Casualty fans STUNNED after EastEnders star makes a surprise cameo

By Lauren Hughes
published

Casualty viewers spotted DCI Summerhays in a brand new role in the BBC show

Casualty logo.
(Image credit: BBC)

Casualty fans spotted a familiar face making their acting debut in last night's episode, with a former EastEnders star joining the ranks at Holby City Hospital in the BBC1 show. 

In this Saturday’s episode of Casualty (which aired Saturday 2nd September 2023) actress Anna Acton appeared on the show, with fans recognising her as policewoman Emma Summerhayes of EastEnders fame. She played DCI Summerhayes between 2014 and 2015. 

Casualty

Anna Acton as Piper  (Image credit: BBC)

In Casualty we saw Anna take on the role of pregnant Piper, a mum-to-be left battered and bruised after a break-in.

Fans were delighted to see Anna back on screens, with many taking to social media to share their thoughts on the actress.

'That's DCI Summerhayes EastEnders fans,' wrote one fan.

While another said, 'was trying to work out where i’ve seen her before so thank you.'

And a third replied, 'She's on a beauty advert too, sweeps everything into a basket. Beauty products.'

To which the fan replied, 'omg yeahhh! “that’s number 7!”'

While another Casualty fan wrote, 'Omg its Emma SummerHayes from Eastenders.'

And she's not the only actor in the family that's been making surprise soap appearances, with her husband recently appearing in Coronation Street.

As another fan pointed out, 'Anna Acton on #Casualty she’s been in #EE #Eastenders her real life husband was #Recently in #Corrie.'

In previous roles, we've seen Anna playing a drug referral worker on The Bill, as well as appearing in CBeebies show Topsy and Tim.

It's great to see Anna back on screens! But you'll have to tune into Casualty next week to see who's next in store for Piper. 

Casualty is on (most!) Saturdays on BBC One. The latest episodes are available on BBC iPlayer.

To see which Casualty episodes are coming up next, take a look at our TV Guide for the most up-to-date listings.

Lauren Hughes
Freelance writer

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine. After starting out working for a local paper in Yorkshire, her journalism career took her to Bristol where she hunted out stories for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant.

A big fan of adventure, Lauren is also a keen travel writer and loves sharing tips on where to find the best places to eat, drink, and be merry off the beaten track. Lauren has written a series of travel guides for London hotels and loves sharing her insights into a destination's cultural and culinary offerings. If you need a recommendation on any UK destination, she's more than happy to help. At the weekend, you'll usually find her hanging out with her pet cat (or anyone else's pet she can get her hands on), escaping to the countryside, or devouring a good book.