Maisie Smith: I was a better actor at six

Maisie Smith thinks she was a better actress when she was six years old.

The 19-year-old soap star has played Tiffany Butcher on \'EastEnders\' on and off for the past 12 years, and despite being an actor for more than a decade, the actress believes she gave a better performance when she was a youngster because she had more "confidence".

Speaking to Stacey Dooley on \'EastEnders: Secrets From The Square\' on Monday (10.08.20), she jokes: "I had more talent when I was six years old than I do now! I think it was a confidence thing - sometimes I have to remind myself of the young Tiffany character because I forgot what a sassy little icon she was!

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"They gave me so many good scenes, sometimes kids don\'t really get much but we had such a great time!"

Maisie initially portrayed cheeky Tiffany from 2008 to 2014, and she later made a temporary return in 2016.

The star - who joined the cast full-time again in 2018 - has admitted she would love to continue to play Tiffany for the rest of her career to follow in the footsteps of Albert Square legend June Brown, 93, who played Dot Cotton until earlier this year.

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She said: "That would be quite cool, wouldn\'t it? To have my entire life shown on \'EastEnders\'.

"If I started and ended my career like Dot, that\'s pretty iconic. It\'s definitely the goal.

"But I\'m only young, you know - \'EastEnders\' might not even want me next year. Who knows?

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"But if ever I did leave I\'d want to come back because it\'s a lovely show to be on."

As well as harbouring ambitions to portray Tiff for decades to come, she would love the character to be landlady of the Queen Vic one day, and Maisie believes her character would be the ideal fit because she has the "sass" of Peggy Mitchell (Dame Barbara Windsor) and "roughness" of Shirley Carter (Linda Henry).

She added: "There would be a lot of pressure. All of the landlords are such iconic characters on the show and I\'d have to live up to the hype.

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"But I would love to give it a go and I think I\'d do a good job. It\'s a big aim for me.

"I\'ve got the sass of Peggy and the roughness of Shirley. I\'d be perfect."