Patsy Palmer predicts Bianca will change

Patsy Palmer thinks Bianca Butcher will be a different character when she returns to 'EastEnders'.

The 38-year-old actress - who left the soap in 1999, returned briefly in 2002 and came back full time in April 2008 - is currently on maternity leave after giving birth to son Bertie in December, and after seeing how her alter ego has changed over the years, she expects to be play a new side to the mouthy red head, who is currently in prison for attacking womaniser Connor Stanley, when it is time to resume filming.

She said: "It was quite nice playing an older, wiser Bianca. Now she's in prison, I'm sure she'll come out and be a different person, so if I do go back it'll be a new challenge."

However, she confessed she was unsure if she would return to the soap and admitted it won't be in the near future.

She added to Take It Easy magazine: "I really don't know at the moment because everything is about the baby. If I do go back, it won't be for at least 12 months, but they've left the door open for me. I'm really grateful for that because I do enjoy my job.

"I'm lucky to be in a position where if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't have to go."