EastEnders star Heather Peace has debuted a new hairstyle, sharing a salon video with her stylist Morgan Rhodes. The actress, known for playing Eve Panesar-Unwin, marked 14 months since her chemotherapy treatment led to a pixie cut.
In an Instagram post, Peace wrote: 'It's been 14 months since my wonderful friend & hair stylist @m0rganrhodes first cut my disastrous chemo hair into the shortest of pixie crops.' She added: 'Here we are now with what looks like a mop on my head, ready to cut my hair into something that may stay for a while and isn't an 'interim' cut.'
Emotional tribute to stylist
Peace described the journey as 'slowly getting back to feeling confident in my skin again.' She thanked Morgan Rhodes, saying: 'You are an artist in your field. You've given me so much strength at times when I felt very broken and small. Feeling very lucky & blessed.'
In the video, Peace joked about the amount of hair, saying 'It's a lot of hair.' She explained she was looking for a style 'that we're going to keep at least through until March because I've got loads of big [filming] blocks coming up.'
Cancer battle and recovery
Peace had previously used a wig on-screen after losing her hair. She announced her breast cancer diagnosis in an emotional Instagram post, saying: 'I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of October, since then I've undergone surgery and recovery over the Christmas period and today my chemotherapy journey ended.'
She compared the end of treatment to finishing the London Marathon: 'I woke up this morning and it was like the end of the London Marathon; I'd turned onto The Mall and could see the giant clock & the finish line.' Peace added: 'I've had the most precious time with my wife Ellie and our 3 girls; Annie, Jessie & Lola.'
Family experience
Peace's wife, Ellie, also faced breast cancer the same year. Peace told The Mirror: 'Her breast cancer was a smaller, aggressive lump, so she had a lumpectomy and then radiotherapy.' She added: 'Of course then I come along with my 12 cm lump, absolutely ginormous, and mastectomy, chemotherapy, just about to go into radiotherapy.'
