A FORMER EastEnders star has spoken out about her fight to build her career following her harsh exit from the soap.

The actress, who played one of Walford’s matriarchs from 2017 to 2024, told fans about her work strife on social media.

Lorraine Stanley, who portrayed Karen Taylor, was written out of the show in 2023 as part of a shock cast shake-up.

The soap star, 48, has been brutally honest about how hard it has been finding work since being axed from the show.

She shared a funny photo on her Instagram Stories wearing oversized glasses and pulling a humorous face.

The star wrote alongside it: “I didn’t get the job, but at least I still got my good looks and sense of humour.

“But it’s given me some confidence getting back in the room and I did get some good feedback…

“So onwards and upwards.”

Lorraine played downtrodden laundrette worker Karen since 2017.

She earned the 2018 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer and the 2019 Inside Soap Award for Funniest Female.

But Lorraine previously told The Sun she wouldn’t be returning to the BBC soap in a hurry.

She admitted: “I’m a busy mum at the moment. I don’t plan on doing anymore soaps, once you’ve done a soap, you’ve done a soap.

“At the moment I’m auditioning, I’m just doing self-tapes, which is soul-destroying. It’s horrible, I’m so bad at it.”

Behind the scenes she has embarked on a weight-loss and fitness journey with a total body transformation.

The star is now slimmer than ever after showing off her five-stone body makeover.

Sharing before and after pictures last year, she told fans that she’d been making “healthy choices”.

Since leaving the soap, Lorraine has acted alongside other soap legends in gritty British film Departures.

She joined Hollyoaks hunk David Tag and Coronation Street’s Kimberly Hart-Simpson in the project.

The movie is described as “Shirley Valentine meets LGBTQ Trainspotting”.