EastEnders casts Kitty Castledine as Jack Branning’s daughter Penny

Kitty Castledine has joined the cast of BBC One soap EastEnders to play Penny Branning, Jack’s (Scott Maslen) daughter.

Having always had a fractured relationship with her dad, Penny has been living in France with her mum, Selina for the past 15 years. Little is known about her return to Walford, which she previously visited in 2008, except that she will be returning with her cousin Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa).

Castledine recently graduated from the London Academy of Music and Drama.

On her role in EastEnders, she said:  

“I didn’t expect to start my EastEnders journey so soon out of drama school – I can’t actually believe it! My whole family are EastEnders fans, and I remember sitting on my Nanny Kay’s lap to tune in, and now they get to watch me in Albert Square.

“The inclusion of disabled talent on screen is so important to me as a wheelchair user, so I’m thrilled to be playing a character as feisty and cool as Penny. She’s thrown into the middle of the drama straight away, and I can’t wait to see what she gets up to.”

EastEnders Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw added:

“It’s been a long time since Penny Branning was in Walford, and she’s a very different person from the one our viewers might remember. Kitty is a terrific addition to the show, and we’re looking forward to seeing Penny back in Albert Square.”

Mia McKenna-Bruce previously played Penny in five episodes between January and April 2008, which explored Jack’s guilt about his daughter’s disability and Penny’s frosty relationship with Jack’s partner Ronnie.

Jack confided in Ronnie that a drug dealer he arrested deliberately hit Penny with his car when she and Selina were waiting at a bus stop, causing Penny’s spine to be severed.

EastEnders, Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm