Luisa to play Shirley Carter's 'brash' sister in EastEnders

Former Holby City star Luisa Bradshaw-White is to join the cast of EastEnders, playing the cheeky sister of hard-nosed Shirley Carter.

The actress - also known for her role in BBC drama This Life and more recently ITV's Home Front - will head to Walford to join EastEnders in November.

She has already begun filming scenes ahead of her arrival on screen.

Tina - younger sister of Shirley, who is played by Linda Henry - is described by the BBC as 'cheeky, full of energy, loud, brash and can be very, very naughty'.

The 37-year-old actress said: "I am so excited to be joining EastEnders to play Tina as she is such a brilliant character to play. Linda is an amazing person to work with and the energy between Shirley and Tina is explosive."

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.