AN EastEnders legend has landed a huge new role – just days after making a shock comeback to Walford.
Joel Beckett is among the cast of star-studded Channel 5 drama The Feud.
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The actor, who played Jake Moon in the BBC soap, will appear alongside the likes of Jill Halfpenny and Rupert Penry-Jones.
Also in the cast are Larry Lamb, Chris Gascoyne, Ray Fearon and Amy Nuttall.
Taking to Instagram, the actor shared: “Loved working on this earlier in the year, really looking forward to ‘The Feud’ on Channel 5 coming out later this year!”
Previously, Joel was an EastEnders regular for two years, from 2004 to 2006.
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In a surprise twist earlier this month, his character Jake returned to Albert Square for the first time in almost two decades.
Viewers saw Jake reunite with former lover Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), who had just been released from prison.
Cruising together in a sports car, they stopped off outside the Queen Vic, where Chrissie remarked: “Just had to see her one last time. Fancy a swift half?”
However, Jake replied: “Nineteen years I’ve waited to get my hands on you again, a cheeky half in the Vic is not what I had in mind.
“Now get in that car.”
The two drove off together, with Jake just missing out on seeing his cousin Alfie (Shane Richie).
EastEnders fans predict legendary character will return ‘from the dead’ as they beg BBC bosses for ‘closure’
This cameo appearance finally resolved the long-running mystery of Jake’s fate.
The character’s final scenes back in 2006 implied he was about to be killed, following a misunderstanding – although fans now know he survived.
Speaking after his EastEnders comeback aired, actor Joel revealed: “It felt lovely to be back.
“Although it was a new set it felt really familiar, and it felt like I’d never been away.
Chrissie Watts was played by Tracy-Ann Oberman and is widely considered to be one of the best villains in soap history.
The character first arrived in Albert Square in 2004 as she was looking for her estranged husband Den Watts.
After she was persuaded to give their marriage another go, she then discovered he had an adopted daughter, Sharon (Letitia Dean) along with two other children, Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) and Vicki Fowler (Scarlett Alice Johnson).
Chrissie soon discovers that Den has been having an affair with the local ex-policewoman, Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny). Chrissie initially worked together with Kate in the salon, before she got her revenge by hacking off her hair in revenge.
Chrissie and Den reconciled as she told him that she would kill him if he ever cheated on her again. Together, they decided to defraud Sam Mitchell (Kim Metcalfe) and her family from everything, including their ownership the Queen Vic. However, she soon felt left out by Den after he begins another affair with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), when he tries to get her pregnant after she lied to Dennis.
Dennis discovered the affair. Chrissie then persuaded Zoe to abort the baby. Together with Sam Mitchell, they concoct a plan to get their own revenge on Den and either Chrissie or Sam will get hold of the pub.
They confront him on the night of his 37th wedding anniversary with Angie. Den is unmoved and confesses all of his wrongdoings, including Chrissie’s part in defrauding the Mitchell’s. However, Sharon was waiting in the shadows and she denounces Den before leaving Watford.
Chrissie taunted Den who then attacked her. In turn, Zoe then hits Den with a doorstop which belonged to Den’s sworn enemy Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard). Sam and Zoe panic, but a smug Chrissie taunted him when they were left alone. He violently grabbed her leg before she delivered the fatal blow to his head with the heavy object, unaware that Sam was secretly watching her.
Zoe was left unaware of the true extent of what happened that night and Chrissie allowed her to think that she killed Den. The trio hid the body in the Vic, before Sam confronted Chrissie about what she truly saw. Sam demanded that the ownership of the pub reverted back to the Mitchell family.
Sam tells Zoe the truth about the murder and Zoe leaves Walford. but she tells Kat (Jessie Wallace) about the killing. Sam gets drunk on Sharon and Dennis’ wedding day, digs up den’s body in the hope that Chrissie will be sent down. But Chrissie feigned grief as she comforted Sharon over her dad’s death. Sam told the police about the murder, but when Den’s blood was found under Sam’s sink, complete with her changing story, she got the blame for his murder. Chrissie also convinces Kat to get Stacey (Lacey Turner) to give a false alibi to the police that Zoe and Chrissie were with Kat her that night.
Sam’s mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) returned to Walford and slapped Chrissie who fell into Den’s grave at the funeral. The matriarch also accused her of murder by framing her daughter. Stacey soon learned the truth and she blackmailed Chrissie for money. In return, she then forms a relationship with Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) and she attempts to sell the Queen Vic to Jake’s gangland boss Johnny Allen (Billy Murray).
After making a series of mistakes, she planned to free the country with Jake. Before then, they argued at Johnny’s nightclub, where Chrissie confessed that she killed Den with the doorstop. Johnny told Phil and Grant about the tape but Chrissie and Jake were already on their way out of the country. However, they were almost stopped by Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) and Billy (Perry Fenwick) informed the police. At the airport, she was confronted by Sharon and was arrested by police after an exchange of words and a punch to the face.
Chrissie only co-operated with the force in exchange for a meeting with Sharon, as she tried to get her to understand why she killed Den. In the meantime, Sam was released on bail but fled to Brazil with the help of Phil. Jake visited her in prison and proposes to her. However, she discovered that he lost the £25,000 that was to be her bail money and she called him an ‘idiot’ before storming out. She then decided to get revenge on Sharon for sending her to prison. She attempted to force her to testify in court about what Den was like as Chrissie thought that Sharon would crumble. But still looking at Sharon like a step-daughter she called off her plan, fired her solicitor and plead guilty to the murder. She was then sentenced to life imprisonment.
“You never forget Albert Square.”
Meanwhile, the star is also a familiar face to fans of classic BBC sitcom The Office.
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He played the role of Lee, Dawn’s (Lucy Davis) fiancé who worked in the warehouse.
EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.
