EastEnders star struggles with fame

EastEnders actress Kierston Wareing has admitted that her sudden rise to fame has been difficult for her. The star, who plays Max Branning’s wife Kirsty, conceded that she doesn’t plan on staying on the show for too long.

“I’d like to do other projects. It’d be nice to be in the show, come out, go back in there and come out – I don’t know if they’re going to allow that, but that’d be my ideal situation,” she told Digital Spy.

Wareing in action on EastEnders [Studio still]

“It would be nice to do film work and dramas, something you can really get your teeth into. I think a year in EastEnders would be good – maybe longer.”

Explaining that she’s been having difficulty adjusting to life in the spotlight, she went on:

“If you want me to be honest it was very difficult. Even though I’ve been in the acting trade beforehand, it was a bit of a shock to the system, because I didn’t realise just how many people believe in these characters and believe you are the person.

“It’s taken me quite a while to adapt to because I like to be a private person, but now every move of mine is suddenly on Twitter or maybe you walk outside and there’s a press photographer there.”

She added:

“Now it’s different as I’m prepared for it, but I usually avoid those kinds of situations and hide behind someone else if I see someone from the press.

“When I’m in a local pub, I just want the Kierston who I used to be, not try to talk about, ‘Oh, wow, EastEnders’ with punters for seven hours. But it’s a learning process.”