EastEnders' Maisie Smith predicts Tiffany exit will shock fans

EastEnders will soon be saying goodbye to Tiffany Butcher-Baker, and actress Maisie Smith has teased that her character's departure will be a real shock for fans.

Maisie confirmed in October that she was leaving the BBC soap behind, having first taken on the role of Tiffany in 2008 at the age of six, but details of the circumstances surrounding her exit have remained under wraps.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain today (December 6), Maisie dropped a couple of hints about how her character might depart the soap, telling presenters Susanna Reid and Martin Lewis that viewers will be in for a real surprise with Tiffany's fast-approaching final scenes.

Kieron McCarron / Jack Barnes//BBC

"I think they come out in a couple of weeks," she said of her departure scenes. "I'm excited about it. I think it's going to be quite a shock. I haven't even told my family how it happens so it should be a good watch."

Tiffany has recently started to get romantically involved with Aaron Monroe (Charlie Wernham), unaware of just how entrenched he is with a dangerous far-right group, and her connection with Aaron is already starting to result in trouble.

With Aaron's storyline set to progress, and Tiffany on her way out, some fans have speculated that Tiffany could be in danger of losing her life - so is Tiff set to depart in a more permanent way than in the back of a cab?

Maisie was giving nothing away about the potential permanence of her exit, joking: "Listen, you never really leave EastEnders, they always manage to find a way to come back. They always bring people back from the dead... Even if I did (die), they'd bring me back at some point, you never know!"

maisie smith as tiffany butcher in eastenders

BBC

The actress, who reached the final of last year's Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Gorka Marquez, also spoke out about her anxiety and her support of Good Morning Britain's 1 Million Minutes campaign, which aims to combat loneliness.

"Growing up in the limelight as a teenager, you're very judgemental of yourself, so when you do see comments of other people judging you, it can add to the strain of the things you're already going through," she said.

"I think people do think I'm confident because I just cover my nerves with a big smile, and that's what I've been doing my whole life, really."

EastEnders airs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.