Soap fans might be surprised to hear that sometimes all the drama is happening BEHIND the scenes.
In a new interview, Pam St Clement has revealed what it was really like working with her co-star Leslie Grantham…
And it reads like a scene from EastEnders.
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Appearing as a guest host on Loose Women on Wednesday 11 July, Pam admitted that the late Leslie – who played famous villain Dirty Den – would “test” his co-stars.
And, according to Pam, he even resorted to name calling.
Talking to her follow panellists, Pam said: “I remember one time, we were joking about and I walked into the Vic and he was there and he said, ‘oh hello, it’s a great white whale’.
“But then I could see him laughing and I was like, ‘yeah you were just waiting to see how I’d react weren’t you? You naughty boy’.”
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She continued: “That was a heck of a shock actually. I was never particularly close to Leslie apart from in a work sense. He was a devil you know, he’d test you.
“If you didn’t pass the test then that was it, he left you to your own devices.”
Pam, who played Pat Butcher for more than 20 years, added that it was sad that Leslie had died in June at the age of 71.
She said: “It’s very sad that he’s died and it’s very sad that he died because he was in dire circumstance after he left EastEnders under a cloud somewhat, I’m afraid to say.
“Nobody should have to pay for their misadventures by dying. And I’m sorry for that and I’m sorry for his family.”
Leslie played Den Watts between 1985 and 1989, before returning to the soap between 2003 and 2005.
In May 2004, a Sunday newspaper printed incriminating photographs of Leslie, after which he released a statement saying: “I am wholeheartedly ashamed of my behaviour and feel that I have let down my colleagues, as well as my friends and family.”
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