Former EastEnders star Lin Blakley was asked to return to the soap in “February” – but she declined due to going away on holiday with her friend.
EastEnders Queen Victoria pub
The 78-year-old actress – who played Pam Coker – arrived on Albert Square with her on-screen husband Les Coker (Roger Sloman) in 2014, and the pair ran the Coker and Sons funeral parlour and flower stall.
In 2015, their grandson Paul Coker (Jonny Labey) joined them in Walford and had a relationship with hardman Phil Mitchell’s (Steve McFadden) son Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid).
The following year, Paul died from the injuries he sustained after he and Ben were the victims of a vicious homophobic attack – prompting Pam and Les to leave Walford and start a new life in Worthing, West Sussex.
However, Pam – who, with Les, left the running of their funeral parlour to Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) – returned for brief stints in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
But after a three-year absence, EastEnders felt it was right to bring Lin back to the hit BBC One soap, however, she refused because the star was going away on a 10-day holiday with her friend.
Speaking to Matthew Rolland on the latest episode of his Isolation interviews YouTube series, Lin revealed: “I think it was the beginning of the year, February, I was just about to go on holiday, and [somebody] in casting rang my agent and said, ‘Ask Lin, I want her to come back in for three eps, with the hope of maybe coming back in permanently.
“But it never happened because I had a friend I was going away with, and I didn’t want to let her down. So, I didn’t.”
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