BBC has cast five new actors to play the Hawkins family in EastEnders. The group consists of the estranged relatives of Nicola Mitchell and will appear in Walford this summer. The new arrivals include Gemma Hawkins, her husband Ned Roper, their son Ryder, and Gemma's mother Rose and sister Jodie.
Patricia Potter takes the role of Gemma Hawkins, while Jamie Bamber plays Ned Roper. Felix Uff joins the cast as Ryder. The remaining family members are played by Marian McLoughlin as Rose and Anna Constable as Jodie. Anna Constable is a disabled actress.
Executive producer Ben Wadey stated the family arrivals follow decades of estrangement between the Hawkins and Nicola Mitchell. The characters enter the narrative with existing fractures in their internal family dynamics. The production integrates these five new performers into the permanent ensemble for the summer broadcast cycle.
The soap opera is available for streaming on BBC iPlayer.