EastEnders star went from earning £100k a year to living off benefits before Corrie role

EastEnders have paid a special tribute to June Brown's iconic Dot Cotton on the anniversary of her character's first appearance on the BBC One soap. In a touching scene, Natalie Cassidy's Sonia Fowler and Gillian Taylforth's Kathy Beale recreated the scene as a nod to Dot, who made her first appearance on the show on July 4, 1985 – 37 years ago.

EastEnders ’ newest addition Aaron Thiara is set to shake things up in Albert Square over the summer. Aaron's character Ravi Gulati is set to be released from prison on the BBC One soap in the coming months, after making his debut on the show on Monday night. Ravi will meet fellow inmate Phil Mitchell – played by Steve McFadden – as Phil turned to him for help after making an enemy in jail.

EastEnders' Lorraine Stanley looked worlds away from her Albert Square character, Karen Taylor, as he enjoyed a night out with friends.The actress, 46, posted a glammed up photo to Instagram of herself and two pals on Thursday night. She could be seen wearing her natural blonde curls loose down her left shoulder and she was able to flaunt her natural beauty by opting not to wear make up. Her outfit of choice consisted of a striped grey and white button down shirt, whilst accessories were kept to a minimum.

Former EastEnders star Melissa Suffield has proudly showed off her “belly overhang” in an honest post encouraging others to not feel ashamed about their bodies.The former actor, who was best known for playing Lucy Beale on EastEnders between 2004 and 2010, has since become an influencer, where she often shares posts about body image with her 38k followers.The mum of one is an advocate for “body neutrality” - an approach to body acceptance between body positivity and body negativity - with one of her new posts covering her thoughts about having an “overhanging” stomach. The star shared a photo of herself posing in black lingerie, looking happy as she poses confidently in her bedroom. In the caption, Melissa wrote: “A reminder that belly overhang affects LOADS of us, pregnancy related or not.

EastEnders actor Ricky Champ has exclusively shared the first sweet snap of his baby boy.The star recently welcomed his second child into the world with his wife Sammy via C-section. And exclusively telling OK! about their bundle of joy, Ricky, 42, said the pair are “absolutely overjoyed”. “We’d like to introduce our baby boy.

EastEnders star Ricky Champ's wife Sammy has announced they've welcome a baby boy together.The 41 year old actor's other half took to her Instagram stories to announce the happy news as she explained her waters broke two weeks earlier than planned. Sharing a snap of the medication she's on following the birth of their second child, she wrote: "Tell me you just had a c-section without telling me you just had a c-section," followed by a smiling emoji.

EastEnders star Tanya Franks is set to quit the BBC soap after four years in this week’s episodes. The soap actress plays Rainie Cross who fans will see leave Albert Square with her baby Roland. Rainie's marriage to Stuart Highway has been in trouble since the birth of their son, as Stuart has suffered with post-natal depression.

Eastenders star Max Bowden prompted a flurry of concern on Saturday as the soap actor announced he would be taking a break from social media with immediate effect. Sharing the news via Instagram Stories, the 27 year old wrote: "Taking a little break from Instagram. See so much s*** on here need a break.

Former EastEnders actress Cheryl Fergison is almost unrecognisable from her days on the Square playing Heather Trott. The actress, 56, oozed confidence as she attended the Tatton Park Pop Up Festival at Tatton Park in Cheshire this week showing off the results of her recent weight loss.

Rose Ayling-Ellis shot to fame on EastEnders, but she had to deal with a sad goodbye after co-star Maddy Hill decided it was time for her to depart from Walford.READ: Rose Ayling-Ellis reaches out to Giovanni Pernice after his secret dates with Love Island star revealedTaking to her Instagram Stories, Rose paid tribute to the actress as she shared a snap of them smiling together on set. "Love you @maddyhill90!!" she wrote.

EastEnders' Nancy Carter star Maddy Hill has announced that she has left the BBC One soap just one year after she reprised her role in Albert Square. During Thursday's episode, Nancy made a surprise departure from Walford after learning that her boyfriend Zack Hudson had cheated on her with Sam Mitchell. Prior to her exit, Zack proposed and Nancy considered forgiving him before a chat with her mother Linda Carter, where she spotted a bottle of vodka, made her realise that she can't trust anyone.

This week on EastEnders, Zack Hudson feels guilty after his night with Sam Mitchell. And, after the secret does come out, Shirley Carter punches him and Nancy Carter decides to end the relationship.Tina Carter is honoured at The Albert.

Jessie Wallace has been “urged to slow down” by her friends in the wake of the EastEnders star being arrested over the weekend for allegedly drunkenly assaulting a police officer. A statement issued to OK! Online by Suffolk Police at the time read: "A 50 year-old woman was arrested early on Sunday morning in St Andrew’s Street, Bury St Edmunds, on suspicion of assaulting a police officer/drunk and disorderly conduct and was released without charge after receiving a conditional caution." Images later surfaced showing the moment Jessie, 50, was restrained as arrested. The soap star had been at a Madness concert on Saturday night in Suffolk, before heading out to the Flex night club in Bury St Edmunds.

Louisa Lytton was forced to delay her wedding plans once again over the weekend, after her household was struck down with Covid-19.The 33 year old was supposed to exchange wedding vows with her fiancé Ben Bhanvra on Saturday ,before their upcoming ceremony in Italy, however the couple were unable to do so. Louisa and Ben have postponed their wedding twice already because of the pandemic, and it turned out they weren’t third time lucky as the unfortunate turn of events unfolded. The EastEnders star posted a photo of herself in a bathtub on her hen do on Saturday night instead of a wedding snap, as she gave an update on the issues she had run into ahead of her big day.

EastEnder star Max Bowden's pregnant ex-girlfriend is said to be 'heartbroken' over his alleged romance with co-star Shona McGarty. Max and Shona, who play Ben Mitchell and Whitney Dean in the hit BBC soap, are said to have been growing close off-screen in recent weeks, reportedly "spending as much time together as they can" during these early days of their relationship. Max's ex Roisin Buckle, 36, is expecting a baby boy her 27 year old ex and has reportedly been left 'devastated and humiliated' by his romance with Shona, 30.

An EastEnders fan believes they have worked out this year’s Christmas storyline and how Danny Dyer may exit the BBC One soap.Taking to Twitter, soap fan Ryan predicted that Linda Carter (played by Kellie Bright) will fake having amnesia when she wakes up from her coma and will pretend that she doesn’t remember Janine Butcher’s (played by Charlie Brooks) involvement in the car crash that led to her being in hospital. But he thinks Linda will “get her own back on Janine in the end” and everything will be exposed on Christmas Day and rip the Carter family apart, leading to Mick Carter’s (played by Danny Dyer) departure.

EastEnders star Danielle Harold topped up her tan as she enjoyed a holiday following last week’s British Soap Awards.The 30 year old, who’s best known for playing Lola Pearce in the BBC soap, has been updating fans on her time in the sun following the news that her character is to be axed from the show after 11 years. Danielle was reportedly left "in pieces" over the shock axe, but has put on a brave face as she pouted at the camera in a black bikini as she took a selfie in front of a picturesque pool. In another, the star could be seen dangling her legs into the water as she enjoyed a frothy drink with a slice of lime on top.

In EastEnders this week, Ben Mitchell changes his mind about going to the police over Lewis Butler, messaging him and asking to meet. Later, Ben lies in wait for Lewis with a crowbar, ready to attack him, but is frustrated when he doesn’t show. Ben demands Kathy give him Lewis’s home address and becomes furious when she won’t, accusing her of protecting him.