EastEnders legend Charlie Brooks says she is 'forever grateful' for the soap on 40th anniversary
Charlie Brooks says she will be "forever grateful" for 'EastEnders' upon the programme's 40th anniversary.
Charlie Brooks will be "forever grateful" for 'EastEnders'.
The 43-year-old actress got her big break when she was cast as Janine Butcher in the BBC soap opera in 1999 and took to social media on Wednesday (19.02.25) morning to pay tribute to the show upon its 40th anniversary.
She wrote on Instagram: "Happy 40th anniversary @bbceastenders
"Forever grateful for the opportunities Eastenders have given me. From being a huge fan watching it on my telly in my small home town in wales, to becoming Janine in all her brilliantly awful misunderstood glory [wink emoji]
"Congratulations EE. For continuing to produce fantastic work and telling important stories.
"Forever grateful [heart emoji]."(sic)
Over the years, Janine has been responsible for the deaths of three people, most famously pushing her then-husband Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) off a cliff on New Year's Day 2004 and even though she was arrested, she was later released without charge because of a lack of evidence.
In 2009, she accidentally ran over Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace), and four years later she stabbed her ex-husband Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) to death, although she was later acquitted of his murder.
Charlie was the third actress cast as Janine, who was introduced in 1989 and initially played by Rebecca Michael until 1993 before Alexia Demetriou took on the part for the next three years.
The former 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' winner stayed with the programme until 2004 before returning in 2008 and then departing again in 2014.
She made a brief comeback in 2021, but the following year, her character was sent to prison following numerous crimes and recently explained that she would be unlikely to return for the anniversary as she is focusing on theatre after she had competed in 'Dancing on Ice'.
She said: "I'm going straight back into 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' for a while, and then I probably need a little bit of time off.
"And then we're in talks about another theatre project at the moment, so I don't know yet. I'm biding my time. So who knows."
