The actress has been on the BBC soap as Eve Unwin since October 2021 but away from Walford Heather Peace is a star on stage

EastEnders star Heather Peace has quickly become a fan favourite since she joined in October 2021 as ex-convict Eve Unwin.

It was revealed that Eve and Stacey Slater (played by Lacey Turner) had a shotgun wedding to secure their probation release while both serving time in prison. Since then, they’ve moved back to Walford and remained close friends, but drama is never too far.

Eve’s love life has been complicated, with her developing feelings for Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), despite Suki being married to the villainous Nish (Navin Chowdhry). She was almost murdered in plot conjured up by jealous Nish but thankfully Eve managed to escape, and after a number of obstacles she is now set to marry Suki.

However away from the bright lights of Walford, Heather’s real life is far removed from her on-screen character’s drama-filled existence.

Heather, 49, originally from Bradford, studied acting at Manchester Metropolitan University. She made her TV debut in 1997, appearing in an episode of The Bill as Josie Clarke and later in Emmerdale as Anne Cullen.

Her big break came in 1998 when she was cast as Sally Fields in the popular ITV drama London’s Burning, which follows the lives of firefighters from the fictional Blackwall fire station.

Heather stayed until the last episode in August 2002, before going on to star in some smaller parts on other TV shows like Casualty, Down to Earth and Where the Heart Is.

In 2005, she was in Ultimate Force with Ross Kemp. Heather is also known for her roles as Sam Murray in Lip Service and Nikki Boston in Waterloo Road. She also once played a mountain rescuer on Coronation Street in 2008.

Discussing her EastEnders casting, Heather said at the time: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the cast of EastEnders and I love my character Eve. She’s tough, but fair; super bright and cheeky. I’m loving working with such a brilliant cast, in particular Lacey Turner.

“She’s tough, but fair; super bright and cheeky. I’m loving working with such a brilliant cast, in particular Lacey Turner. We immediately got on and sparked off each other which makes going to work easy and fun.”

Acting isn’t her only skill – Heather can play the piano and guitar and even held a jazz residency while studying acting. She’s been releasing music since her character sang Bette Midler’s The Rose in London’s Burning and now has five albums and four singles to her name.

She previously set out on her This Love Tour with shows in major cities including London, Birmingham, Brighton, and Manchester. Her love of music began when she was a cantor at St Joseph’s Catholic Church alongside her mother, but the two have since left the church because she is openly a lesbian.

According to The Daily Record, she said: “The problem comes with the Catholic Church saying, ‘We’re going to be forced to marry gay people in our church. That’s embarrassing. I was brought up a Catholic, and in all honesty, on the happiest day of my life, if you really think I would set foot in any building that would rather I wasn’t there, then you’re having a laugh.

“Why would I want to sit with a priest when I don’t even believe any of that? I hate the fact that it’s even referred to as ‘gay’ marriage. I don’t drive a ‘gay’ car or eat a ‘gay’ lunch. It’s just marriage. It’s all about achieving a sense of equality.”

Heather has been married to Ellie Dickinson since 2013 and the couple has three children: Annie Mary and twins Jessie and Lola. She frequently shares snaps of her idyllic family life with her 111k followers on Instagram.

EastEnders airs Monday – Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer