Lucker glad over 'Enders accent escape

Zöe Lucker has admitted that she felt "grateful" when EastEnders bosses decided she would not need to use a cockney accent on the soap.

The West Yorkshire-born actress signed up to play glamorous businesswoman Vanessa Gold on the Walford serial earlier this year and will make her first appearance in the role on Friday.

Speaking in an interview with DS, Lucker explained: "I'm not actually using a Southern accent - I'm using my own voice, which I'm grateful for.

"When they called about the part, I spoke to [series story producer] Dom [Treadwell-Collins] about the character and what they wanted from her but after I put the phone down, I thought, 'Oh wait, do they want me to put on an Essex accent?' because they told me that Vanessa lives in Chigwell.

"I think if you're doing one-off dramas, you can go and play a character with an accent, but when you're surrounded by people who use their own accents, I think it would have felt really unnatural for me to be putting it on. It could have all gone a bit Dick Van Dyke!"

Vanessa has been introduced to the programme as a new love interest for Max Branning (Jake Wood), who is currently estranged from wife Tanya (Jo Joyner).

> Click here to read our interview with Zöe Lucker
> Click here to read more from Zöe Lucker in Soap Scoop