Fortina has recently made arrangements with St James Hospital and clients coming to the island for cosmetic surgery will be able to make their recovery at the resort. The surgery in Malta and the convalescing period at the resort will cost patients less than if they had to undergo the operation in most European countries.

Ms Duffett gave journalists present at the briefing in the hotel’s Japanese restaurant an overview of her professional history and her connections with Malta. She worked on Eastenders for two years between 1993 and 1995, playing the part of Debbie, Nigel’s wife. However she was not happy with the character she was playing and asked to be taken off the soap opera. “I went to the directors and begged them to kill me.” Eventually the character was killed off the script.

After that she played parts in various films and theatre productions. For the past years she has been playing the part of Cat Matthews in another popular British soap opera, Family Affairs, aired on Channel Five. “The schedule at Family Affairs is really hectic. I really needed this holiday. Over the past six years we must have produced over 1,000 episodes.”

Ms Duffett recounted about her stay in Malta between 1977 and 1979. Nicola’s father, Navy Commander John Duffett, was stationed at Fort St Angelo. In fact her family resided at the Wharf House, now redeveloped into the Casino di Venezia. “I’ll be going to the casino next Friday to see if there is anything I can recall from the old house.”

When her father was stationed at Fort St Angelo, the family was considering making the fort their residence. It was however decided that they should stay on at Wharf House because the fort would only accommodate them for six more months as the British were about to pull out of Malta. “We were among the last British leaving,” Ms Duffett explained.

Her father died of Alzheimer’s disease some 12 years ago at

the age of 58, after which

Nicola became an active supporter of Alzheimer’s research foundations.

She said she was very fond of the island and of the Maltese

people. Asked by The Malta Independent whether she would consider living in Malta once she retired, Nicola said she would certainly do so. “I still have connections on the island... My first ever boyfriend, from Kalkara, called yesterday.”