EastEnders star Emma Barton has said she struggled to balance her day job with training for Strictly Come Dancing last week.

The soap star, who plays Honey Mitchell in the BBC One soap, said she would have loved “a few more days” to train for last week’s show.

Barton, 42, and her professional partner Anton Du Beke, 53, danced a paso doble to Nothing Breaks Like A Heart by Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus.

But Barton, who is currently filming the EastEnders Christmas special, failed to impress the judges.

During an appearance on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, host Rylan Clark-Neal asked the actress whether she found it difficult balancing both commitments.

She said: “Yeah and I guess there have been weeks at the beginning of the competition where we have had more time.

“You still want that extra day. You still want those few extra hours. You just have to work with what you are given.

Strictly Come Dancing 2019
Emma Barton with her dance partner Anton Du Beke (Ray Burmiston/BBC/PA)

“I work really hard. Anton works really hard. I have said this before. I am on two of the biggest shows on the BBC. I’m a very lucky girl.

“I just hammer on. But of course, I would have loved a few more days.”

Barton’s performance secured the pair only 26 points out of a total 40, with Craig Revel Horwood handing them only a five.

He criticised them for lacking “fire” and “passion”, adding that they looked like a “bag of potatoes”.

Barton addressed his comments, saying: “I hope I was a nice Maris Piper, that is all. I was a little bit: ‘Oh, I don’t know how I feel about that’.

“But you know, you can’t take it too personally. And I just feel like some days you have good days and some days you have bad days. It makes you come back fighting harder.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.