Rosa di Marco actress Louise Jameson has claimed EastEnders bosses axed her from the soap after she disputed a racism storyline.
Her character's screen life only lasted for two years, with Rosa suffering a fatal heart attack off-screen in 2000.
Discussing her departure with The Mirror recently, Louise shared her disappointment towards how she claims things were handled.
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"I was really annoyed about the way my exit was announced. I was told the night before it appeared in the papers under the headline, 'Di Marcos Axed'," she explained.
"I thought they could have run it by me a bit beforehand so I could tell my family. It just wasn't respectful.
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"Shortly before that announcement, they'd wanted to run a particular story that I wasn't happy with and I wonder if that was the beginning of my demise. They were going to make Rosa racist."
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The star said she was okay with the storyline "if the overall feel was anti-racism".
However, Louise feared the association she'd be given by some TV fans, as she added: "When you're in a soap, people identify you so strongly with the character you're playing, so I didn't want to appear racist."
BBC decided not to comment after Digital Spy reached out.
EastEnders airs Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays on BBC One.
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