EastEnders star Gillian Wright has spoken out about her win at Saturday's British Soap Awards as upset fans demand more recognition for her.
Gillian has been playing the very complex character of Jean Slater for over 15 years now, with her putting some stupendous performances as Jean battles bipolar disorder, including memorable ones this year where she was targeted by another patient in hospital, panicked daughter Stacey with her erratic behaviour and convinced herself she was getting married to boyfriend Harvey in Southend.
The latter storyline alone gave EastEnders two nominations at the weekend's Soap Awards, for the episode itself and the Hall of Mirrors scene involving Jean and Stacey. Gillian was up for both Dramatic Performance and Leading Performance, but was beaten on both occasions by Emmerdale stars, with Mark Charnock taking the Dramatic trophy and Paige Sandhu winning the Lead accolade for her portrayal of serial killer Meena.
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Gillian was up at the winners' podium on one occasion on Saturday evening, as she and Lacey accepted the award for Best Partnership, with Gillian heaping praise on her on-screen daughter, before Lacey reciprocated with a tribute to Gillian.
And Gillian has now posted about the Awards on Instagram, sharing pictures of her and her nephew, who escorted her to the event; her and Lacey and together with Harvey actor Ross Boatman, who won Best Newcomer.
Next to the photo of her and Lacey, she wrote: "Hugely delighted we won this award! 15 years of working together! One of the most generous, talented, instinctive & truthful actors I know! It’s a joy working with Lacey."
Soap fans delighted at Gillian and Lacey landing on the British Soap Awards winners list, but, at the same time, are still livid that Gillian still didn't get any solo plaudits.
One disgruntled viewer took to Twitter to rant: "Gillian Wright robbed all evening! She deserved far more recognition for her portrayal of Jean," with a second, just as angry on Gillian's behalf as she missed out on big awards, tweeting: "What does Gillian Wright have to do to win? No disrespect to the others but she's been unbelievable during this storyline, and I have watched all the other soaps as well"
A third posted: "Wow #soapawards2022 how did Gillian Wright not win that one!"
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