Overview
- BBC One confirmed Ronni Ancona will play Bea, with filming underway and first scenes scheduled to air in the New Year.
- Bea is introduced as a former school acquaintance of Linda Carter, and a reunion will reveal sharply different memories of their school days.
- Executive producer Ben Wadey praised Ancona’s casting and described Bea as a mysterious presence in Walford.
- Ancona said she feels honoured to join the soap and called Bea an unpredictable, nuanced and complex character.
- The show has also announced December returns for Barry Evans and Pat Butcher as part of Nigel Bates’s ongoing dementia storyline.