Former EastEnders star Shana Swash has revealed she took a break from acting after a series of rejections.
The actress, best known as Walford’s Demi Miller, has kept a low profile ever since her exit from Albert Square back in 2006.
And appearing on today’s Loose Women, she revealed the reason.
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Talking about Shana’s post-EastEnders career, panellist Stacey Solomon – who is dating Shana’s older brother Joe – said: “You came out of acting because the rejection was too much to deal with.”
Shana, 27, said: “It’s hard. I was a young actress and I found it really hard to get work after EastEnders.
“It’s a bit disheartening. I thought I was done.
“I auditioned quite a lot and got lots of rejections so I took a couple of years out.”
The soap star said she only resumed her screen career on her mum’s encouragement.
“I had a chat with my mum and she said, ‘That’s what you do best and I don’t think you should give it up’. So she was the one who pushed me back into it and I’m so grateful she did.”
Shana’s latest project is a movie called My Feral Heart, on DVD now, which tells the story of a young man with Down’s Syndome (Steven Brandon) who forms a life-changing new friendship.
She was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2016.
Last year, it was reported Shana was working in a London pub, after she was seen pulling pints behind the bar.
EastEnders is never afraid of bringing back old faces so who knows, maybe we’ll see Demi and the Miller family back in the square one day!
Even though her elder brother Joe (Mickey Miller) is busy working on I’m A Celebrity’s spinoff Extra Camp, he said last last year he’d never rule out a return – on one condition!
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Joe told The Sun: “I’d definitely be interested in returning to EastEnders. If they ever phoned up, it would definitely be something I would think about.”
He added to Bang Showbiz: “I think they need to bring the whole family – the whole shebang – back. It would be nice to work with my sister Shana again.”
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.