EastEnders star Patsy Palmer has admitted that she is "exhausted" after reprising her role of Bianca Jackson after five years away from the soap.
It was revealed earlier this summer that the soap legend is returning to Albert Square in a "blistering storyline".
Bianca is back in Walford for her adopted daughter Whitney's wedding to Callum and she quickly gets pulled into a whole heap of drama.
Speaking to The Sun's Fabulous magazine, Palmer said that it's been "so much fun" and "like going home" to be back on set, but ruled out a full-time return to the Square.
She said: "Even after just three weeks at work, I'm exhausted and I'm looking at them all and thinking: 'God, this is hard'.
"Me and Danny Dyer were talking about it. He was new when I was there last time and back then he was full of energy and now he's like… I mean, he's there six days a week, 13 hours a day banging out one scene after another.
"There's hardly any rehearsal and they're all trying to organise their lives and be with their families and have relationships outside of work. It's difficult.
"No wonder I needed to do something else! But it's great fun and I told them that they don't realise how close they all are," she added.
Palmer originally joined the cast of the hit show in 1993 for her first of several stints in Albert Square. Along the way, the character became iconic for her volatile relationship with Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen).
She was last seen on-screen in EastEnders in the autumn of 2014, having since moved with her family to Los Angeles, where she pursued a new career as a DJ.
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday on RTÉ One and BBC One.
