EastEnders' Eve Unwin star reveals character will 'never be killed off' due to BBC deal

EastEnders fans were left worried for Eve Unwin last night, but actress Heather Peace has revealed she struck a deal with the BBC about her exit years ago.

Eve and Suki's wedding day wasn't short of drama(Image: BBC)

*Warning - Spoilers for EastEnders episode airing on January 2, which is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.*

EastEnders buffs were left biting their nails over the fate of Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) after her nuptials with Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) hit the skids thanks to Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), her manipulative ex.

The nail-biting episode featured Nish sneaking into the honeymoon suite and spiking some champagne, leading to Eve collapsing after taking a sip.

Suki also had a brush with death when Ravi (Aaron Thiara) sent his dad tumbling from a balcony, not realising Nish had cunningly tethered himself to her.

The chaos ended with Nish biting the dust, while Suki and Eve made it out alive and were whisked off to hospital, finally able to enjoy wedded bliss in peace.

Despite fears that Eve might have been killed off in the high-stakes episode, Heather spilled the beans that she'd made a deal regarding her character's departure with BBC bosses.

Fans feared the worst for Eve Unwin(Image: BBC)

Chatting exclusively with the Express at the 2022 Inside Soap Awards, she let slip that she only agreed to join EastEnders on "one condition".

Soap stars often face uncertainty about their character's longevity, but Heather was adamant about avoiding this for Eve, especially given the grim trend in TV, literature, and movies where lesbian characters frequently face dire fates.

Fans of telly have spotted the same trope cropping up in hit series like The 100, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Orange is the New Black.

Heather spoke out against this recurring theme, saying: "I'm very well aware of this, I understand my community, I read a lot."

She went on to discuss her proactive stance on the matter, adding: "I've done a radio show where we've talked about this. Lesbians quite often meet a bad end, like, proportionately way more so than any other."

She also shared her conversation with the producers, explaining: "And the one thing I did say to the producers was, 'You want rid of me? ' And they're very open to talking. I said, 'At any point you can get rid of me, but I'm asking you now: Don't kill her off.'".

"'Don't kill the lesbian. Let's break that trope. If it no longer suits you that I'm here and there's no more stories or whatever, let's not leave it like that.'

"And they've agreed and that was literally my only condition," she concluded.

Heather Peace plays Eve Unwin(Image: GETTY)

Besides her stint as Eve on EastEnders, Heather is also known for playing teacher Nikki Boston in Waterloo Road on BBC One.

Heather, who was part of the Waterloo Road gang from 2012 to 2014, couldn't hide her excitement over the show's return in early 2023.

She also mentioned how the BBC took her suggestions seriously when it came to Nikki's exit from the show.

"They listened to me on that as well, because it was a positive love story ending for my character," Heather confirmed, pleased with the resolution.

Despite many characters on Waterloo Road meeting unfortunate ends, Nikki's story ended on a high note. In her last appearance on the show, Nikki stepped down from her educational role to start a new life in Berlin with her partner Vix Spark, portrayed by Kristin Atherton.

Catch the latest episode of EastEnders tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One.