EastEnders legend Lorraine Stanley is swapping the Square for the stage just months after leaving the BBC soap.
The actress recently left her role as Karen Taylor, after playing her since 2017. Karen is the mother of Chantelle, Keegan, Bernie, Chatham, Riley and Keanu, the troubled character who died on Christmas Day last year.
The beloved character had to depart Walford after stealing Phil Mitchell’s (Steve McFadden) money. Recently, however, she decided to head back home in search of her missing son.
Keanu was of course murdered on Christmas Day by Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and a number of the show’s leading ladies concealed his body under the floor of the cafe.
Karen thought Phil and Sharon were the reason behind Keanu’s sudden disappearance. She spent the majority of the day picking for information from the likes of Phil, Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) but failed to get to the truth.
Earlier this month, Lorraine teased a new job on her social media and last week, confirmed what she’d be taking on.
She’ll be appearing as Queen Rat in an upcoming production of Dick Whittington at the King’s Theatre in Portsmouth.
Announcing the news on Instagram to her 177,000 followers she said: ‘I can’t wait for this!!!! Panto in my home town with me old mate Jack Edwards is going to be epic!!!
‘Ratty is coming to play Kings Theatre get your tickets early (link in bio) and I’ll see you after the show 🎭👸🏼🐀Xxx @stagey jack Edwards @kingstheatre 🎭👸🏼🐀 #pompey #pompeypanto #portsmouth #theatre.’
On-screen daughter Clair Norris, who plays Bernadette commented: ‘Can’t wait to see you in this 😍❤️’
One fan added: ‘Good luck sweetheart eastenders is not the same without you.’
The pantomime will run from 29th November to 31st December.
As the Taylor clan drove out of Walford to the sound of Julia’s Theme last year, it left viewers wondering if we’d ever see her again as the music usually signifies the end of an era.
However, with Keanu’s body unearthed, there’s a high chance we may see her make another guest appearance one day!
