Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison calls for changes to soap

Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison, has called for the soap to revert back to more realistic plotlines.

Fergison entertained soap lovers for half a decade during her stint in the BBC series as Heather Trott, the George Michael enthusiast in constant pursuit of love.

And despite Heather's last episode airing back in 2012 – when she was killed after being hit with a photo frame held by Ben Mitchell – the actress has kept an eye on the various unfolding plotlines since.

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Speaking recently to The Mirror, the actress called for the producers to "go out and talk to people" and re-establish plotlines that would actually touch soap audiences.

"They need to bring it back down to earth a bit," she said. “When the sensational stuff becomes like a movie, it becomes a bit like a blur.

"Arthur stealing the money, Den and Angie’s divorce papers, those were the hearts and lives of real people."

She added: "If you wanted explosions, you'd watch Fast and Furious."

Fergison also touched upon her desire to see more plus-size actors take on major roles on TV – a sentiment previously echoed by Derry Girls' Siobhán McSweeney, who recently called for romantic leads to not just "have a certain body shape" or "fit a certain aesthetic".

cheryl fergison is evicted from the big brother house

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"We can identify better when someone looks like you is represented," Ferguson commented.

"And we do have sex! People like to pretend that we just laugh around being jolly and eating, but we don't.

"You see bigger people apologising in restaurants, or worrying people are looking at them. I'm always like, 'Eat your food and enjoy it. If people look at me in restaurants, I think, 'What's up? Are you jealous of the food on my plate?'"

Fergison currently stars in Netflix's mockumentary Hard Cell as an alternate version of herself – a former soap star hired by the prison governess Laura to help put together a production of West Side Story.

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