EastEnders (series)

EastEnders
Debut:	19 February 1985
Creators:	Julia Smith, Tony Holland
Publisher:	BBC
Medium:	Television
Crossover details
Time period:	1991, 1993, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2024
Relevant media:	see section
Relevant characters:	Den, Sanjay, Gita, Pauline, Kathy, Ian, Sharon, Pat, Frank, Mandy, Phil, Grant, Peggy, Dot, Max, Tanya, Kat, Patrick
Relevant locations:	Albert Square, Walford, The Queen Victoria
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You may be looking for the series as it exists in the DWU.

EastEnders is a British television soap opera produced by the BBC. Created by Doctor Who directing and acting alumni, Julia Smith and Tony Holland, the series centres on the residence of Albert Square, in the fictional London borough of Walford, and their daily lives and struggles that reflect many real world issues. The series has been a staple of BBC One's weeknight schedules since its launch on 19 February 1985, earning its status as a British television institution with the help of its iconic characters and storylines.

Being a BBC series, it should come as no surprise that its connections with Doctor Who are plentiful, both on screen and behind the scenes.

Crossovers

The first official crossover between EastEnders and Doctor Who came in the 1991 Brief Encounter short story, Mistaken Identity, originally published in DWM 176. The story sees Gustave Lytton visit a pub near Walford Station, non-explicitly implied to be The Queen Victoria, where he notices that the barman, Den Watts, bears a strong resemblance to Kiston, this being a metafictional reference to Kiston and Den both being played by the same actor, Leslie Grantham.

Arguably the most notorious crossover between the two shows is the 1993 televised Children in Need charity special, Dimensions in Time. In this, the nominal 30th anniversary special of Doctor Who, the Rani traps the Doctor in a time loop localised within Walford, where he cycles through his various (still living) incarnations and companions. The special sees the appearances of many EastEnders characters from the time, including Sanjay and Gita Kapoor (Deepak Verma and Shobu Kapoor), Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), Kathy and Ian Beale (Gillian Taylforth and Adam Woodyatt), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Pat and Frank Butcher (Pam St. Clement and Mike Reid), Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton), and Phil and Grant Mitchell (Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp).

The "ghost" of Den Watts confronts Peggy Mitchell in Army of Ghosts.

A more metafictional crossover occurred for a short scene in Army of Ghosts. During the new "ghost" craze sweeping the planet, the Tenth Doctor flicks through television channels until coming to an episode of EastEnders in which Peggy Mitchell (with Barbara Windsor reprising her role) is behind the bar at the Queen Victoria, telling a supposed ghostly manifestation of the deceased Den Watts to "get out of [her] pub!" The story of this completely fictional episode appears to be a humorous nod to Den's two on screen deaths, in which the character was infamously resurrected in 2004 after seemingly being killed off fifteen years earlier, before being killed off permanently the following year. Coincidentally, Den's killer in the show, his second wife Chrissie Watts, was played by Tracy-Ann Oberman, who made her debut in this very episode as Yvonne Hartman.

The Queen Vic recreation on the set of The Beast Below.

A subtle crossover occurred in the form of a set-piece during The Beast Below: the London street aboard the Starship UK contains a partial recreation of the Queen Victoria exterior. Only parts of it can seen on screen, but the whole was shown off in the companion Doctor Who Confidential episode, All About the Girl.

Two more crossovers occurred in 2011, the first of which was early in the year, during the opening National Television Awards sketch, Dermot and the Doctor. In the sketch, the Eleventh Doctor brings the TARDIS to various times and places as he struggles to get Dermot O'Leary to the awards ceremony. One of the places they end up is outside the laundrette on Albert Square, where Dot Cotton (played by June Brown) is smoking, and she tells Dermot that the Doctor is a frequent visitor to her laundrette.

The Queen Victoria set in It's Showtime.

A second crossover, though more ambiguous in its status as a crossover with EastEnders specifically, happened as part of that year's BBC One Christmas ident, Consider Yourself One Of Us... The ident sees various BBC stars indulging in a Christmas party whilst belting out the titular song. Appearing among the various stars are Doctor Who's then-current stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan (potentially in character as the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond, respectively), and a Cyberman, and four stars from the soap, specifically Ricky Norwood, Shona McGarty, Shane Richie, and June Brown. Although none of the stars are necessarily playing their respective soap characters here, it is clear they are appearing in the ident as a promotion for the show, regardless.

The following year's Christmas ident, It's Showtime, which acted as a showcase for BBC One's Christmas programming for 2012 (including that year's Doctor Who Christmas Special), included a brief EastEnders-related scene, where Jessie Wallace, Rudolph Walker, Jo Joyner, and Jake Wood appeared on the set of the Queen Vic, seemingly acting as their respective characters, Kat Moon, Patrick Trueman, Tanya Cross, and Max Branning. Indeed, Kat, Tanya and Max were all deeply involved in the show's big Christmas Day episode that year.

