Charlie Brooks – “I’m going back to being hated by the nation”

EASTENDERS star Charlie Brooks was everybody’s darling after her triumph on I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!

But she knows that love will vanish when she makes her return to Walford this week as Janine Butcher.

“I’m going back to being hated by the nation after I’m A Celebrity,” sighs 31-year-old Charlie.

“It was nice while it lasted!”

Janine makes a dramatic reappearance, arriving unannounced at Michael’s door.

And while there will be little love lost, Charlie says it’s fun being bad again with Janine on the Square and wanting her little girl Scarlett back.

“I’m really enjoying playing the bitch this time round,” confides Charlie, who explained her glamorous new look and switch of hair colour on the BBC soap.

“It’s high-powered and I mean business. So how that’s going to combine with being a parent I don’t know.

“The dark hair was because my blonde hair was so associated with Charlie.

“So it was quite important to have a definite character change. We’ve gone back to Janine’s roots and mine!

“She is looking to revisit the business opportunities she abandoned to get them back up and running.

“Janine owns quite a lot of the Square now and she makes new allegiances.”

Charlie says Janine’s absence was down to travelling after being depressed and driven away.

And Charlie’s been globetrotting herself after taking six months off to spend time with daughter Kiki, 8.

“I wasn’t skipping through the gates on my first day back!” she laughs.

“I got used to having time off with Kiki and travelling.

“We snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef and went rock climbing in Australia, which was amazing. I’ve been so busy since being back and did some travelling in Europe.

“I’ve also been baking loads and seeing family which I loved.

“But it feels great to be back. I’ve adjusted and I’ve missed the place.

“I’m not as good at remembering my lines but I’m sure that will come back to me.”

A month of the break was spent in the jungle and Charlie says narrowly pipping Ashleigh Roberts was a real shock. “I was genuinely stunned to win, I thought I was really boring,” says Charlie, who was reunited with boyfriend Ben Hollington immediately after her triumph.

“I’ve stayed in contact with Ashleigh and Linda Robson and I have a bit of banter with Eric Bristow on Twitter.”