Zoe Lucker swaps the glamour of Footballers Wifes for depressing Walford

[parkerman]

The News of the World suggests that Tanya (Jo Joyner) will end the affair

How did they find out? Did they hack Tanya's phone?

[JustJodi]

How did they find out? Did they hack Tanya's phone?

was wondering when that would happen LOL

[alan45]

EastEnders bids farewell to Vanessa Gold next week as her troubled time on Albert Square comes to an end.

Feeling backed into a corner when Eddie realises there's more to her recent behaviour than meets the eye, Vanessa tells him everything about his son Michael's vicious scheming.

Vanessa fears that she's blown things with Eddie after confessing that Michael paid her to break up his relationship with Carol, but she's in for a surprise when the antiques dealer asks for her help to destroy Michael in a revenge plot of his own.

Eddie promises Vanessa that they can jet off to Spain together once they've dealt with Michael, but exact details of what happens next are currently being kept under wraps. Will Eddie manage to get even with Michael? And will Vanessa leave with him?

Here, Zöe Lucker - who played Vanessa - chats to Digital Spy about making her EastEnders departure, her year-long stint on the show, and her legendary "bubbly in the fridge" moment!

We've seen another side to Vanessa recently while she's been involved in Michael's schemes. What did you make of the different direction for the character?
"With all of the stuff where Michael was paying Vanessa to break up Eddie and Carol, she was in a very difficult place. She got left with nothing, she had nowhere to live and she had her daughter's wedding to pay for. She was very desperate and it wasn't something that came easily to her at all.

"Vanessa isn't a malicious person, but she knew that she had to survive this situation. Because she reached rock bottom, she started to behave in a way that she wouldn't normally behave. I think the good thing is that we saw Vanessa wasn't at all comfortable with Michael's plans for Eddie's demise."


We're about to see Vanessa tell Eddie the truth about everything that happened with Michael. What brings her to that decision?
"Well, it gets to the point where Vanessa does find strength and she doesn't have to be scared of Michael anymore. Vanessa feels like she has nothing else left to lose, so she does everything possible to stay in the relationship with Eddie. That means that she comes clean and just hopes for the best, really! As a result of that, Eddie and Vanessa start plotting and it all becomes a lot more twisted. It's exciting, but you'll have to wait and see exactly what happens!"

How genuine are Vanessa's feelings for Eddie?
"Vanessa has really, really strong feelings for Eddie. She really likes him and she doesn't want to hurt him at all. But she's found herself in an unfortunate situation and sometimes these things spiral out of control. Everything becomes a lot more mixed up and messed up before Vanessa leaves!"

How are you feeling now that your time at EastEnders has come to an end?
"I had an absolutely brilliant time there - I loved it. I was supposed to be there only for a month, but then it kept getting longer and longer. And then particularly in the last three months, I got some really nice storylines and an opportunity to really develop the character. When I left, I was really sad.

"It'd been a whirlwind, as I was just going in for a couple of days a week and not doing all that much for the first year, and then all of a sudden it became really full-on, which was brilliant. I got the chance to work with some amazing actors and fantastic directors during my time on EastEnders, so I was really sad to leave but it was a brilliant experience."


Was it particularly sad to say goodbye to everyone?
"Oh yes, it was, because you work so closely with everybody and you see them every day, and then all of a sudden you're just not there anymore. The transition can be quite a weird one because you almost become institutionalised - going to the same place every single day and seeing the same people. Everyone from cast, crew, make-up and costume become a big part of your life. But obviously I'll still see people and I met some lovely friends who I'll always have now."

Did you have a leaving party?
"I didn't have a leaving party, as I live quite a long way away, we all drive into work and it was a weeknight when I finished. I'm planning for us all to get together and have some drinks somewhere at some stage, though. I didn't really want to do it on the night that I was leaving, because I did feel sad and I didn't want that to be the mood for the evening!"

After working so closely with Jake Wood over the past year, was it strange not to have him there for Vanessa's farewell?
"Yes, I had two months working without him because Jake went on his break, and that meant working with a lot of different actors. That was weird, because for the first year it had literally just been Jake and I, the girls and Jo Joyner. So it did feel odd, but it was really lovely to be able to work with different people as well. I made some really good friends among the other actors, so it was great to have the opportunity to mix it up a bit."

