EastEnders is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Within eight months of the show's original launch, it had reached the number one spot in BARB's television ratings, and has consistently remained among the top-rated series in Britain. Four EastEnders episodes are listed in the all-time top 10 most-watched programmes in the UK, including the number one spot, when over 30 million watched the 1986 Christmas Day episode. EastEnders has been important in the history of British television drama, tackling many subjects that are considered to be controversial or taboo in British culture, and portraying a social life previously unseen on UK mainstream television.
Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom Spaced.
Rebecca Louise Front is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for The Thick of It (2009–2012). She is also known for her work in numerous other British comedies, including the radio show On The Hour (1992), The Day Today (1994), Knowing Me, Knowing You… with Alan Partridge (1994), Time Gentlemen Please (2000–2002), sketch show Big Train (2002), and Nighty Night (2004–2005).
Nadia Sawalha is an English actress, television personality, writer, TV Cook and Vlogger. She is best known as a long-term regular panellist on the ITV daytime talk show Loose Women, being one of the original panellists from its start in 1999 until 2002, before returning to the show in 2013 after a panellist revamp. She played the role of Gina in ITV comedy Second Thoughts from 1992 to 1994, and Annie Palmer on the BBC One soap opera EastEnders from 1997 to 1999. She has also had minor roles in The Bill, Casualty, Benidorm and 99-1 and presented a number of television programmes in the early 2000s, whilst taking a break from Loose Women.
Wendy Richard was a British actress and singer, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 2006.
Karen Jane Wallace, known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kat Slater on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. For her portrayal of Kat, she has won over twenty awards including Most Popular Newcomer at the National Television Awards and the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2001, Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards in 2003 and the British Soap Award for Best Actress in 2011. She also portrayed the role of Pat Phoenix in the BBC Four television film The Road to Coronation Street, for which she was nominated for the 2011 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Kathryn Apanowicz is a British actress and presenter. Apanowicz grew up in Horsforth, Leeds, with a brother, Stephen. Her father was a Polish RAF pilot in the Second World War. She first became involved with television at the age of eight when she presented a junior-aimed programme on ITV, before joining Calendar and then turning to acting.
Lucy Benjamin is an English actress. After appearing in various television series including Close to Home (1989–1990), Press Gang (1989–1993) and Jupiter Moon, she was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lisa Fowler in 1998, for which she received a nomination for Most Popular Actress at the 2001 National Television Awards.
Letitia Jane Dean is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again from 2012 onwards. For her role as Sharon, she was awarded the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2022.
Susan Tully is an English actress, television producer, and television director.
Fern Britton is an English author and television presenter. She co-presented Breakfast Time in the 1980s, coming to mainstream national attention when hosting cookery game show Ready Steady Cook between 1994 and 2000 on BBC One.
Lilian Ridgway, known professionally as Lynda Baron, was an English actress and singer. She is known for having played Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the BBC sitcom Open All Hours (1976–1985) and its sequel, Still Open All Hours (2013–2016), Auntie Mabel in the award-winning children's series Come Outside (1993–1997), and the part of Linda Clarke in EastEnders in 2006 and from 2008 to 2009, with a brief return in 2016.
Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress and narrator. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the television series Extras, in which she appeared from 2005 to 2007. She was a cast member of the ABC series Ugly Betty and the short-lived CBS sitcom Accidentally on Purpose. She also plays the main character in the comedy-drama detective television series Agatha Raisin.
Kara Louise Tointon is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Dawn Swann in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. In 2010, she won the BBC competition series Strictly Come Dancing, and in 2015, she appeared as Maria in the ITV live production of The Sound of Music Live.
Diane Parish is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera EastEnders since 2006.
Mona Hammond was a Jamaican-British actress and co-founder of the Talawa Theatre Company. Born in Tweedside, Jamaica, Hammond immigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959, where she lived for the rest of her life. Hammond had a long and distinguished stage career. She was best known for her work on British television and played Blossom Jackson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Linda Valiris is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV prison drama series Bad Girls and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She had previously appeared in EastEnders as the original Lorraine Salter, the mother of Mandy Salter, from 1991 to 1992. Her other acting credits include Cracker (1995), Prime Suspect (1997) and Trial & Retribution (1998). She has also appeared in the films Beautiful Thing (1996) and The Business (2005).
Cindy O'Callaghan is an Irish-born British psychologist and former actress. Her acting career began in her adolescence, when she was chosen to play the part of Carrie Rawlins in the Disney feature film Bedknobs and Broomsticks in 1971. She has appeared in a wide range of television programmes and films since, including BBC's EastEnders, where she played Andrea Price for several stints in the 1990s. Her last credited role was in 2001, and she has since given up acting to become a child psychologist.
Binnie Roberts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Langham from 9 June 1994 until 16 May 1995. Binnie is an out and proud lesbian, which is in stark contrast to her shy and retiring girlfriend, Della Alexander.