Dot Cotton in Sprout Boy meets a Galaxy of Stars

Later in 2015, another Christmas ident, the animated Sprout Boy meets a Galaxy of Stars, saw another appearance by Dot Cotton, this time as one of several BBC characters having Christmas dinner with Sprout Boy and the Twelfth Doctor.

In 2024, Wonder Chase ^[+]Loading...["Wonder Chase (video game)"] was released, featuring elements from Doctor Who alongside the Queen Victoria.

References in the DWU

The 1994 novel, First Frontier, made a nod to the aforementioned Dimensions in Time through a claim by the Seventh Doctor that he once had a dream in which all his old enemies chased him around the EastEnders set.

The 2001 novel, Instruments of Darkness, revealed that the Sixth Doctor's 2000-hailing companion, Evelyn Smythe, had been using her foreknowledge of 1990s EastEnders storylines to get some extra cash by betting on the correct outcomes.

In the 2004 novel, Synthespians™, EastEnders is revealed as being among the shows broadcast by Reef Station One in the New Earth Republic during the 101st century.

In the 2005 novel, The Gallifrey Chronicles, among the fatalities of the Vore invasion of Earth were said to be members of the show's cast.

Also in 2005, in the novel, The Monsters Inside, following her year away from modern day Earth, Rose Tyler caught up with the episodes of the show that she missed during that time. The Ninth Doctor, who was forced to watch along with her, later used a piece of his general knowledge of the show to his advantage, when Rose is tested by Lazlee Flowers on tangential warp offset, he subtly gave Rose the answer (45), by telling her to think of the address of Pauline, Martin, and Sonia Fowler, which was 45 Albert Square at the time.

In the 2006 episode, The Impossible Planet, the Tenth Doctor expresses his belief that one of the most unluckiest phrases that one could utter was, "This is going to be the best Christmas Walford has ever had", a reference to the show's typically, notoriously depressing Christmas specials.

The 2006 online game, Ghostwatch, released in conjunction with Army of Ghosts, contained a reference to the above-mentioned metafictional crossover to the series; Sophie watched the EastEnders episode featuring the ghost of Den Watts, and texted the titular Ghostwatch a message telling them that "Dirty Den" was back.

In the 2008 The Sarah Jane Adventures serial, The Mark of the Berserker, whilst under the influence of the Berserker pendant, Haresh Chandra obeys his daughter's command to [pretend to be] "Bianca off EastEnders", in which he screams the names of Ricky Butcher, Whitney Dean, and Pat Butcher in her trademark style.

In the 2011 TV story, Night Terrors, Rory Williams made mention of the Eleventh Doctor being in an EastEnders-like place.

According to The Brilliant Book 2012 short story, Just a Minute..., EastEnders existed in River Song's World, where William Shakespeare was a showrunner.

In the 2014 novel, The Blood Cell, Clara Oswald gets the students of her Coal Hill School art class to paint a placard with the slogan "SAVE THE DOCTOR" when the Twelfth Doctor is imprisoned, only for the students to get confused and instead paint "SAVE DOT COTTON". Clara has to explain who Dot is to the Governor, describing her as a "famous Cockney chimney".

The 33 to Walford in The Pestilent Heart.

In the 2016 Doctor Who Magazine strip, The Pestilent Heart, Jess Collins walks past the 33 bus to Walford.

The 2018 audio story, The Siege of Big Ben, saw Jackie Tyler learn that the show did not exist on Pete's World, to her disappointment.

Chantelle (formerly known as "Squeak") was established in the 2020 novel, At Childhood's End, as having become an actress who previously had a role on the soap.

The Fifteenth Doctor Audition Piece involves the Doctor attempting to guess what questions "Robin" has for him, one of which is "Who Shot Phil Mitchell?", a reference to the famous storyline of the same name.

References to the DWU on EastEnders

Bradley and Stacey "inside" the TARDIS.

An episode broadcast on 15 February 2008 was particularly noteworthy for featuring a Doctor Who convention as a backdrop to one of its storylines; Stacey Slater accompanies her estranged husband, and avid Doctor Who fan, Bradley Branning to the event, in hopes of a reconciliation with him. The event features explicit appearances of multiple Doctor Who elements in a fictional context, such as convention-goers dressed as past Doctors and Cybermen, props such as monster and alien costumes on display (such as those of the Daleks, the Ood, and more), a main entrance to the venue being through a TARDIS prop - complete with wheezing noises - and the theme tune also being audible. In one scene, Bradley tells Stacey about the TV serial, The Invasion, in which he mentions the "classic TV moment" of the Cybermen emerging from their cocoons, and the fact that it was the first incomplete serial to be released with full animated reconstructions of the missing episodes.

