Gemma Bissix makes her long-awaited return to EastEnders next week as Clare Bates, Nigel’s estranged stepdaughter. Clare is set to have an emotional reunion with Nigel, whose dementia has significantly worsened in recent weeks.

It’s been nearly 18 years since Bissix was last seen on Albert Square but in her time away she’s been busy playing another Clare — Hollyoaks’ Clare Devine.

Speaking ahead of her big return to Walford, Bissix discussed the differences between her two soap Clares.

“In Hollyoaks, my character is a murderer and she’s a bit of a villain, so that comes with heightened acting, whereas Clare comes with really raw emotion,” Bissix said.

As for how she got back into character as Clare Bates, Bissix revealed it didn’t take too much.

“I don’t think there is anything specific I do to get back into Clare, but I feel like Clare is actually very similar to myself,” the actress said.

“She’s probably one of the only characters that I’ve ever played that is so close to who I am as a person, and that’s probably because when you’re nine years old working on a TV show, you don’t really know anything else, or have much life experience, other than acting your version of that character from a version of your own reality. It’s really nostalgic.”

Bissix’s childhood stint on EastEnders is probably best remembered for the emotional scene in which Nigel told Clare that her mother Debbie had been killed in a hit-and-run accident.

Speaking about reconnecting with Paul Bradley, who plays Nigel, and Karen Henthorn, who plays Julie, Bissix said: “It was a long time coming, and I was just so chuffed because I haven’t seen Paul Bradley in over 20 years and so to be able to reconnect with him and work with him again felt like time had stood still.

“It was like no time had passed at all, and Paul is exactly the same lovely person he was before. Paul was sort of like a stepfather to me in real life at work, as we spent six years on screen together from 1993 to 1999, and Karen and I were close as well.

“They make me feel like I’m a child again, in the best possible way,” the actress added.

Bissix went on to say that its been a “privilege” to be involved in Nigel’s dementia storyline.

“I think it’s a storyline that sadly resonates with so many people and it’s been a real full circle moment for me, as EastEnders is where I learnt my craft as I was on the show from the age of nine,” Bissix added.