Brian Conley announced as new 'EastEnders' cast member

Actor and comedian Brian Conley has joined the cast of EastEnders.

He will be playing Terry Cant, the long lost father of Albert Square stalwart Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) who turns up expectedly on the BBC soap later this spring.

The character has been described as the "ultimate people pleaser" but it remains to be seen what a shocked Sonia's reaction will be.

Conley, 59, said of his new role: “As you can imagine being a Londoner and now being part of EastEnders is such an incredible moment for me. I know for sure my dad’s looking down from above and saying 'Good on yer son!

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"It was always his favourite programme. So in so many ways it really is an honour to be part of such an iconic show and to be working with an incredibly talented team on camera and off. I cannot wait to order my first pint at The Queen Vic.”

The entertainer is famous for having fronted his own programme, The Brian Conley Show, between 1992 and 1995 and again from 2000 to 2002.

He's previously had TV acting parts on Last of the Summer Wine and The Grimleys. In the West End, he's played the lead in musicals such as Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and 9 To 5 The Musical.

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EastEnders' executive producer Jon Sen said: "We are delighted to welcome Brian to Albert Square. We had been searching for some time but the moment we met Brian, we knew instantly we had found our man.

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"Brian’s a talented performer whose charm, wit and charisma are exactly the qualities we want for Terry. We’ve got some wonderful stories in store for him and can’t wait for the audience to see Brian bring him to life.”

Conley follows in the footsteps of a few fellow comedians who have made their way into the soap, including Adrian Edmondson who appeared as Jean Slater's (Gillian Wright) love interest Daniel between 2019 and 2020 as well as Bobby Davro who made his debut as Vinnie Monks in 2007 before leaving the following year.

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