Maisie Smith captured the hearts of the nation when she first rocked up in EastEnders as Tiffany Butcher.

Maisie joined the show at the tender age of 6, and she played the role on and off for thirteen years, winning rave reviews for embodying her character so perfectly at such a young age.

Maisie Smith has opened up about career regrets

Leaving Walford in 2021 (save for a brief return in 2022), she looked to explore more sides of herself through different roles, with Maisie recently being cast as Marge Sherwood in the theatre production of The Talented Mr Ripley.

Though, as she tells Ox in a Box, she’s previously turned down job offers due to fear.

Describing how self-doubt and insecurity held her back from accepting other roles, Maisie said: ‘I spent so many years questioning whether I was good enough to do other things and turned down a lot of opportunities – things I now regret – out of pure fear.

‘People kept telling me it was a brutal world out there and that I’d have to jump into the deep end.

‘So it was scary to leave EastEnders, but over the past few years I’ve learned to trust my gut instinct. So yes, I do think I’ve been brave, but I’m loving it.’

Speaking on her upcoming role as Marge Sherwood, Maisie said: ‘At the beginning I thought ‘these are big shoes to fill’ but you have trust in the casting.

‘They wouldn’t have picked me if they didn’t believe in me, and that’s all the reassurance I needed.

I knew I could do it, so it’s been easy to lose myself in the show every night.’

On the transition from TV to the stage, she said: ‘I loved EastEnders, but I was itching to get up on stage and see what I was capable of.

‘So being able to focus on my part in The Talented Mr Ripley and having months to rehearse has been really enjoyable and much more exciting than I expected.

‘I’ve been adapting to having thousands of people watching me on TV to seeing the audience on the front row. On TV you can just raise an eyebrow to convey emotions, but this is a completely different skillset.’

Maisie also had chance to reflect on her victory on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which she took part in back in 2022, while promoting her new play.

Appearing on Sunday Brunch, hosts Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer asked her about her time on the show, prompting an emotional reaction from Maisie, as she struggled to hold back tears.

Describing it as ‘the best thing she’s ever done’, she added: ‘It was worse than you could even imagine. When I watched it back, there’s so much more that they didn’t even show.

‘When we had mic packs, when they’d change the packs, you weren’t allowed to talk. It was severe. There was never ‘cut, cast can chill for a bit. It was intense. Brutal.’

As the hosts cut to a clip which saw Maisie battle to climb to ascend a massive sand dune while carrying a rucksack with stuffed with more than her own body weight. As show instructor Billy Billingham barked encouragement at her, Maisie began to run up the dune, ultimately beating the challenge.

As cameras returned to Maisie, she continued to battle with emotion. ‘Sorry, I don’t know why I am crying.’

Maisie explained: ‘I was so young and it was such a big challenge. They always called me the pocket rocket. I was so slow and I never gave up. I just didn’t want be the girl that quits; I’m very proud of myself.’

Maisie also revealed another enormous factor in her achievement: she had, in fact, been the smallest and lightest contestant ever to claim victory on the programme.

The question on soap fans minds, though? Will we ever see Tiff’ back on Albert Square?

‘Not for the minute, but you know what, EastEnders you never really leave,’ Maisie said back in 2023.

‘You could die on that show and come back in a couple of weeks, it’s one of them. If someone gets married or if someone dies, I’ll probably be there.’

Sounds like a solid ‘maybe’ to us!