In an episode broadcast on 27 April 2010, Ricky Butcher and Charlie Slater discuss the recent outing of Syed Masood, during which Ricky mentions "the one from Doctor Who. The big yank, the gay one [who is] into all the musicals", prompting a surprised Charlie to remark "Gays in Doctor Who?! Wouldn't have happened in my day". Derek Martin, who played Charlie, worked as a stuntman on classic Who, making the line a possible in-joke.

In an episode broadcast on 24 October 2022, after Finlay and Felix Baker move in with Chelsea Fox and Whitney Dean, Chelsea is taken aback by how many boxes the pair have brought with them, considering they previously lived in a cramped flat with their uncle Mitch and the Taylors, prompting Chelsea to ask Mitch, flippantly, if their flat is the TARDIS.

In an episode broadcast on 20 January 2023, Stacey Slater recalls when she aborted Bradley Branning's baby back in 2006, remarking that the child would have been 16 years old now, "A little mini Bradley, excited about the new Doctor Who".

In an episode broadcast on 22 May 2023, Bobby Beale and Freddie Slater prepare for a pub quiz at the Queen Vic by brushing up on their general knowledge. Whilst working at the fish and chip shop, Bobby begins listing off actors who played the Doctor in chronological order, from William Hartnell to Tom Baker, before Freddie stops him, saying that he asked "Doctor Who?", not "Doctor Never Heard of 'Em". Sure enough, in the following day's episode (23 May), one of the questions in the quiz is "In 2005, who took over as the ninth Doctor Who?"

In the episode broadcast on 29 December 2023, the Queen Vic holds an end-of-year pub quiz, where Doctor Who is once again the subject of a question. Quizmaster Elaine Peacock asks; "Now, Doctor Who is the longest-running sci-fi programme in the world. What anniversary did it celebrate this year?"

In an episode broadcast on 20 June 2024, Harvey Munroe, whilst on a dinner date with Maya Hussain, jokingly compares 31 Albert Square - a relatively small house in which he lives with the extended Slater family - to a TARDIS.

Connections

Crew

Doctor Who's connections to EastEnders are so great that they stretch right back to the two minds who created the soap, Julia Smith and Tony Holland; Smith directed the 1960s television serials, The Smugglers, and The Underwater Menace, being the second ever female director of a Who serial for the former.

Holland, meanwhile, acted on screen in The Savages, playing the Third Assistant.

David Ashton, who played Kendron in Timelash, was one of the show's earliest writers, writing for various storylines throughout the 1980s.

June Hudson, prominent costume designer on Doctor Who in the 1970s, served the same role on the soap's first twelve episodes, as well as for two further episodes in 1988.

Colin Brake, a writer of various DWU novels, wrote for the series from 1992 to 1995.

Prolific Doctor Who pundit Andrew Collins wrote for the show from 2000 to 2002.

Michael Begley, who acted on screen as Mulligan in The Curse of the Black Spot and "All Ears" Alan Hogan in Fugitive of the Judoon, wrote for the show from 2010 to 2013, and then again from 2019 to 2020. He also had a minor on screen role in a 2013 episode, as a market inspector.

Johnny Candon, who wrote the Missy audio story, War Seed, was a writer for the series from 2018 to 2020.

Cast

Highlighted rows indicate an actor who is currently appearing in the series as their listed character

