EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders star Charlie Brooks has teased an eventful Christmas as her character Janine Butcher gets close to Mick Carter.
Janine is back to her old tricks while trying to get back behind the bar of the Vic this festive season, as she attempts to get closer to Mick in his wife Linda's absence.
Her plans include taking over the Christmas grotto Linda usually designs, then she goes even further when she kisses Mick on Christmas Day! Viewers will have to watch to see how the married dad reacts to Janine's seduction.
In recent comments about the holiday episodes, Charlie Brooks spoke about whether Janine's feelings for Mick are actually genuine.
"She's getting love and lust quite confused. He provokes a lot of deep emotion in her which throws her off guard a little bit," she explained. "He's familiar, he feels familiar to her. He feels like home to her. She doesn’t know how to handle men very well when real feelings are involved.
"Her go-to is money and sex. There's definite confusion around how she thinks Mick feels about her."
As for whether Janine could end the Carters' marriage, Brooks teased: "I think the ideal outcome for Janine is that she wants to feel safe and she wants to feel loved. I think Mick reminds her of her dad in such a strong way so can he be the one to change her?
"Then what can she bring out in him with what's happened in the last eight years. Is there life and excitement in Mick Carter? I think that's Janine's question."
Before the year runs out, Janine will be in for a shock as Mick announces he's bringing his family back together once and for all – including Linda.
"[Janine] feels rejected, confused as to why he is staying with her," Brooks acknowledged. "For her, it's very black and white. She's not privy to their relationship or how deep it is.
"All she sees is the evidence of what the last few years have been like and what Mick's told her, and that is clearly not a very good place to be, so she's trying to help him to see that, in order to get what she wants which is him."
While Mick and Janine's storyline will be fairly tense, Brooks has had a much better time on set working with Danny Dyer extensively.
"Danny is a lot of fun to be around and I think our characters spark really nicely together," she said. "The journey that two characters go on can be really interesting and exciting for both of us to play because there's lots to explore. We have a great time."
While Janine's previous stint in EastEnders did briefly overlap with the arrival of the Carter family, this Christmas plot is the first time the two characters will be directly involved in a storyline together.
EastEnders airs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One.
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