Here’s why you recognise the TV star playing EastEnders journalist Charlotte
If you’re a Call The Midwife fan, you might just have recognised a familiar face that has popped up in EastEnders this week.
Recent scenes saw a mysterious woman befriending Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) in Beale’s Eels, as they bonded over a negative review she’d left owner Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) online.
However, after suggesting a drink at the nearby Harry’s Barn with Bianca, it soon became clear she had a hidden agenda.
In Tuesday’s episode of the BBC soap, which is already streaming on iPlayer, the woman is revealed to be a journalist and podcaster.
She is hoping to persuade Bianca to appear on her show and give the inside scoop on her recent hostage ordeal at the hands of twisted killer Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman).
Charlotte is played by actress Leonie Elliott, who is perhaps best known for her role in Call The Midwife.
She played beloved nurse Lucille Anderson in the hit BBC drama from 2018 to 2023.
Lucille was last seen on Call The Midwife before returning home to Jamaica to recuperate following a miscarriage and later accepted a job on a maternity ward there.
Following her exit from the show, Leonie said in a statement: ‘Thank you all for embracing Lucille and rocking with me on this journey, it is with a heart full of love and appreciation that I embark on pastures new.
‘Having spent six years on a truly wonderful show, with a fantastic team, I have fallen deeper and deeper in love with Lucille.’
She continued: ‘I feel honoured to have represented the pioneering Windrush generation and their incredible impact on British society.’
Fans had an update on the character earlier this year when Lucille’s husband Cyril Robinson revealed she’d asked him for a divorce.
As well as her role in Call The Midwife, Leonie has had guest parts in Holby City, Casualty, The Bill and Black Mirror, and also appeared in 2018 BBC drama Killed By My Debt.
It remains to be seen how the rest of Leonie’s EastEnders role pans out – but after Bianca agrees to be interviewed on Charlotte’s podcast, is it a decision she will live to regret?
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.