Pasty Kensit: Why EastEnders was a dream come true

Patsy Kensit "lived vicariously" through her 'EastEnders' character.

The 55-year-old actress was cast as Emma Harding - who is the long-lost mother of brain tumour sufferer Lola Pearce-Brown - in the long-running BBC soap opera for a short stint earlier this year and explained that the genre creates such "great roles" for women, as she remembered being influenced by legendary soap matriarchs like Pat Phoenix and Barbara Windsor.

Speaking on ITV's 'Good Morning Britain', she said: "I think on soaps, they write such great roles for women of a certain age. I go back to people like Pat Phoenix in 'Coronation Street', who people may not remember because that is a long, long time ago. But obviously, yes, Barbara Windsor, June Brown, they made such an impact on me with the great one-liners they had.

"When you get to play a role like that, it's so delicious because you get to say all these things you would never say to anyone in real life - or at least I wouldn't! And you kind of live vicariously through them. So my character came in a bit damaged and fragile, she was trying to get close to her daughter in an awkward and quick way. But she is quite controlling, she causes trouble, she's got a temper. I've had a couple of great put-downs that I've had to do with the lovely Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell) and of course, I got to work with Danielle Harold, who plays Lola. She is absolutely one of the best actresses I've ever worked with, she is incredible. She is just killing it."

The former pop star went on to add that she has the "greatest respect" for writers of the genre and noted that being cast in the soap opera - which has been on screen since 1985 - was a "dream come true" because she is a "superfan" of the programme herself.

She added: I have the greatest respect for the actors, the crew, and the writers on soaps because they are at the top of their game. Years ago, soaps were looked at as an actors' graveyard, a long time ago.

"But this is our drama on telly now. We have other one-off things but people really invest in these shows. I've been a superfan of 'EastEnders' for so many years and my first week I was terrified! The pace is hard. It's freezing cold in Walford, it has its own temperature, when you drive in you see the temperature drop by several degrees and then it goes back up when you drive out.

"I only finished shooting three or four weeks ago. I was only ever asked to come in for two blocks of shooting. I had a blast on the show, Danielle is incredible. Jamie Borthwick, who plays her husband, we had a lot of scenes him and I arguing but he is the funniest guy. I made some really good friends there, the character is great and I'm just stoked that I got to be on 'EastEnders'. It was a dream come true!"