Karin Smart: Last News

Television star Denise Van Outen has opened up about a tricky first few months on set when she joined the cast of much-loved soap EastEnders back in 2015.The actress and presenter, 47, reveals in her upcoming autobiography 'A Bit Of Me: From Basildon to Broadway, and Back' that landing her role as Albert Square's sharp-minded businesswoman Karin Smart "wasn't what I'd expected".Though her on-screen appearance may have only been a four-episode stint over a month long period, Denise claims to have instantly picked up on an ambience of tension between many of her co-stars. "I'd been used to working on shows with a happy, buzzy, atmosphere," the mother-of-one disclosed to readers. "And during my time on EastEnders, that wasn't really the case." Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter.

Denise Van Outen has slammed EastEnders for having an unwelcoming and tense atmosphere on set, and she also spoke of it being not at all what she expected. The blonde beauty joined the cast of EastEnders in 2015 as a beautiful businesswoman named Karin Smart, who was involved with Max Branning (Jake Wood), and her character had history with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).In the soap her character helped Phil con Max out of his share of the car lot business by tricking Max and receiving a huge sum of money from Phil.She appeared in a total of four episodes in April 2015 – but this was more than enough to give the star a feel for the atmosphere on set.