Only Fools and Horses legend Gwyneth Strong is worlds away from Cassandra Trotter in forgotten EastEnders role
The sitcom icon played a loud mouth dart player in Albert Square nearly 7 years ago!
Actress Gwyneth Strong is adored for portraying Cassandra Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, but she also once starred in EastEnders playing a very different character.
The 63-year-old made her debut on the BBC sitcom Only Fools back in 1989 as the sensible and intellectual love interest of Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst), who she met in evening school. Their romance went the distance as Cassandra married Rodney, making her the suffering sister-in-law to dodgy dealer Derek ‘Del’ Boy (David Jason).
Cassandra and ‘Roddy’, as she loved to call him, even went on to have a baby daughter in the very last Only Fools episode that aired in 2003. As fans of the show will know, Cassandra is also completely spoiled by her businessman dad Alan Parry, played by Denis Lill, who sees her as the apple of his eye – which made her a rather ‘posh’ addition to the Trotter clan from Peckham!
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Since her time on the BBC sitcom, Gwyneth has racked up a long list of television credits during her acting career including parts in Casualty, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Doctors, and many more. However, in September 2016, the TV star landed a role in EastEnders and her character couldn’t be more different from prim and proper Cassandra.
Gwyneth, who is originally from London, rocked up to Albert Square as Geraldine Clough, the fierce leader of a female darts team from The Feathers pub. She cheated in a darts tournament against her nemesis Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and her Queen Vic tribe before making an abrupt exit.
However, two months later Geraldine returned to Walford again. This time she was tasked with organising the Walford Players Christmas Show – and Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) and Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) pay her a visit.
However, after a surprise bust-up, loud-mouth Geraldine kicks Kathy out of the building which showed her no-nonsense attitude miles away from the classic comedy we’re so used to her playing. Geraldine stayed in and around Walford for two months with her last appearance on November 29, 2016.
Gwyneth Strong is currently playing Mrs Boyle in the 70th-anniversary production of Agatha Cristie’s Mousetrap, and she isn’t the only star in her family as her husband is also a very famous actor!
Gwyneth married Footballers’ Wives and Eldorado star Jesse Birdsall back in 2000 and they share two children together.
