EastEnders star hints at Celebrity Traitors drama after filming 'stressful' show
EastEnders actress Tameka Empson, who plays Kim Fox on the BBC soap, told The Mirror all about her 'stressful' but 'great' stint on Celebrity Traitors, teasing drama ahead
Soap star Tameka Empson found Celebrity Traitors so "stressful" she can never look at a circular table ever again, after filming the dreaded Round Table scenes.
"Can we get a square table, maybe an oval one," the EastEnders favourite joked with The Mirror at this year's British Soap Awards. But despite some tense moments, all to be revealed when the show launches this Autumn, the Kim Fox actress, who took a short break from the BBC soap to film Claudia Winkleman's hit competition series, said she had a "great time".
Tameka, 48, can't wait to see it all unfold onscreen, hinting she wasn't there for some of the moments set to air. Perhaps this could tease an early banishment for the comedian, while she told us of her appearance on the show alongside the likes of Clare Balding, Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross: "It's out of the bag now. I loved it.
"What I would say is that when you watch it and then when you are in it, it's two completely different things. Oh my God." Letting out a nervous laugh, she went on: "It is brilliant, but equally it can be stressful. You are working out who is who. I had a great time."
As we asked whether the several comedians taking part, herself included, brought a light-hearted feel to the show, she teased this was not the case, with it set to be just as dramatic as the civilian version. She told us: "Well you have got to wait and see. I am looking forward to seeing it as well actually.
"When you are watching it you are seeing everything else too, but when you are in it you are not. So I am interested to see it all."
It's then that she commented on the brutal Round Table scenes, suggesting things could get pretty tense this series. She quipped: "I can't look at a Round Table again, I'm like, 'Do we have a square or oval please?'. Never a round table again."
With Tameka away from EastEnders for filming in Scotland, she teased when her character Kim does return there's emotional scenes ahead. She spilled: "There is going to be more joy now that Kim is back on the Square, and she is going to be a bit emotional.
"I hope viewers understand her pain. Maybe I've said too much." Tameka also teased a return for presumed dead Vincent Hubbard, Kim's late husband played by Richard Blackwood, who vanished from the show in 2018.
It was claimed a few years later that he'd been killed, but could he be making a return? Tameka teased: "If he turns up then he's got to turn up with something in his hands. It's been a long while now. Watch this space people."
Tameka then confessed she'd like to see Kim have two men fighting over her like onscreen sister Denise Fox. During the 40th anniversary, viewers got to vote for who Denise ended up with out of Jack Branning and Ravi Gulati.
The actress reckons Denise and Jack's reunion was perfect as the pair, who have worked together for years, are like "old slippers". She's now hoping she too will have a similar twist.
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