EastEnders icon Cheryl Fergison secures new job after having to claim benefits
Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has joined the cast of BBC's Mandy, which is currently filming its fourth series - the actress shot to fame as Heather Trott in the BBC soap
Ex-EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison, who played lovable Heather Trott, has landed a new job after having to previously turn to benefits.
Cheryl has secured a role in the hit BBC comedy series Mandy. The actress, who underwent a huge transformation in recent years, joins a string of new cast members for the show’s fourth season, which has just started filming.
While details of Cheryl’s character are being kept under wraps, she’ll be starring alongside other newcomers including Sian Gibson from Car Share and Rosie Cavaliero from The Power of Parker. The show follows the misadventures of the titular character, played by Diane Morgan, as she dodges her benefits officer and gets caught up in various hare-brained schemes.
BBC Comedy Director Jon Petrie said: “Series 3 saw Mandy save a plane from a terrorist attack, commit mass murder with a blowpipe, and get fired from a biscuit factory. Mandy gets bigger, bolder, and more brilliantly absurd with every series – and we’re here for every hilarious moment of Diane Morgan’s brilliant creation.”
Cheryl landed a new BBC role
Cheryl is best known for her stint as Heather in EastEnders from 2007 to 2012, when her character was tragically killed off by Ben Mitchell. Since her exit from Albert Square, Cheryl’s been a true trooper, popping up in Celebrity Big Brother and having a laugh in Catherine Tate’s spoof, Hard Cell.
Not just a telly queen, she’s dazzled onstage too, recently sprinkling her magic as the panto fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk and gliding as Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, reports the Mirror.
She is joining BBC’s Mandy
Last year, our soap legend got real about scrapping together coin, even serving it up at a Chinese takeaway to keep on top of her bills amidst the cash squeeze. Plus, the brave star opened up about her womb cancer battle back in 2015.
In a twist, she’s been flogging old EastEnders scripts to stay afloat, defending her hustle by saying she’s playing it straight with the taxman and doesn’t see the harm in passing on Walford memories. But fans, beware – some dodgy dealers are peddling fake memorabilia online, according to our girl.
She went through a big transformation
Spilling the tea to OK! magazine, Cheryl insisted: “I was told some years ago that after a period of time, this was okay to do. I have donated scripts to various charities over the years in much the same way, by giving them to auctions to raise money for their charities.”
She further stated: “There is unofficial merchandise being sold either online or in various places, I wanted to give true fans a chance to have something of my era at EastEnders. I think that people need to get their heads around the fact we have to earn a living, we are not always fortunate to be filming all the time and working in our chosen and trained profession. I do not see that anything is wrong with what I am doing when I have been told this is something I can do.”
