New 'Bad Girl' for 'EastEnders'

A new 'bad girl' is soon to be walking the streets of Walford.

Actress Linda Henry - most famous for her role as Yvonne Atkins in ITV prison drama Bad Girls between 1999 and 2003 - has landed a similar part in EastEnders.

Linda is to play Shirley, the brassy, rough, tarty and tough-as-old-boots ex of Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels).

Shirley's son and daughter, Deano (Matt Di Angelo) and Carly (Kellie Shirley), bump into their mother while on holiday. They haven't seen her since she left a few years ago, so there's a lot of catching up to do with plenty of questions to be asked - and buckets of tears to be shed.

The estranged mother then decides to move onto the Square herself to make amends with her family.

Linda's previous roles include Birds of a Feather, The Bill, Cracker, A Touch of Frost and, ironically, last year played Shirley alongside Danny Dyer in The Business.

Of her new role, Linda said: "I'm thrilled to be joining EE. I'm both nervous and excited as I've watched it for many years."

The former Larkhall actress starts filming with EastEnders next week and looks to be on-screen in December, making her debut on the Square itself early 2007.