Ex-'Enders star Oberman recalls Tsunami

Ex-EastEnders star Tracey-Ann Oberman has recalled her experiences of the 2004 Thailand Tsunami.

The former soap star, who played Chrissie Watts between 2004 and 2005, was on her honeymoon in Phuket when the Boxing Day disaster happened.

"I had ten days between murdering [on-screen husband] Den [Watts] and burying him," she told The Mirror. "EastEnders sent me on honeymoon with the script. We had four lovely days. Then the Tsunami hit.

"One minute all is fine, the next you're wading over bodies. It was very distressing. You saw bodies and bodies and bodies.

"The posters of the missing at Phuket airport and having thousands of relatives and friends searching for faces... that was terrible... On the plane, all you could hear was sobbing."

The actress, who is currently competing in BBC One's Celebrity Masterchef, confessed that she broke down during filming of the soap on her return from the holiday.

"I had to go straight back to EastEnders and two days in was when I had a reaction," she said. "I found myself in the make-up chair just crying."

She added: "These things make you stronger. They're a wake-up call. They make you realise life is fragile and everything can change in an instant. We have to eke out every bit of happiness and live in the moment."