Bonnie Langford to star in EastEnders

The star has had roles in Doctor Who and the musical Cats

Bonnie Langford will join the EastEnders cast as the character Carmel Kazemi (PA)

Actress Bonnie Langford is joining the cast of EastEnders as Kush’s overprotective mother Carmel Kazemi.

The 50-year-old actress has started filming her scenes for the long-running soap and will be making her Walford debut in June when the episodes air.

Carmel is “a thoroughly modern Essex divorcee who isn't quite ready to cut the apron strings firmly attached to her son”, according to EastEnders executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins.

Langford said she was “thrilled and delighted” to be joining the show, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

“I'm a great fan of the show and think the recent 30th anniversary was sensational and shows just how good British television can be. To be part of this family is an absolute privilege,” she added.

She will be starring alongside Davood Ghadam, who plays Khoroush Kazemi or “Kush”. The actor joined the soap last year as the character with a tragic past and a complicated love life.

Langford is best known for her role as the Doctor Who assistant Mel Bush, starring opposite Sylvester McCoy’s Time Lord in the Eighties. Her companion was known for her particularly loud screaming as she ran away from monsters.

She has also has a successful theatre career with parts in Cats, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Spamalot.

The former child star is not the high-profile actor to join the programme, Annette Badland, Timothy West and Nina Wadia have appeared on the soap in recent years.