
Jacqueline Leonard has revealed that she quit EastEnders due to the treatment of the show’s younger stars, including Danniella Westbrook and Paul Nicholls, during that particular time period.
The actress, who played Lorraine Wicks between 1996 and 1997, discussed her stint in the BBC One soap in a new chat, reflecting on how it was ‘difficult to watch’ as a number of younger actors ‘got themselves into trouble’.
The discussion was sparked following comments made by Roxy Mitchell star Rita Simons, who claimed that EastEnders could be ‘toxic’ at times behind the scenes.
‘I didn’t personally experience the toxicity that Rita described but I could see it was happening,’ said Jaqueline. ‘There was definitely a hierarchy on set and I just kept away from that. But after some time of watching that, it was time for me to move on.
‘Nobody really looked after the younger actors like Paul [Nicholls] and Danniella. They were getting themselves into trouble and as a mother I found that difficult to watch.’
Jacqueline admitted that this was one of her reasons for leaving, nearly three decades on since her departure, telling The Sun that she ‘didn’t like what [she] was seeing’, and ‘had enough’.


‘I was leaving on a high but it was definitely time for me to go,’ she said.
The actress makes her long-awaited return to Coronation Street this week, reprising her role of Linda Hancock, just in time for Chesney Brown (Sam Aston) and Gemma Winter’s (Dolly-Rose Campbell) wedding.
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Jacqueline revealed that she ‘loved’ coming back to Corrie, and would be open to ‘sticking around’ on a more permanent basis, adding that the storyline could ‘go in so many different ways’.
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One. Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1.
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