Former EastEnders star Gemma Bissix has recalled her battle with 'self-doubt' while growing up on the set of the BBC soap.

The actress, now 42, was just nine when she was cast as Clare Bates in 1993 a role she played for five years, before briefly returning to the show last month as part of step father Nigel [Paul Bradley]'s tragic exit story.

Looking back at her original soap stint she opened up about her struggles with self-confidence and how the late Barbara Windsor took her under her wing.

Barbara played the iconic role of Peggy Mitchell from 1994 until 2016, she tragically died following a battle with Alzheimer's disease in December 2020 aged 83.

Gemma said: 'I was really hard on myself, and you can't get those years back and you realise, if I’d just had a bit more self-belief back then, I probably would have enjoyed life a lot more. I wish I could tell my younger self to believe in herself more'.  

'It was definitely where I learned my craft. Barbara Windsor took me under her wing and taught me what to do. Steve McFadden [who plays Phil Mitchell] taught me how to learn my lines.

She told The Mirror: 'I bumped into Letitia Dean [Sharon Watts] recently, and she was telling me so many stories about me when I was a child. It was definitely a training ground, because I never went to drama school'.

Her character previously left the soap when she was 14 to train to be an electrician in 1993 - leaving the door firmly open for a return - which happened briefly in 2008 when she had seemingly transformed into a maneater. 

Meanwhile the actress was later cast as villain Claire Devine in Hollyoaks, a role she has played on and off since 2006. 

Last week Hollyoaks killed off Claire's iconic character after 20 years with a stomach-churning fall from the side of a cliff.

It cam after returned following her breaking free from prison - with chaos following in her wake.

Having killed her grandfather Foggy (John Middleton), she found herself face-to-face with fellow killer Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) on the cliff.

Taunting Sienna, the scene saw Clare threaten to reveal Sienna's murderous actions to her family.

This, however, infuriated Sienna, who proceeded to push Clare from the cliff - as her daughter Sophie (Scarlett Kerr) ran up.

Meanwhile, Clare fell downwards into the icy water below and was not seen again afterwards. 

Sienna's girlfriend Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin) arrived, although Sophie was the only witness to what had actually happened. 

In tonight's (April 8) episode, which is already available to watch on Channel 4's streaming service, Clare's death is confirmed.

As news of her demise begins to spread, Sienna maintains that Clare slipped and fell to her death.

The pair also tell this to Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) - and while they stick to the story with police, he is not convinced.

With Warren potentially on Sienna's trail, will she be able to keep the truth under wraps?

Clare first appeared on Hollyoaks in 2005, but was initially portrayed by Samantha Rowley.

Gemma Bissix took over the role in 2006, with the character seemingly killed off in 2013 after on and off stints.

Despite this, Clare returned last year ahead of the soap's 30th anniversary - and made a comeback once again in recent episodes.