Jarrod Bowen made a cameo appearance on EastEnders as the much-loved London drama starts to celebrate 40 years on our screens.
EastEnders is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a collaboration that sees two east London institutions crossover to make TV history with the first-ever guest appearance from a current Premier League player.
Bowen appeared in the show on Wednesday 12 February as he recorded a special video message to stalwart character and West Ham United fan Billy Mitchell, played by real-life Hammer Perry Fenwick, wishing him and his fiancée, Honey, best wishes ahead of their wedding. You can watch Bowen’s message to the happy couple here.
Albert Square shares its famous E20 postcode with the home of West Ham Untied, the London Stadium, and the long-running drama has seen no shortage of West Ham supporting characters, with the world-famous football club often featuring on sets, in wardrobe and props over the last four decades.
The West Ham captain’s appearance in the show is also somewhat of family affair with future father-in-law Danny Dyer and fiancée Dani Dyer both appearing in the programme. Danny spent nine years as ‘Mick Carter’ the landlord of the famous Queen Vic pub, whilst Dani appeared in one episode back in June 2021, as a taxi driver named Jeanette. This in addition to former manager Harry Redknapp, who has also made a guest appearance in the show.
Bowen, whose message is viewed by Billy and his friends in the Queen Vic during his and Honey’s sten do, said: “It’s great to be part of the EastEnders 40th anniversary celebrations and appear on the show. EastEnders is loved by so many people and obviously has a strong link to the east London community, so to represent West Ham United in this very special episode is a really nice moment for everyone connected with the Club.”
EastEnders Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw was delighted to have the England international in the show, saying: “We’re thrilled that Jarrod agreed to take part in our special celebrations as we lead up to our 40th anniversary. EastEnders has many dedicated West Ham fans, both on and off screen, so it’s a real honour that we can now say we have had the West Ham captain and England international appear in the show.”
EastEnders will celebrate its momentous 40th anniversary next week, starting from Monday 17 February, with all episodes dropping simultaneously on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 7.30pm. A special hour-long episode will air on the show's anniversary on Wednesday 19 February, followed by a full live episode on Thursday 20 February, which will not only reveal who character Denise Parish chooses between husband Jack Branning (played by real-life Hammer Scott Maslen) and lover Ravi Gulati , but will conclude an explosive week of drama in Walford.
