*Warning – Spoilers for EastEnders episode airing on January 2, which is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.*
EastEnders fans were left fearing for Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) after her wedding to Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) was derailed by Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), her controlling ex-husband.
The dramatic instalment saw Nish break into the honeymoon suite and poisin some champagne, which Eve drank before falling unconscious.
Suki also suffered a near-death experience when Ravi (Aaron Thiara) pushed his father from a balcony without realising Nish had tied himself to her.
In the end Nish died, while Suki and Eve survived and were taken to hospital, with the newlyweds final able to live the rest of their marriage in peace.
While plenty of fans thought Eve might have died in the tense episode, actress Heather revealed that she had actually struck a deal about her character’s exit with BBC bosses years earlier.
Eve and Suki’s wedding day wasn’t short of drama
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Speaking exclusively to the Express at the 2022 Inside Soap Awards, she revealed she had taken the EastEnders job on “one condition”.
Given the up and down nature of soap operas, many actors never know when their character’s time will be up.
However, Heather made sure that this would not be the case for her character Eve, due to the unfortunate trope prevalent in TV shows, books and films that often sees lesbian characters meet a tragic end.
Examples of said trope can be found in many popular shows, including The 100, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Orange is the New Black.
Speaking out against this trope, Peace stated: “I’m very well aware of this, I understand my community, I read a lot.”
Eve and Suki’s romance has captivated viewers
(Image: (Image: BBC))
Highlighting her engagement with the issue, she continued: “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.
“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 with evident satisfaction.
Heather Peace plays Eve Unwin
(Image: (Image: GETTY))
Aside from her role as Eve on EastEnders, Heather is also recognised for her portrayal of teacher Nikki Boston in the BBC One school drama series Waterloo Road.
Having been part of the Waterloo Road cast from 2012 to 2014, Heather shared her enthusiasm about the show’s comeback in early 2023.
She also noted that the BBC took her input into account regarding Nikki’s departure from the drama.
“They listened to me on that as well, because it was a positive love story ending for my character,” Heather said, confirming the outcome.
While numerous characters on Waterloo Road have faced grim fates, Nikki’s storyline concluded on a joyful note.
In what became her final appearance on the programme, Nikki resigned from her educational position to embark on a new chapter in Berlin alongside her partner Vix Spark, played by Kristin Atherton.
Catch the latest episode of EastEnders tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One.