Maisie Smith is most commonly known for her role as Tiffany Butcher, the daughter of Bianca Jackson and Ricky Butcher, in EastEnders.
The now-21-year-old announced that she was leaving the popular BBC soap in October 2021, saying in a statement: “It’s time to say farewell to Tiff! I’ve grown up on EastEnders since 2008, and have learnt from the best over the past 13 years.
“I’m very excited for my next challenge and thank the BBC for the opportunity they gave me as a six-year-old.”
Her official final episode as Tiffany aired in December 2021. The year before her EastEnders exit, Maisie starred in Strictly Come Dancing with dance partner Gorka Marquez.
The dancing duo made it to the final, coming in second place, with Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse lifted the winner’s trophy.
Here we take a closer look at what Maisie Smith has been up to since her EastEnders exit.
EastEnders return and co-star dating rumours
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Just three months after her EastEnders exit, Maisie returned to Walford in a one-off episode as on-screen ex-husband Keegan Baker (played by Zac Morris) departed the show.
Zac and Maisie have faced numerous romance rumours over the years due to their role as couple Keegan and Tiffany.
However, their relationship seemed to be for the cameras only, with Maisie denying the romance rumours.
The actress told Fabulous in December 2021: “Me and Zack worked every single day together, so we built such a nice friendship and we meet up.
“Because he’s the opposite sex, people just jump to conclusions that we are an item. We’re actually just good friends.”
Strictly Come Dancing Tour 2022
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
The Strictly 2020 finalist joined the celebrity line-up for the Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour earlier this year.
The tour was made up of 30 shows, with Maisie paired with Strictly pro Kai Widdrington, as she replaced AJ Odudu, who had to withdraw from the tour on medical advice following an injury to her foot last December.
At the time, Maisie said: ”I’m thrilled to be asked to restart my Strictly journey on this year’s arena tour.
“Kai and I will be dancing the Quickstep and the Samba – I can’t wait for rehearsals to start next week.
“It will be a joy to dance with everyone and so great to see my EastEnders friend Rose again. I wish AJ a speedy recovery.”
Maisie and Kai joined Strictly 2021 winners Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, alongside Sara Davies and Aljaž Skorjanec, Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin, Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, and Max George and Katya Jones on the tour, which concluded on February 13 at the O2 Arena in London.
The Masked Singer UK tour
(Image: Vianney Le Caer/REX/Shutterstock)
The actress wowed The Masked Singer judges earlier this year as the TV series went on tour across the UK.
Hosted by Joel Dommett, The Masked Singer sees celebrities showcase their vocal talents while hidden behind elaborate costumes.
Maisie was revealed as the celeb behind the Baby Dino mask following her rendition of Adele’s hit single, Easy On Me.
Judge Denise Van Outen complimented Maisie on her powerful vocals, with the ex-EastEnders star later telling her Instagram followers: “Can’t believe I sung Adele last night at the O2 in an egg.”
Social media fame
(Image: instagram.com/maisiesmithofficial)
Since her time on EastEnders, Maisie has grown in popularity on social media platforms Instagram and TikTok.
She regularly posts flattering images on Instagram, where she has a current following of one million followers.
On TikTok, she posts funny 30 seconds clips with her about section reading: “Part catfish part peng ting.”
On the video app, she has 2.5m fans and over 38.1m likes.
Strictly Ballroom the musical
(Image: BBC)
The former EastEnders actress is set to play Fran in new musical, Strictly Ballroom, which will start on September 26 this year.
She will star in the show alongside her former Strictly dance partner, Kevin Clifton, who she waltzed her way to victory with in the Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Children In Need Special.
Strictly Ballroom, which is based on the award-winning global film phenomenon of the same name directed by Baz Luhrmann, inspired the world to dance and spawned the smash hit TV series Strictly Come Dancing.
The musical will be directed and co-choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood and Maisie will star in the show until March 25, 2023.
New relationship with Max George
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Maisie has recently been pictured with Strictly co-star Max George on a luxury holiday in Crete.
While they are yet to comment on their romance, it seems that the relationship is going from strength to strength as they have both shared their own photos and videos from the trip on social media – although they were careful not to feature each other.
Since the couple returned to the UK a few days ago, they were spotted browsing in a Zara Home store in Kensington, London, leaving fans to speculate whether the pair had already moved in together.
Pictures published by the Daily Mail show the singer and actress packing on the PDA as they waited for a taxi home with their purchases.
The new relationship comes just weeks after Max split with ex-girlfriend Stacey Giggs, leaving Ryan Giggs’ ex-wife devastated and claiming he had cheated on her.
The Sun reported that Stacey told a pal: “To see them dating publicly so quickly after I dumped him is like a dagger to the heart.
“Max cheated on me with Maisie. I asked him about her but he denied anything had happened.
“After everything I’ve done for him, I cannot believe he would be so rude and disrespectful. He’s a lying dog. I feel betrayed.”
Daily Star has reached out to Max George’s representatives for comment.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins
(Image: Channel 4)
Maisie has recently been confirmed for the new series of gruelling Channel 4 show, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The line up, which was announced on August 23, will include Love Island 2019 winner Amber Rose Gill, Former Ex on the Beach star Ashley Cain and TV personality Calum Best.
On the show, the celebrities will get put through their paces during a variety of military training exercises to test their physical and mental strength.
Speaking about her decision to take part in the show, Maisie said: “I’ve seen the show before and I really wanted to put my mental strength to the test. I’ve always pushed myself but this was beyond limits I didn’t even know I had. It was the best experience of my life.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will return to Channel 4 on Sunday, September 4 at 9pm.
Read More
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
