Tamzin Outhwaite went through 'grieving process' for EastEnders' Mel Owen

Tamzin Outhwaite went through a "grieving process" when her \'EastEnders\' character Mel Owen was killed off.

The former Albert Square regular played the businesswoman on and off since 1998, and she felt as though she was "saying goodbye to something much bigger" after her character was run over by a lorry.

Asked whether she was concerned she may never work again after leaving the show, she said: "Yes, of course.

"I\'m normally quite good at being out of work, but saying goodbye to a character like that ... I had a bit of a grieving process.

"Because it was 1998 when I started so it was like, \'Now what do I do?\' It felt like I was saying goodbye to something much bigger.

"What you realise is you\'re clearing the way for other things.

"And you can\'t move forward until you close some doors."

The 49-year-old actress has struck up a relationship with Tom Child, 28, and insisted she doesn\'t care what people think about the pair\'s 20-year age gap, because the "only opinions that matter" to her are what her two daughters, Florence, 11, and Marnie, seven, think.

Speaking on \'Lorraine\', she added: "It\'s about energy and connection. It doesn\'t matter how much you fight it, there\'s 20 years between us.

"He just must never shave the beard off, because that would be horrific for me.

"When you get to this age you stop caring what people think. And I think that\'s a really important point to get to, because now the only opinions that matter are my two girls.

"If they adore him, which they do, that\'s all I need."

Tamzin recently admitted she "couldn\'t feel more proud" of her work on \'EastEnders\'.

Just a day after Mel was killed off, she wrote on Twitter: "Right ... brand new day

Thank you so much for all the love...

I could not have relished playing Mel any more and I could not feel more proud.

Here\'s to the next 21 years of life, the next job, the next chapter.

Happy Friday people. (sic)"