EastEnders actress Ellen Thomas is currently taking a break from playing foster mother Claudette Hubbard and is sinking her teeth into The Hotel Cerise at the Theatre Royal Stratford East over the next month.

Written by American-British playwright Bonnie Greer, who also wrote novels A Parallel Life and Hanging by Her Teetch, the play is set around a famous retreat for middle class black people in America during the time of segregation and the hotel represents both a landmark and symbol of a place where minorities in the US once felt welcome and safe.

As America's first black president Barack Obama ends his eight years in office, Anita Mountjoy, who is played by Ellen, risks losing her family's beloved hotel and cherry orchard, where Martin Luther King rested and jazz trumpeter Miles Davis played. Anita goes on a journey of discovery to figure out if the hotel has a future or if it is just trapped in the past.

Ellen, who has lived in Uxbridge since moving from Sierra Leone when she was nine-years-old and has appeared in Teachers, London Bridge, Doctors and Doctor Who over the years, explains how the play resonates with current issues regarding the forthcoming winter US presidential leadership election between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.

She says: "We're performing the day of the election on November 8, as well as after the date, so that should be interesting.

"My character and her brother own the hotel and during one of the tragedies in Anita's life, she goes off to Paris for four years and the play follows her return.

"The play explores the history of race relations in America but is also set in 2016 and looks at the politics of what is going on as we speak, between Trump and Clinton.

"It may seem like the issues only affect people in America but issues of race still affect us too. The repercussions of Brexit are still making a mark all over the world, including America, so the winter elections are going to make a huge impact too."

Ellen admits she wanted to get involved in The Hotel Cerise as she is a fan of Bonnie Greer and also describes Theatre Royal as "warm and friendly".

She is taking a break from EastEnders while she is involved in the show, but hopes she will be able to return to the long-running soap one day.

She says: "I've heard the door is wide open for Claudette to return with some new trouble with her family. She has her son and granddaughter in the Square, so that is a good reason for her to come back with an interesting storyline.

"I'm so fortunate that the story break happened and the play came about around the same time, as theatre has always been my first love. I have been fortunate to find television jobs, but nothing beats that live interaction with the audience. In theatre, you are in for the ride and you are taking the audience with you - that is what I love about it."

Ellen's passion for performing developed around the age of 10 and she recalls that her mother told her she had to do her chores on Saturday mornings and then find a hobby to fill the rest of the day.

She tried athletics, music and art, but discovered a love for ballet. After leaving school, Ellen admits her parents wanted her to become a doctor or a lawyer, but when they realised that wasn't an option for her, they insisted if she passed all her exams in school, she could pursue her dream of performing.

This was enough incentive and she ended up enrolling at Arts Educational, during the time they were part of The Barbican Centre.

She says: "As a child, I decided that I wanted to dance and perform for a living but had to start the hard way, like many other actors and, after leaving drama school I couldn't get any work so instead did bartending and waitressing to make ends meet in between auditions.

"My first play was the lead role Oscar Wilde's Salome in a national touring company and from there, I started to land television roles. It has been very eventful and I've been blessed to have earned my career as an actor."

The Hotel Cerise, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E15 1BN, Thursday, October 20 to Saturday, November 12, 7pm, details: stratfordeast.com