EastEnders star Gillian Wright on responsibility of Jean plot

EastEnders' Gillian Wright has weighed in on her character Jean Slater's ongoing bipolar disorder storyline.

The actress spoke on yesterday's (May 26) edition of The One Show, where co-host Alex Jones questioned whether she felt a certain level of responsibility in portraying mental health on screen.

"Yes, completely," she replied. "What I do has to be believable, however emotional the part is or however funny she is or whatever it is she's doing. It needs to come from a place of truth for me."

Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes//BBC

Although Wright is elated by the EastEnders fanbase's reaction to Jean's journey, the star caveated by noting how it's not necessarily her job to educate the public on mental health.

"My part in this isn't to teach, it is to play the part of Jean. But a lot of the messages I've been getting on Instagram have been teaching me, myself, even more," she revealed.

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"Somebody, for instance, messaged me saying that they've been diagnosed with bipolar, but they don't necessarily know anybody else with bipolar.

"So watching a character on television with a storyline that is about bipolar has made them feel less lonely. And that means the world to me."

Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes//BBC

The latest scenes for Jean saw her continuing to refuse care from anyone except her granddaughter Lily.

But a confrontation between Jean and Stacey could have consequences, with a clearly-injured Stacey deciding to hide the truth about what happened between them.

If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov.

EastEnders airs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.