1980s

Actor	DWU role(s)	EastEnders role	EastEnders duration	Notes
Michael Attwell	Isbur, Eregous Bates	Kenny Beale	1988
Ishia Bennison	Frey Saxton	Guizin Osman	1985-1989
William Boyde	Subject One	James Willmott-Brown	1986–1989, 1992, 2017
June Brown	Lady Eleanor, Dot Cotton, herself	Dot Cotton	1985–1993, 1997–2020
Michael Cashman	Andrew Bilton	Colin Russell	1986–1989, 2016, 2022
Michelle Collins	Winnie Tyler, Kathryn McDonnell	Cindy Beale	1988–1990, 1992–1998, 2023–present
Letitia Dean	Sharon Watts	Sharon Watts	1985-1995, 2001-2006, 2012-present
Peter Dean	Sevateem	Pete Beale	1985–1993
Amerjit Deu	See list	Dr Singh	1986-1987
Anita Dobson	Eileen Klint, Mrs Flood	Angie Watts	1985-1988
Edna Dore	Maeve Griffiths	Mo Butcher	1988-1990
Leonard Fenton	Casmus	Harold Legg	1985–1997, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2018−2019	Dr. Legg was mentioned in Dimensions in Time, but did not appear.
Leslie Grantham	Kiston	Den Watts	1985–1989, 2003–2005
John Hallam	Light	Barnsey Barnes	1988-1990
Jane How	Rebec	Jan Hammond	1986–1987, 2002–2003
Richard Ireson	Clockwork soldier, Axus	Reg Sparrow	1987-1988
Oscar James	Saracen warrior (TV: The Crusade)	Tony Carpenter	1985-187
Ronny Jhutti	Danny Bartock	Sohail Karim	1988-1990
Gareth Potter	Shaun Jones	Harry Reynolds	1986
Gary Powell	Dev Ashton	Laurie Bates	1989-1990
Peter Purves	Steven Taylor	Martin Hunter	1987
Mike Reid	Frank Butcher, uncredited roles (See list)	Frank Butcher	1987–2000, 2002, 2005
Wendy Richard	Pauline Fowler, herself	Pauline Fowler	1985-2006
Pamela Salem	See list	Joanne Francis	1988-1989
Leslie Schofield	Leroy, Calib	Brian Wicks	1988-1989	Schofield later returned to the show in 1997 in the role of Jeff Healy.
Pam St. Clement	Pat Butcher	Pat Butcher	1986–2012, 2016
Jonathan Stratt	Taxi driver	Brad Williams	1986-1989
Ron Tarr	Slave (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)	Big Ron	1985-1997	Tarr also played Big Ron in an unbroadcast scene in Dimensions in Time.
Gillian Taylforth	Kathy Beale	Kathy Beale	1985-2000, 2015-present
Jason Watkins	Webley, White Guardian, Barok	Gerry Fairweather	1987-1988
Anna Wing	Anatta	Lou Beale	1985-1988
Adam Woodyatt	Ian Beale	Ian Beale	1985-present
Arnold Yarrow	Bellal	Benny Bloom	1988-1989
Matilda Ziegler	Chatura Sharma	Donna Ludlow	1987-1989

1990s

Actor	DWU role(s)	EastEnders role	EastEnders duration	Notes
Holly Atkins	Heidi Stafford	Carrie Swann	1998-1999
Richard Beale	Refusian, Bat Masterson, Minister of Ecology	Jackie Stone	1990-1991
Gemma Bissix	Aglae	Clare Bates	1993-1998, 2008
Tony Caunter	Thatcher, Colony, Jackson	Roy Evans	1994-2003
Stephen Churchett	Bill	Marcus Christie	1990–1991, 1993, 1996–2004, 2014–2015
Karl Collins	Shaun Temple	Craven	1992
Mary Conlon	Celia Dunthorpe, Hilary	Eibhlin O'Donnell	1991
Lindsey Coulson	Val Cane	Carol Jackson	1993–1997, 1999, 2010–2015
Brian Croucher	Borg, Kurt, Cotton	Ted Hills	1995-1997
Daniela Denby-Ashe	Mary	Sarah Hills	1995-1999
Janet Dibley	Pavo	Lorna Cartwright	1997-1998, 2016
Shirley Dixon	Skagra's ship	Audrey Wittingham	1993
Nicola Duffett	Bronwen Jones	Debbie Bates	1993-1995
Russell Floyd	Gerry Lenz, Rilke	Michael Rose	1996-1999
Mona Hammond	Rita-Anne Smith	Blossom Jackson	1994-1997, 2010
Amanda Holden	Herself	Carmen	1994
Louise Jameson	Leela	Rosa di Marco	1998-2000	Jameson previously appeared on the EastEnders set as Leela in Dimensions in Time.
Shobu Kapoor	Gita Kapoor, scared woman, Sai Chopra	Gita Kapoor	1993-1998
Ross Kemp	Grant Mitchell	Grant Mitchell	1990–1999, 2005–2006, 2016
Edmund Kente	Mr Scoones	George Lawler	1990-1991
Francis Magee	Stuart, Karter	Liam Tyler	1993-1995
Joseph Marcell	John	Adrian Bell	1992
Petra Markham	Safiya, Annie	Rose Chapman	1993
Jacquetta May	N/A	Rachel Kominski	1991-1993	May wrote the Torchwood episode, Random Shoes.
Steve McFadden	Phil Mitchell	Phil Mitchell	1990-2003, 2005-present
Michael Melia	Terileptil leader	Eddie Royle	1990-1991
Colin McCormack	Commander	Kevin Masters	1991
Jonny Lee Miller	Fruit-bearing child (TV: Kinda)	Jonathan Hewitt	1992
Tamzin Outhwaite	Alice Ferrin, Morton	Mel Owen	1998-2002, 2018-2019
Francois Pandolfo	Quintus	Enrico di Clemente	1999
John Pickard	Thomas Brewster	Kevin	1993-1996
Elizabeth Power	Londonner (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians)	Christine Hewitt	1992-1993
Ian Reddington	Chief clown, Nobody No-One	Richard Cole	1992-1994
Leslie Schofield	Leroy, Calib	Jeff Healy	1997-2000	Schofield previously played Brian Wicks in the 1980s.
Adele Silva	Squeak	Beth	1991
Nicola Stapleton	Mandy Salter	Many Salter	1992-1994, 2011-2012
Roberta Taylor	Berengaria, Angela Wisher, Louisa von der Eck	Irene Taylor	1997-2000
Ellen Thomas	Clockwork Droid, Carmen	Pearl Chadwick	1990	This is the first of four roles that Thomas has played in the series.
Barbara Windsor	Peggy Mitchell	Peggy Mitchell	1994–2010, 2013–2016

