Ronni Ancona Brings Bea Pollard to Life in EastEnders
EastEnders viewers have been captivated by the sinister antics of Bea Pollard, a character portrayed by the versatile actress and impressionist Ronni Ancona. Bea, introduced earlier this year as an old school friend of Linda Carter, has been systematically targeting Honey Mitchell and her family. Her schemes include defrauding Honey of £5,000 using a stolen credit card, tampering with a ladder intended for Billy Mitchell, and using AI-generated voicenotes to falsely accuse Billy of infidelity. Despite Phil Mitchell paying Bea to leave Walford, she has continued to manipulate Honey, even claiming Billy has taken a romantic interest in her.
Ronni Ancona's Career and Personal Life
Before joining EastEnders, Ronni Ancona, 58, gained fame on the BAFTA-winning show The Big Impression, where she impersonated iconic soap characters like Peggy Mitchell, Sharon Watts, and Kat Slater. Her career spans over three decades, with credits in Last Tango in Halifax, Penelope, Skins, and The Trip. Off-screen, she previously dated her The Big Impression co-star Alistair McGowan for seven years. In a 2010 Guardian interview, McGowan admitted their relationship ended during a holiday in Cornwall, saying, 'I suddenly realised I had nothing to say to them.' He attributed the split partly to his football addiction, stating, 'If we had stayed together, we would have killed each other – literally killed each other. And football would have been responsible for that.' Despite the breakup, they later co-authored a book about football addiction, A Matter of Life and Death, Or How to Wean a Man off Football.
Strictly Come Dancing Connection
In 2010, Ronni Ancona participated in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, partnered with professional dancer Anton Du Beke. The duo performed a Viennese Waltz to Andy Williams's 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.' The special, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, also featured EastEnders legend June Brown, Vince Cable, John Barrowman, and Fern Britton. John Barrowman and his partner Kristina Rihanoff topped the leaderboard with their quickstep.
Personal Life and Tragedy
Since 2004, Ronni has been married to consultant rheumatologist Gerard Hall. The couple has two daughters but suffered the heartbreaking loss of their baby son, Seth, to stillbirth in 2006.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer.
