S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt is joining the cast of EastEnders

S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt is set to join the cast of EastEnders, it’s been revealed.

The former S Club 7 hitmaker has turned her talents to acting in recent years, appearing in ITV’s Primeval and BBC One’s Casualty.

Now she’s set to make her soap debut on EastEnders later this year.

Hannah will play the role of Kandice Taylor, younger sister to single mum Karen Taylor (played by Lorraine Stanley) who recently moved to Albert Square with her family

Hannah said: “I’m over the moon to be joining the show, it’s such a huge part of British telly.

“I’m really looking forward to getting started and I can’t wait to see the Square in the flesh. Walford here I come.”

The new casting follows news of a big EastEnders return for another star.

After nearly sixteen years away from Walford, Tamzin Outhwaite is reprising her role as Melanie Owen and will be back in Walford in the New Year.

Speaking about her return to Walford, Tamzin said: “When I got the call from [EastEnders’ Creative Director] John (Yorke) asking if I would consider coming back to EastEnders, it was something I just couldn’t refuse.

“John created Mel’s most memorable storylines so it is an honour that he has asked me to return. EastEnders is in my DNA and I always knew deep down that someday I would revisit Mel; she is a strong independent woman with lots more stories to tell.

“To be stepping back into Mel’s shoes nearly twenty years after I first started feels just perfect.”

EastEnders airs on BBC One.