2000s

Actor	DWU role(s)	EastEnders role	EastEnders duration	Notes
Zahra Ahmadi	Missy (Nightmare in Silver)	Shabnam Masood	2007-2008	Fellow DWU alumna Rakhee Thakrar took over the role of Shabnam in 2014.
Kacey Ainsworth	Jill Kerr	Little Mo Slater	2000-2006
Daniel Anthony	Clyde Langer	JJ	2004
Marcia Ashton	Karna	Doris Moisey	2002-2003
Eloise Barnes	Annabel Arden	Hannah Reynolds	2009
Lynda Baron	Captain Wrack, Val	Linda Clarke	2006, 2008–2009, 2016
Gary Beadle	Paul Langer	Paul Trueman	2001-2004
Daisy Beaumont	Maisie Pitt	Selina Branning	2008
Hywel Bennett	Rynian	Jack Dalton	2003
Tony Boncza	Scriven	Ashley Jennings	2008
Tracy Brabin	The Queen	Roxy Drake	2001
Patricia Brake	Nan	Deirdre Foster	2004
Albey Brookes	Rufus Bray	Matt	2004
Ray Brooks	David, Third Drax	Joe Macer	2005-2007
Robert Cavanah	President Gilbert	Tommy Grant	2004
Jamie Cho	Colonel Chan	Aikido Instructor	2005
Judy Cornwell	Maddy	Queenie Trott	2007-2008
Lauren Crace	Jemima	Danielle Jones	2008-2009
Dona Croll	Matron Casp	Joy Lucas	2006
Pamela Cundell	N/A	Nora Swann	2005-2006
Phil Daniels	Geoffrey Plum	Kevin Wicks	2006-2008
Leena Dhingra	Miss Chandrakala, Nani Umbreen.	Manju Patel	2007
Matt di Angelo	Fitz Kreiner	Dean Wicks	2006-2008, 2014-2016, 2023-2024
Shaun Dooley	Epzo	Reverend Tom Stuart	2001-2002
Amanda Drew	Mouri	May Wright	2006-2008
Madeline Duggan	Sash	Lauren Branning	2006-2010
Sharon Duncan-Brewster	Margaret Cain	Trina Johnson	2009
Tom Ellis	Thomas Milligan	Oliver Cousins	2006
Christopher Ellison	Morian	Len Harker	2007
Nabil Elouahabi	Esteban Aribi	Tariq Larousi	2003-2005
Cheryl Fergison	Mrs Lloyd	Heather Trott	2007-2012, 2016
Meryl Fernandes	Female student	Afia Khan	2009-2012
Alex Ferns	Mr Parks	Trevor Morgan	2000-2002
Don Gilet	Lance Bennett	Lucas Johnson	2008–2010, 2016, 2020–2021, 2024
Matt Green	BBC reporter	Gordon Lewis	2005
Roger Griffiths	Kess	Detective Inspector Christopher Riddick	2004-2005	Griffiths later returned to the show in 2018 in the role of Mitch Baker.
Ricky Groves	Markus Creevy	Gary Hobbs	2000-2009
Shobna Gulati	Najia Khan	Ameena Badawi	2000
Jill Halfpenny	David's mam	Kate Mitchell	2002-2005
Sheila Hancock	Helen A	Barbara Owen	2000-2001
Melvyn Hayes	Wilkin	Michael Rawlins	2005
Nicky Henson	Pieter Stubbe, Dick Turpin, Gregson Grenville	Jack Edwards	2006
Dave Hill	Nessican	Bert Atkinson	2006-2007, 2017
Ram John Holder	Joseph Roberts	Cedric Lucas	2006
Tim Hudson	Tar-Modowk Leader	Brendan Hughs	2007
Gareth Hunt	Arak	Ritchie Stringer	2001
Raji James	Rajesh Singh	Ash Ferreira	2003-2005
Rory Jennings	Tommy Connolly	Craig Dixon	2007
Jo Joyner	Lynda Moss, Fenicein, Tanya Cross	Tanya Cross	2006–2013, 2015, 2017–2018
Michael Keating	Goudry	Reverend George Stevens	2005-2013, 2015-2017
Paul Keating	Isaac George	James Mackie	2009
Ashley Kumar	See list	Todd Taylor	2009-2010
