Impressionist legend Ronni Ancona is set to join the cast of EastEnders as Bea Pollard, a character who promises to bring a mix of ‘dark humour’ and ‘tragic’ depth to Walford.
The drama kicks off on Tuesday 6th January 2026, when Linda Carter finds herself conflicted about attending her school reunion. Despite her hesitation, Johnny encourages her to face her past.
However, Honey steps in to support her friend. but the pair start the night on the wrong foot when Honey and Linda lie that Honey is ‘Bea’ – another pupil from Linda’s school – so she can get into the party.
The plan backfires spectacularly when the real Bea is there and begins to reveal what Linda was like back in their school days.
The tension continues into Thursday as Linda gets defensive when Bea gives her version of events. that paints her in an unflattering light. Following a mix-up where Honey accidentally picks up Bea’s bag, Linda finds herself reflecting on her behaviour. In a surprising turn of events, Linda decides to apologise to Bea for her past behaviour and tracks her down to an address found in the bag.
Upon arrival, Linda discovers Bea is being kicked out and, in a moment of kindness, offers her a room at Peacock Palace while she gets back on her feet.
Though this is Ronni’s first time in a permanent role on the soap, she has a long history of spoofing its iconic characters. She admits that ‘stepping onto the actual set for the first time was an especially strange experience’.
‘My first scene was on the bench in the middle of Albert Square, exactly where Alastair and I had once filmed our sketch “The Bench of Tears.”’
Ronni also shared an emotional moment filming in the Vic, remembering her famous impression of the late Barbara Windsor. ‘I couldn’t help remembering my impression of Peggy Mitchell, which mostly involved me shuffling around on my knees in padded knee guards because Barbara was so much shorter than I am’.
As for the current cast, it seems there are no hard feelings about her past parodies. Ronni revealed that ‘Jessie Wallace even did my impression of her back at me, which was hysterical’.
What’s next for Bea and Linda? Ronni teases that viewers should prepare for ‘lots of twists and turns and lots of unexpected developments’.
EastEnders airs Monday – Thursday on BBC One with catchup via iPlayer, Classic EastEnders airs on Drama with catchup on U.