen lots of different sides to Rainie – is that fun to play?

I’ve really enjoyed coming back and playing almost a different Rainie – it has been so enjoyable. I think we’ve discovered that Rainie still has that cunning and manipulative side to her, but she’s also really needy and loving. What I’ve learned is that she’s such a strong person, she’ll always try to work out a way to survive.

And when it seems that she’s really down, and there’s no way out, she’ll always find a way to land on her feet.