Sylvia Syms to appear in 'Eastenders'

[Footie_Chick]

Veteran actress Sylvia Syms is to appear in Eastenders next month.

The 73-year-old, who recently portrayed the Queen Mother alongside Dame Helen Mirren in The Queen, plays a mystery character who rushes to the aid of Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).

An insider told The Sun: “Sylvia's already filmed her episodes. She plays a woman called Olive who is not related to any of the other characters. But she and Peggy have a secret connection which is part of a much bigger storyline.”

Syms will first appear in the popular soap in April and the Eastenders scriptwriters are lining her up for several special episodes later in the year.

Syms has recently appeared in Judge John Deed and Family Affairs. Her film career dates from the 1950s and includes a part in award-winning romantic comedy Shirley Valentine.

[bakedbean]

I wonder what this major storyline will be???

[Kim]

I don't think it will be much, given the state of the storylines. They've had Frank with another woman, Pat and Crystal, come to that, so I don't think that will be it. Possibly a mugging or getting dumped in Walford after her husband ran off with her money, as Frank did that to Peggy, and she got mugged in 2002. People usually go quiet after they've been mugged, so maybe she thinks she can forget it if she disappears, but can't and comes back at the end of the year. Otherwise it could be having survived breast cancer as Peggy had that a while back, and there was some good stuff coming out when Pauline pretended to have cancer, so it could be better if the cancer wasn't a product of the character's imagination.