Josie Lawrence	Gaznak	Manda Best	2009-2010
Joseph Marcell	John	Aubrey Valentine	2006
Derek Martin	N/A	Charlie Slater	2000–2011, 2013, 2016, 2018	Martin was a reoccurring stuntman on classic Doctor Who.
Forbes Masson	Kindred, Kurt	Rod Morris	2000
Daniel Mays	Alex Thompson	Kevin	2000
Neil McDermott	Jed	Ryan Malloy	2009–2011, 2014, 2016, 2023
Shona McGarty	Herself	Whitney Dean	2008-2024
Lloyd McGuire	Lugo, Tendexter	Dom Shaw	2004
Deeivya Meir	See list	Midwife	2006
Ron Moody	Arthur Wellesley	Edwin Caldecott	2003
Robyn Moore	June Turner	Shirley Benson	2003-2004
Cathy Murphy	Mum (The Christmas Invasion)	Trisha Taylor	2005
Ben Nealon	Clive Freeman	Alex Harkinson	2003
Giles New	Douwemout Van Der Meer, Nehemiah Hawnch	PC Lance	2006, 2008-2011
Cyril Nri	See list	DS Burton	2001-2002
Maggie O'Neill	Lysandra Aristedes	Suzy Branning	2008
Tracy-Ann Oberman	Yvonne Hartman	Chrissie Watts	2004-2005, 2024
Belinda Owusu	Woman with pram	Libby Fox	2006-2010, 2014-2017
Himesh Patel	Dendry, Ayrton Valencia, Engineer	Tamwar Masood	2007-2016
Pooky Quesnel	Captain, Dorothea Ames	Rachel Branning	2007-2010
Sian Reeves	Tanna, Mrs Higgins	Elaine Jarvis	2006
Shane Richie	Drax, Himself	Alfie Moon	2002–2005, 2010–2016, 2018–2019, 2022–present
Maurice Roëves	Stotz	Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Morton	2003
Lee Ross	Boatswain	Owen Turner	2006, 2009
Michelle Ryan	Christina de Souza	Zoe Slater	2000-2005
Naomi Ryan	Cassandra	Police Constable Myra Sim	2007, 2009
Pooja Shah	Miss Shah, Navarch Al-Hanin	Kareena Ferreira	2003-2005
Sadie Shimmin	Seer, Controller	Sue Miller	2001
Chook Sibtain	See list	Jack Robbins	2000-2001
Corinne Skinner	Technician (TV: Inferno)	Audrey Trueman	2000-2001
Bindya Solanki	Sonali Akhtar, Tahira Khan	Nina Mistry	2001-2003, 2019
Mark Springer	Christian	Bryan Nolan	2006
Una Stubbs	Flo	Caroline Bishop	2006
Sylvia Syms	Margaret Pritchard	Olive Woodhouse	2007, 2009-2010
Mary Tamm	Romana I	Orlenda	2009
Elaine Tan	Jagganth Daiki-Nagata	Li Chong	2006-2007
Ellen Thomas	Clockwork Droid, Carmen	Estella Hulton	2002	This is the second of four roles that Thomas has played in the series.
Ramon Tikaram	Vikram Shindi, Colin Colchester-Price	Qadim Shah	2009-2012
Nina Toussaint-White	Mels Zucker, Brooke 2	Syd Chambers	2009
Nina Wadia	Dr Ramsden	Zainab Masood	2007-2013
Rudolph Walker	Harper, Patrick Trueman	Patrick Trueman	2001-present
Jessie Wallace	Kat Slater	Kat Slater	2000–2005, 2010–2016, 2018–present
David Walliams	Quincy Flowers, Gibbis	Ray Collins	2003
Natasha Williams	Pharmacist 2	Nurse Rowan Kennedy	2004-2016	Williams later played Dolores in 2024.
Nick Wilton	See list	Mr Lister	2008–2013, 2016–2018, 2020–2022, 2024
Jake Wood	Max Branning	Max Branning	2006-2021
Angela Wynter	Cherry Sunday	Yolande Trueman	2003–2008, 2017, 2023–present

