“IT WAS REAL TERROR!”
Stars Letitia, Kellie and Diane lift the lid on the real-life horrors of the Square’s river death disaster…
here was little acting required from the
Eastenders cast while filming episodes for the show’s 35th anniversary death cruise, as the terror felt by the characters in deadly danger on the River Thames washed over the actors for real!
Actress Diane Parish, aka Denise, reveals that night shoots out on the black and freezing water were not plain sailing…
“I’m not great with water, and we were on the Thames when I just thought, ‘This is terrifying. What am I doing?’” admits the star. “It all became very surreal at one o’clock in the morning, and I have to confess to having a slight meltdown. But it was all right, I got sympathy and tea. I have to shout out to Jake Wood, who plays Max, as he was brilliant. He really looked after me and kept checking, as I didn’t think that you can just realise your phobia in a moment – and that was the moment that I realised I didn’t like water! It was real terror!”
Filming also took place at a studio in Basildon where the actors were submerged in a water tank – and that wasn’t much fun either!
“Every time we went for a take, the crew had to murk up the water with vegetable matter,” explains actress Kellie Bright, who plays Linda. “It was pretty grim!”
Meanwhile, Walford Queen Letitia Dean, who has played Sharon since day dot, was feeling equally unglamorous when the time came to shoot her scenes back on dry land. Shazza is arguably one of the most glamorous ladies in soap – so how did Tish feel about going make-up-free for the moment Sharon gives birth? “I looked suitably sweaty – with no bats!” giggles Tish, alluding to Sharon’s must-have fluttery eyelashes. “I think someone said to me, ‘You’re so courageous, having your face off.’
“It’s actually quite liberating and lovely when you take it all off,” continues the star. “I mean, it’s not so great on a 50inch screen for some of us,” she laughs. “But, you know, we can’t have it all in life, can we?”