EastEnders legend Pam St Clement has admitted that the show went through "a bad patch" but that she is sure the producers will get it "back on course".
The actress, who played Albert Square stalwart Pat Butcher for a quarter of a century, addressed the criticisms some fans have of the soap, which include lesser production values and weak storylines.
Speaking to the MailOnline, she said: "I think they went through a bad patch but most of these ongoing dramas go through a difficult time. But to turn out a couple of hours of screen time a week - what a task that is. So it’s very unfair to criticize.
"The only problem is when you go off course slightly it takes a long time to get back. But the producers have it in hand and I’m sure they’ll get it back on course."
St Clement revealed that she didn't miss the intense workload on the soap as she feels "freer to do other things".
"I have to be honest, hand on heart I don’t miss the routine," she said."'I feel so much freer to do other things that I want to do, to do work that I want to do.
"It’s a very tying routine. Even if it’s not every day of the week, it’s trying. I like the freedom that I have now, as much as I miss the stimulus of working that hard and producing something that quickly, and so rapidly."
The actress added that she wouldn't have wanted to make a return as Pat Butcher, even if the character hadn't been killed off.
"Had she not died I think Pat had enough juice in her tank to actually come back but I wouldn't have wanted to come back at that rate," she said.
"The thing about characters like Pat, Peggy, Dot, Kathy, they're all part of that history, they're part of the fabric, and it's a pity when that fabric is lost. But things move on and the modern world is different to the one when we were in the show - that great feeling of community."
EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
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