2010s

Actor	DWU role(s)	EastEnders role	EastEnders duration	Notes
Anna Acton	Kate Drury, Brox	DC Emma Summerhayes	2014-2015
Annette Badland	Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen	Babe Smith	2014-2017
Charlie Baker	Fat One	Tim Reynolds	2016
Glynis Barber	Kathy Blake, Nicholaa de la Haye	Glenda Mitchell	2010–2011, 2016–2017
Tim Bentinck	The Monks	Norman Pike	2013
Ace Bhatti	Haresh Chandra	Yusef Khan	2010-2011
Saffron Coomber	Elidir, Byrne	Alexa Smith	2012-2013
Doña Croll	Matron Casp	Emerald Fox	2017
Richie Daysh	The Constable, Comms Officer	Young Charlie Slater	2018
Maxine Evans	See list	Beryl Barr, sonographer	2012 (Beryl), 2014 (sonographer)
Emma Fielding	Kisar	Judith Thompson	2018
Jamie Foreman	Eddie Connolly	Derek Branning	2011-2012
Bradley Freegard	Barry, Phil Patterson	Gethin Williams	2012
Davood Ghadami	Jim	Kush Kazemi	2014-2021
Roger Griffiths	Kess	Mitch Baker	2018-2023	Griffiths previously appeared in the show in 2004 and 2005 as Detective Inspector Christopher Riddick.
Rupert Holliday-Evans	Alan Mace	Jury foreperson	2015	Holliday-Evans later appeared in 2024 as Officer Bryant.
Clare Higgins	Ohila	Hazel Warren	2015
Julia Hills	See list	Morag Morgan	2018
Leila Hoffman	Elsie Rossiter	Freda	2017, 2019
Shaheen Jafargholi	Danny	Shakil Kazemi	2016-2018
Martin Jarvis	Nigel Rochester, Governor of Varos, Hilio	Harvey Freeman	2010
Arinzé Kene	Orentino	Connor Stanley	2010-2011
Malachi Kirby	Gastron	Wayne Ladlow	2014
Bonnie Langford	Melanie Bush	Carmel Kazemi	2015-2018	Langford previously appeared as Mel on the EastEnders set in Dimensions in Time.
George Layton	Penn	Norman Simmonds	2011-2012
Linda Marlowe	May Carlisle, Claire Spencer, Osloo, Gusta Pardo	Sylvie Carter	2014-2017
Ashley McGuire	Sergeant (The Red House)	Bev Slater	2018-2019
Pauline McLynn	Mary	Yvonne Cotton	2014-2015
Aleksandar Mikic	Yuri Kerenski	Josef	2013
Cathy Murphy	Mum (The Christmas Invasion)	Julie Perkins	2010-2011	Murphy previously appeared in 2005 in the role of Trishia Taylor.
Ricky Norwood	Himself	Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb	2010-2015, 2023
Tom Palmer	Hutchinson	Simon Atmore	2016, 2021
Clare Perkins	Nana Thompson	Ava Hartman	2012-2013
Carolyn Pickles	Ollistra	Delia Forde	2016
Ned Porteous	Zogroth (voice)	Mark Fowler	2016
Selva Rasalingam	Psychiatrist (Fragments), Ranjit	Umar Kazemi	2018
Golda Rosheuvel	Jocelyn Sancerre	Midwife Jenni	2015
Jenna Russell	Floor manager	Michelle Fowler	2016-2018
Andrew Sachs	Skagra	Cyril Bishop	2015
Madhav Sharma	Patel	Arshad Ahmed	2018-2019
Steve John Shepherd	Simon Devlin	Michael Moon	2010-2013
Michael Simkins	Raxxil	Steve Lowe	2013
Chris Simmons	Albert Potter	Mark Garland	2011
Anjela Lauren Smith	Genevieve Carrière	Dinah Wilson	2019
Maggie Steed	Rana Zandusia	Joyce Murray	2017-2018
Steve Steen	N/A	Magic Marv	2018	Steen narrated the documentary, Resistance is Useless.
Rakhee Thakrar	Bliss	Shabnam Masood	2014-2016	Shabnam was previously played in the 2000s by fellow DWU alumna, Zahra Ahmadi.
Ellen Thomas	Clockwork Droid, Carmen	Grace Olubunmi	2010-2011	These are the third and fourth roles that Thomas has played in the series.
		Claudette Hubbard	2015-2016
Christopher Timothy	Professor Parry	Ted Murray	2017-2019
Paul Usher	N/A	Danny Hardcastle	2019-2020
Joivan Wade	Rigsy	Jordan Johnson	2016
Timothy West	Ronald Turvey, Magnus Soames, Kai Tobias	Stan Carter	2014-2015
June Whitfield	Minnie Hooper	Sister Ruth	2015-2016
Simon Williams	Ian Gilmore	Hugo Browning	2017

