Kara Tointon: I'm not unlucky in love

EastEnders' actress Kara Tointon has revealed that her own love life is not nearly as complicated as that of her character, Dawn Swann.

In the soap, troubled barmaid Dawn is devoted to married man Rob Minter who, until recently, had only been pretending to love her so that he and wife May could get their hands on the baby she's carrying when it's born.

After landing her dream part in EastEnders almost two years ago, Essex-born Kara had no idea her personal life would prove to be just as successful as her professional one.

She instantly became close friends with James Alexandrou and the pair began dating two months after she split up from Dream Team's Terry Kiely in May 2006.

"I always thought 'I'll never get involved with someone at work'," the 23-year-old told the Daily Mirror. "But you can't help who you fall for."

Her current beau played Martin Fowler in the soap until earlier this year.

His character had his own personal ups and downs with Sonia Jackson, which included killing her fiance Jamie before marrying her himself, fathering her child at 15 and divorcing her when she decided she was a lesbian.

After a dramatic Christmas which saw the death of his mother, Pauline, Martin eventually decided to leave the Square to start a new life with Sonia and their daughter Rebecca.

With so much emotional turmoil in their characters' lives, their own easy-going relationship should prove a welcome change for the loved-up couple.