Hugh Bonneville unrecognisable as forgotten EastEnders clip resurfaces on live TV

Hugh Bonneville on BBC’s Morning Live(Image: BBC)

Hugh Bonneville received a surprise career throwback when he appeared on BBC’s Morning Live to chat about his latest TV series. The 62-year-old actor famous for fan-favourites like Paddington and Downton Abbey stars in the BBC’s mockumentary Twenty Twenty Six following the organisation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Reprising his role as Ian Fletcher from W1A, it’s a follow-up to Twenty Twelve, which followed the 2012 Summer Olympics, and W1A, which satirised the management of the BBC.

As Hugh, 62, chatted to Morning Live hosts Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones via video link on Tuesday, April 14, it wasn’t long before an old clip from early in his career was aired.

Gethin said referring to his Ian Fletcher character: “You’re no stranger to this type of role Hugh. We’ve got something here back in 1995, the iconic Wendy Richard in an episode of EastEnders giving her son’s headmaster a hard time and he’s very familiar.”

Hugh had a cameo role opposite Wendy Richard in EastEnders in 1995(Image: BBC)

The clip was then shown of Hugh in a scene opposite the late Wendy as Pauline Fowler and a suited Hugh, then aged 32, looked very different with a mop of curly hair.

Cutting back to Hugh he responded: “That’s hilarious, that’s amazing – the shirt, the suit, the hair and Wendy Richard, that’s amazing.”

He added of the shoot: “That’s a very memorable day, I was so naive about being on the telly. A friend of mine happened to be directing a block of EastEnders and I said ‘look I’m never going to be cast in EastEnders, if you see a tiny part pop up please…’

“Anyway this tiny part of the headmaster popped up and I turned up at the studios and the guy at the gate said ‘oh yes they’re just filming in the Queen Vic at the moment’. So in my naivity I walked across Albert Square, opened the door to the Queen Vic and was surprised to find a load of scaffolding poles. I hadn’t really twigged they would actually be in a studio for the interiors.”

Hugh chats to Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones(Image: BBC)

Hugh went on to talk about how one legendary EastEnders star, in particullar, stood out for him and has inspired that way he interacts with young actors.

He contnued: “I have to say though my memory of that day was Michelle Collins (Cindy Beale). I was walking round the corridor clutching my suit bag utterley mystified as to where I was meant to go, what I was meant to do, and she popped her head out of the make up room and sort of said, ‘can I help’ and ‘welcome’ and I’ve never forgotten that and it was incredibly kind of her as I was panicking and worried about how to behave, what to do.

“There’s nothing more tense making than being a guest artist on something that is such an iconic machine as that and I’ve never forgotten that.”

He added: “We are doing a play in the West End at the moment, Shadowlands, and I always try and remember the team – we are working as a team here – the people who are starting out need as much help as the people who are playing the lead parts.”