“Mick & Linda are a really good team...”

Walford couple Mick and Linda have bagged our Best Partnership accolade for the second time…

Finding a happy couple in soapland is a bit like looking for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow! And while Mick and Linda may not appear to be the happiest or most together pairing right now, we have every faith that they will work though their problems to stay together. And it seems our readers agree – as you’ve voted actors Kellie Bright and Danny Dyer this year’s Best Soap Partnership…

“I love our relationship on and off screen, so anything that celebrates that is really lovely,” grins Kellie. “We won this award two years ago, so we didn’t think we would win it again. What a great surprise – we’re both really chuffed!”

It’s fair to say that things aren’t great between the Carters currently, with Mick harbouring a huge secret about his childhood, and Linda snogging Max this week (see p22)! But despite the issues they’re facing, Danny reckons Mick and Linda will always find a way through…

“They’ve got so much history,” he reminds us. “The fact that they’ve been together since they were young makes them a really good team. Well, when they’re not keeping stuff from each other!”

“Mick and Linda’s love for each other is so honest and true,” chimes in Kellie. “People look at them and go, ‘I wish my husband was a bit more like Mick’, or, ‘I wish my wife looked at me the way Linda looks at Mick’. People want a happy ever after to believe in.”

But perhaps the biggest reason for Mick and Linda’s success on screen is the wonderful rapport that Kellie and Danny share in real life.

“We’re such good friends, and that makes everything so enjoyable,” grins Kellie. “It’s one of the best working relationships I’ve ever had in my life. I feel really lucky.”

“We have been through so much together on this show,” adds Danny. “It is always a joy to come and work with Kellie. She is a brilliant actress.”

And there’s plenty of drama for the pair this Christmas…

“There is a lot to come over the next few weeks,” teases Danny. “I’m incredibly proud of the stuff that we’ve been filming – it’s dark, but it’s an important story…”