Patsy Palmer has defended the EastEnders paedophile storyline.

The plot - in which Tony King (Chris Coghill) abused teenager Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) - caused controversy at the time it was aired but Patsy said it raised awareness of the issue.

"I know that we had a few cases of girls going to the police and stuff, so if one girl or boy goes to the police because of sexual abuse then we have done a really, really good job as far as I am concerned," she said.

She continued: "I think that soaps can really deal with this kind of stuff really well and I just think when they do it reaches a much wider audience and I think these issues need to be raised.

"I think it's always nice to be able to watch somebody's journey - I think drama just reaches a different audience really."