Charlie Brooks (Janine Butcher, 'EastEnders')

EastEnders actress Charlie Brooks makes her full-time return to Walford in a few weeks' time as toxic temptress Janine Butcher. Her comeback sees Janine posing as Jewish convert Judith Bernstein, who's about to marry her much older lover in a traditional synagogue ceremony. Her pure, all-white image is ruined, however, when Pat (Pam St Clement) turns up at the service to throw a spanner in the works. Here, DS chats to Charlie about reprising her role, her comeback plot and Janine's new-found religion.

What have you been doing since your last appearance in EastEnders earlier in the year?
"Work-wise, I just did a series called Wired for ITV before I came back, I did Bleak House a couple of years ago, too. There have been some nice little bits and it's been fairly consistent really."

How did the decision to make a more permanent return come about?
"After I returned to do Frank's funeral, the tribute to Mike Reid, Diederick [Santer], the gorgeous man that he is, sent me a text quite soon afterwards saying 'can we talk about you coming back to the show?' and I agreed to go in for a chat. Then we went out to talk about possible storylines and had a great chat - I've always wondered what Janine's been up to since we last properly saw her. It's a pleasure to be back. It was quite a big decision - it's a complete life change. I've got a little girl [called Kiki] but it's a decision that I have to say I'm very happy I made. It's working out extremely well with Kiki, the schedules - everything's just working."

How long are you around for this time?
"I'm back for a year at the moment. I don't know [about anything longer]. We'll see how it goes on both parts."

What was your reaction to your return story?
"Anna Nicola-Smith style! Because we'd done the older man thing with Terry and Billy and Barry - the list goes on - when they explained it to me, I thought it was great. Very camp, too. I like that we've got the lighter side of Janine, too. It gives me the chance to ham it up with her with a bit of comedy. She's very dark, too. Very twisty and very edgy. It's a lot of fun to be able to do both."

Will Janine's past be coming back to haunt her?
"Possibly, who knows?"

Do you think that her character's never really been fully explored?
"Yeah, absolutely. I think that's be very interesting to explore Janine a bit further - the normal side of her!"

How does she come back into the show again?
"In a nutshell, she's been nursing a very old and wealthy man who not with great difficulty - with maybe one or two sexual favours - she's got quite close to. He doesn't know that she plans on fleecing him of all his money. Does she have a soft spot for him? Yeah, I think she does. We first see Janine in this big white dress, fur coat and garter. Very camp."

Does Janine have emotions?
"Somewhere. Deep, deep down."

How does she end up back on the Square?
"Unfortunately, Pat comes and ruins my wedding with a few home truths - the main one being that I'm not actually Judith Berstein - I'm Janine Butcher and I'm about as Jewish as a bacon sandwich. That gives my poor husband-to-be a heart attack! It's hilarious. That then takes me back to the Square when I exact my revenge [by smashing up a few cars]."

Has she really turned to Judaism and turned over a new leaf?
"She did - she would have had to. It was a full commitment for her. She doesn't do anything by halves! As soon as her groom's dead, though, Judaism's dead as far as she's concerned."

Bonus Scoop: Walford's Janine

Earlier this week, I managed to catch up with Charlie Brooks to chat about her return to EastEnders on a full-time basis. The main interview can be found by clicking here.

However, if you're interested in what Janine will be up to in the coming weeks, her friendship with Whitney and how she'll soon be hated nationwide, then read on...

What can we expect from Janine in the coming weeks?
"She goes reasonably quiet, but I think that's quite nice. It re-familiarises viewers with the character quite well. She reflects for a little while and tries to be the good person that she's not. She quickly realises, though, that it's not getting her anywhere and that being bad is better. Having said that, there's always something going on that she can't deal with emotionally. It's going to be interesting at a later date to explore. All the stuff with me and Billy's [Perry Fenwick] quite fun, too. Perry and I love working with each other. Well, I love working with him, but he probably wouldn't say the same!"

Anything interesting coming up that you can't wait for?
"Yes but I can't say anything - not a word!"

Does she find a friend in Whitney?
"Yeah, she does. She doesn't quite know how to deal with her at the beginning. They're in a very similar situation as far as family's concerned. They've both always felt quite abandoned. Janine definitely sees a bit of herself in Whitney. She's not an agony aunt, though. It's quite a nice little relationship but it doesn't last for very long..."

Would you like to see Janine and Max together?
"Oooh, that'd be toxic!"

What burning questions will we want answering?
"People will be asking me if I can lay down while they trample on my head because they hate me so much. I'll be hated nationwide. Fact. There aren't any dark secrets – it's generally why she behaves like she does and what the reasons are for it. She's a very complex ball of wool which takes ages to unravel. Someone who always says she'll change but never does."


From DS