EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders star Clair Norris has revealed the future of her character Bernie Taylor's baby story, after she gives birth next week.
Bernie will return to Walford in next Monday's episode (March 28), where she's shocked to learn about Stuart's cancer diagnosis.
Viewers know that Bernie is carrying a baby for Stuart and Rainie following their surrogacy arrangement last year, but she'll go into labour before she gets a chance to speak to them properly.
After giving birth, Rainie is forced to tell Bernie another difficult truth – that Stuart is refusing all medical treatment for his illness. This leaves Bernie unsure if she can go through with her agreement to let them raise the baby, but fans will have to wait and see what she ultimately decides.
Either way, Clair thinks her character has got a tough road ahead of her regardless of what she chooses.
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Speaking to Digital Spy, she said: "It's going to be hard I think no matter what. Even if the baby wasn't growing up across the Square, I think it would still be hard for her – she's spent nine months with this baby growing inside her.
"She's kept that in mind throughout though and she believes she's detached from the baby. You see different sides of Bernie and how she tries to suppress those feelings and try to move on."
Clair also discussed the challenge of filming the labour scenes, admitting that she felt physically exhausted afterwards.
"It was exciting but I was very nervous," Clair said. "Obviously it's a big thing to come back to. I worked with Richard Lynn, who brought the Taylors in, and he also did Bernie's miscarriage story with me as well.
"It was nice he got to do this and it meant there was already a trust there, which put my nerves at ease. Doing all these scenes have been really fun and I've really enjoyed doing it. I've loved working with Lorraine, Tanya and Ricky again and also just pushing myself – it's been a great story to come back to.
"I'm not going to take it away from the mothers who have actually given birth, but I was tensing like I was pushing and the next day my body was really hurting! Obviously it can't be like giving birth I know, I can't take it away from the people who have!"
Related: EastEnders confirms plans to return to full-length Tuesday episodes after Holby City ends
Teasing what's ahead for Bernie in 2022, Clair added: "There is such a buzz around the show at the minute and [Executive Producer] Chris [Clenshaw] plays a massive part in that.
"It is really exciting, it's always exciting when a new person comes in. You don't know what their vision is for the show or their vision is for your character, so it is exciting to have that and see what 2022 brings for EastEnders."
EastEnders continues on Monday, March 28 at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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