EastEnders fans were thrilled to see a beloved children’s TV star crop up in the BBC soap’s shocking throwback episode.
The one-off special aired on Monday and exposed the origins behind the long-held grudge DCI Samantha Keeble (Alison Newman) has for the Mitchell family.
Starring Jaime Winstone as a young Peggy Mitchell, the episode confirmed Phil and Grant’s father Eric (George Russo) had murdered Keeble’s father in 1979.
READ MORE:EastEnders new Mitchell family stars as BBC soap airs throwback episode set in 1979
The Mitchell patriarch brutally gunned down the security guard in cold blood following Phil’s refusal to do so.
(Image: BBC)
Keeble’s murder followed the crime family’s botched robbery of a warehouse which also involved Grant and Billy Mitchell.
Portrayed by Christopher Pizzey, eagle-eyed EastEnders fans were quick to recognise the actor as Mr Stephen from The Basil Brush Show and shared their surprised delight in a series of online tweets.
One fan wrote: “Living for Mr Stephen from Basil Brush having a career resurgence in EastEnders.”
Another commented: “Obsessed with Keeble’s dad being Steven from Basil Brush as well as Sarah Jane Smith’s dad.”
Meanwhile, a third said: “Omg, the security guard is Mr Stephen from Basil Brush!”
A fourth fan commented: “That security guard used to hang with Basil Brush.”
A fifth asked: “Isn’t that Steven from Basil Brush?” while another fan concluded: “Omg Christopher Pizzey.”
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Before playing DCI Keeble’s security guard father, Pizzey portrayed Mr Stephen on Basil Brush.
In 2008, he also starred as Eddie Smith in the Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Pizzey’s other acting credits include a role in a recent Hollywood blockbuster.
The actor starred alongside Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen and Cush Jumbo in The Postcard Killings which dropped to Amazon Prime earlier this year.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
