EastEnders star Vicki Michelle has revealed why plans for her character Jo Cotton changed.

The star first appeared on the BBC soap as the wife of Rocky (Brian Conley) in March last year, with her last scenes airing a

few months later.

Speaking in a new interview with The Sun, Vicky suggested that her character was meant to appear for longer, though was

written out due to Conley’s decision to depart the show.

“I think the storyline changed because Brian [Conley] wanted to leave, you know, so I don’t think he was going to leave at the beginning,” she said.

“And then I think there was some, I don’t know, something else came up. And so he decided to do that instead.

“So the storyline probably would have gone on, but I still think she’s a good character, and you’ve still got that thing between her and [Gillian Taylforth, who plays Kathy].

“So, I think they can bring you back if you’re a good character. She could come back.”

Meanwhile, last year the actor spoke about her real-life friendship with Gillian, revealing their relationship goes back a while.

“We support several of the same charities so we see each other reasonably regularly, so we were friends beforehand,” Vicki said.

“That’s really good as it allows us to work off each other. Before I say one of Jo’s fabulously wicked one-liners, I say, ‘Sorry Gilly, I’ve got to be really vile to you now’, and she says, ‘Don’t worry, so do I’.”