Actress Danielle Harold is delighted to be returning to EastEnders – because life outside Albert Square was driving her up the pole.
The 26-year-old beauty found herself being offered too many “sleazy” roles during her four-year break from the hit soap.
Danielle, who played Lola Pearce until 2015 then kept landing parts as sex workers or strippers.
“I was stereotyped – it was the classic prostitute or pole dancing role,” she says.
“I think it was because of my blonde hair.”
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She later played a doctor in horror film Fanged Up, but admits she couldn’t wait to get her teeth back into her old role.
“Fanged Up was filmed in a prison, there was fake blood everywhere. It was quite scary,” she says.
“I went from a prison to Walford. I couldn’t wait to be back.”
But her time away wasn’t all doom and gloom.
She was invited to the Cannes Film Festival where she bumped into childhood heroes including John Travolta and Pulp Fiction co-star Uma Thurman.
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“Cannes was one of the best experiences. I was in a queue to get an ice cream and Uma was in front of me,” she giggles.
“She dropped her wallet on the floor, and I picked it up to give it back and she said ‘thanks’. That was so insane and also quite awkward.
“I also got to see a screening of Grease for the anniversary and John Travolta presented it. I was dying as Grease is one of my favourite films.
“He spoke to the audience and I ended up touching his hand. That was amazing.”
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Danielle got her big break as EastEnders’ feisty ex-care home kid who thieved, got nicked by police and got pregnant to killer Ben Mitchell.
But the co-star she missed most was Perry Fenwick, 56, who plays Lola’s granddad.
“I kept in contact with Perry – he is like my dad, I love him so much,” she says.
“It was so overwhelming coming back. You think, do they know who I am? You get really nervous.”
But she eased those nerves by recalling her pal Danny Dyer’s first day on the soap.
“I remember his first scene. He said, ‘I’m bloody nervous,’ I told him, ‘Oh, shut up, you’ll be fine’. It’s insane how quickly that time has gone.”
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Now she is looking forward to getting stuck into some gritty storylines.
She says: “I was 17 when I started on EastEnders and I feel like I have grown up a lot. It is a crazy thing to be a part of the show so young.
“When you are younger you go out a lot more, but I don’t do the clubbing scene now.
“I sound like I am 60 but I’m only 26. I feel old. Now I’m just looking forward to getting stuck into it.”
Danielle has come a long way since being spotted in Jamie’s Dream School – a reality show fronted by Jamie Oliver who aimed to help teens with fewer than five GCSEs achieve their ambition.
She was a hit with celebrity teachers including Cherie Blair, Simon Callow and former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell.
Her history teacher David Starkey was so impressed by one of her essays he encouraged her to apply to Cambridge University.
But young Danielle had other dreams.
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EastEnders, 8pm Monday, BBC1