A lot of viewers have said that it's a shame Vanessa is leaving. Are you proud of the impact that she's made recently?
"Yeah, I think the way that it worked out was great, because I did spend the first year just doing a couple of days per week, but that meant I could spend a lot of time with my daughter and it was a drip-feed for the character. But then, suddenly for there to be all these high-impact scenes, I think the audience were able to relate to Vanessa more.

"I think people felt quite sad over what was happening to her, and were also excited by what was going on. The viewers were given a chance to see more of her, but then just as they're getting to know her, she's going - so I think that's probably what it is."


During the quieter times, did you always know that there were big plans ahead for Vanessa?
"Well, the reason for the quieter times was that I was initially only supposed to be there for a month, and there were all these huge pre-planned stories like Kat and Alfie coming back, the baby swap with Ronnie and all that stuff. A lot of the storylines were tied up with different characters, so they didn't quite know where to go with Vanessa.

"Initially, I'd gone in to facilitate Max and Tanya getting back together again, and then it was going to be my time to go. But then they decided to take that story further, so as I was going along, I was hoping that something really good was going to come up and it was worth the wait when it happened. I just loved all of those scripts after Vanessa found out about Max and Tanya, because everything became more exciting then - for me and Vanessa!"

How do you think Vanessa compared to your previous characters?
"I loved the fact that Vanessa was a strong woman and that she's a survivor. When I did HolbyBlue, that was a big difference from when I did Footballers' Wives, and then when I did Bombshell that was very different as well. I've also done plays and other bits and pieces. Physically, Vanessa was closest to Tanya Turner, but Tanya was a lot more calculated and manipulative. While a lot of the things that Vanessa has been doing can come across that way, I think they've come from a very different place."

Vanessa's OCD was also a talking point among viewers…
"Well, initially that was something that came from my first chat with the executive producer. When you join, you have a chat with the exec and some of the writers, so when I first came in they introduced the OCD. But then because there's so many different writers, you have to be responsible for that aspect of the character in the performance.

"It became a lot more interesting when they actually started to write the fact that when Vanessa's getting out of control, she starts trying to regain control and that comes through with the OCD. I loved playing that and I've had a lot of people tell me that they found it quite disturbing to watch!"


What do you make of Vanessa's 'bubbly in the fridge' meltdown becoming such a hit online?
"It's so weird, because I'm a huge technophobe! I check my emails about once every three months, and when I do get an email, my friends have to text me and say, 'I've sent you an email - please read it!' So I wasn't aware of all this, but I suddenly started getting all these texts saying, 'You're trending on Twitter!' I had no idea what that meant at all! (Laughs)

"My other half had to explain it to me, but it's great. I'm glad that people enjoyed what they saw. It was actually Bryan Kirkwood who rang me to say that there was a mash-up of 'bubbly in the fridge'. I haven't seen it, but I'm going to see if I can get someone to show me how to go on YouTube!"

How likely do you think it is that we could see Vanessa again in the future?
"I think it's always dependent on what the storylines are and whether she fits into the Square. Leading up to the end of Vanessa's time on the show, there's a lot of things that could happen. I think we'll just have to wait and see, but it was such a lovely job and I've got nothing but positive things to say about my time there."

What's next for you?
"At the moment I'm just waiting for the right thing to come up. There's been lots of things that have come in, but at the moment nothing feels quite right. I think I want to wait and enjoy some free time until the right job comes up. I'm excited, as there's a lot of good projects out there at the moment so it's just a case of waiting for the right one."

[LostVoodoo]

as ever when someone under-used leaves, Vannessa's character has become a lot better once they've actually given her something to do!

[alan45]

Waterloo Road's Zoe Lucker has revealed that she would consider returning to EastEnders.

Lucker, who made her name on Footballers' Wives, played Max Branning love interest Vanessa Gold between June 2010 and October 2011.

In an interview with The Mirror, the actress explained: "I was only ever contracted for the Max and Tanya storyline for a few months.

"But by the time I'd left, I'd been there for 18 months, which was unexpected but brilliant at the same time.

"I haven't ruled out returning to the show. If the right storyline came up and the timing worked, I would definitely consider it."

However, Lucker insisted that her 4-year-old daughter Lilly is her priority, adding: "Any job I take has to fit with being a mum."

She admitted that her Waterloo Road filming commitments in Scotland has been "tough".

Lucker joined the BBC school drama as Liverpudlian mum Carol Barry in June last year. Her debut episode aired last week.