EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders stars Heather Peace and Balvinder Sopal have spoken about the future of Eve Unwin and Suki Panesar's romance storyline.
The popular characters are currently facing an uncertain future despite their strong feelings for each other – partly as Suki is struggling to be open about her sexuality.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards 2022 this week, Heather and Balvinder explained EastEnders' approach to the story and shared details of what's to come.
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Heather told us: "It's a slow-burn and it continues. They've written it really beautifully. The scenes we've seen recently are ones that the writers have allowed us to earn.
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"It's taken us a long time to get to the point where we got to. That's really important.
"It's a love story. The thing that's great about me and Bal is we've talked all the way along and we've wanted this to be a love story, as opposed to anything salacious. I think the writers have given us that."
She continued: "I haven't been in a long-running soap before. I've been in six-parters or twelve-parters. I didn't think that the thing I would love the most about soap is the exploration at such a deep level – a seven-month, slow-burn love story, or the friendship that Eve has with Stacey.
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"It feels like there's so much time to explore stuff. It was a real surprise to me and I can honestly say, after 25 years of doing this, Eve might be my favourite character.
"It comes down to the fact that everyone's amazing that I work with, but also the fact that I know more about Eve already after 18 months, than any of the characters I've ever played."
Meanwhile, Balvinder also offered hope that it's just the beginning of Suki and Eve's journey together.
She teased: "There's longevity so there's lots more to come, that you have not seen yet!
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"We're talking about women who are much older, later on in life. They've got a lot that comes with it. They don't just jump into bed, it's not a teenage romance.
"It's been a real collaborative process, in that we've been allowed to explore what this chemistry and connection means.
"I think that's what the fans are really buying into – that it's more about two people connecting and finding each other and themselves. Rather than a quick slapdash romance. There's plenty more to come."
Balvinder also spoke about the inevitable moment that Suki comes face-to-face with her estranged husband Nish, played by show newcomer Navin Chowdhry.
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She teased: "You'll just have to watch it and see. Two very strong characters meeting for the first time – what do you expect is going to happen? I'm looking forward to seeing how it's all going to play out.
"When they cast Navin Chowdhry, I was like, 'Wow'. The man's brilliant. He comes with a whole load of talent, experience and expertise as well as looking good, so you're in safe hands with someone like that, that knows what they're doing.
"You throw another person into the mix and it just shakes the dynamics up. So there's plenty of stories to come."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
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