2020s

Actor	DWU role(s)	EastEnders role	EastEnders duration	Notes
Zaraah Abrahams	Daphne Gold, Castellan, Kaled corporal, other Narvin	Chelsea Fox	2020-present
Olly Alexander	N/A	Himself	2024	Alexander was an interview subject for Russell T Davies: The Doctor and Me.
Chris Anderson	Rezh Baphix	Dr. Marsh	2024
Delroy Atkinson	Wadmore	Howie Danes	2021-present
Dylan Baldwin	Security Officer	Prison Guard	2023
Micah Balfour	Co-pilot, Yarven	Junior Knight	2024-present
Michael Bertenshaw	Mr Cole	Hugh Collins	2024
David Cann	N/A	Daniel	2024	Cann narrated the documentary, Hello Sailor!
Peter Caulfield	Dahh-Ren	"Shifty" Shiv	2023
Navin Chowdhry	Indra Ganesh	Nish Panesar	2022-present
Paul Clayton	St John Colchester, Ted Bartle	Drew Peacock	2024
Elizabeth Counsell	Abigail Woburn	Gloria Knight	2024
Laura Doddington	Zara	Nicola Mitchell	2024-present
William Ellis	Aldo Rega	Theo Hawthorne	2023
Christopher Fairbank	Doc Baroque, Pierre Aronnax, Fenton, Marc Brunel	Eddie Knight	2024
Robert Goodman	Reg	Priest	2024
Sue Holderness	Kala Tace	Estelle Jones	2021
Rupert Holliday-Evans	Alan Mace	Officer Bryant	2024	Holliday-Evans previously appeared in 2015 as a jury foreperson.
Patsy Kensit	The Scorpion	Emma Harding	2023
Sophie Khan Levy	Salvin, Vaia	Priya Nandra-Hart	2023-present
Simone Lahbib	Sylvia Brooks, Jamie McCrimmon's grandmother	Katy Lewis	2020-2021
Nichola McAuliffe	Vivien Rook	Brenda Collins	2024
Debra Michaels	Megan Hollands	Rachel	2024
Dermot O'Leary	Dermot O'Leary	Himself	2024	EastEnders cameo was voice only.
Sarah Paul	Miss Jerome	Laura Awoyinka	2020-2022
Edward Peel	Kane	Alec	2024
Christopher Pizzey	Eddie Smith	Malcolm Keeble	2022
Neil Roberts	Tulung, Temeter, Captain Cornelius	Warren Finn	2024
Laila Rouass	Tia Karim	Ayesha Siddhu	2024
George Russo	Phillip	Eric Mitchell	2022
Colin Salmon	Doctor Moon, Salway	George Knight	2023-present
David Sterne	See list	Harold Martin	2024
Harriet Thorpe	Amelia, Tomek	Elaine Peacock	2023-present
Velile Tshabalala	Rosita Farisi	Stella Clayton	2024
Natasha Williams	Pharmacist 2	Dolores	2024	Williams previously played Nurse Rowan Kennedy at various points in the 2000s and 2010s.

Spinoffs

An online spinoff series, EastEnders: E20, ran from 2010 to 2011. Among the original set of characters to appear in the series were Sol Levi, Ava Bourne, and Ekin Beg; Sol was played by Tosin Cole, who would go on to play Thirteenth Doctor companion, Ryan Sinclair; Ava was played by Sophie Colquhoun, who went on to voice Madrigal in Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy; and Ekin was played by Hemi Yeroham, who went on to play Abdul in The Church on Ruby Road.

For Children in Need in 2010, EastEnders had a special crossover minisode with rival soap, Coronation Street, titled East Street. Among the then-present Coronation Street actors to reprise their roles for the crossover were Julie Hesmondhalgh (Judy Maddox in Kerblam!) as Hayley Cropper, Shobna Gulati (Najia Khan in Arachnids in the UK, as well as a former EastEnders guest actor) as Sunita Alahan, and Helen Worth (Mary Ashe in Colony in Space) as Gail Platt.

The 2017 spinoff, Kat & Alfie: Redwater, featured Ian McElhinney as Lance Byrne, three years before he played Ko Sharmus in Ascension of the Cybermen and The Timeless Children.

Miscellaneous

EastEnders and its extensive shared cast with DWU media is a subject within the BBC Books publication, Who-ology: The Official Miscellany, under the section "Soap Who", which contains an extensive (by the time of publication) list of cast members shared with televised Doctor Who.

Festive specials

EastEnders traditionally broadcasts extended episodes on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, in time slots that are typically adjacent to Doctor Who's own festive specials, resulting in the two shows competing against each other in the ratings.

For Christmas Day schedules, EastEnders have typically ended up with higher overnight ratings than Doctor Who, with only The Time of the Doctor, The Husbands of River Song, and The Church on Ruby Road managing to score higher in their respective years. New Year's Day ratings, meanwhile, have historically worked in Doctor Who's favour, with only Part 2 of The End of Time failing to outdo EastEnders in 2010.

External links

• EastEnders at the EastEnders Wiki