Her nemesis Janine Butcher recently returned to Walford – but long term EastEnders fans will also remember Laura Beale.

Actress Hannah Waterman, who played poor Laura, now lives on the other side of the world. And her new life sounds a lot less dramatic than that of the ill-fated Laura!

Employed as a nanny by Ian Beale (I'm A Celeb star Adam Woodyatt) for his kids Peter, Lucy and Steven, Laura (Hannah Waterman) soon became the third Mrs Beale.

Laura's most memorable storylines included a Who's The Daddy? plot over the paternity of Bobby Beale. Gary Hobbs (Ricky Groves) was thought to be Laura's baby daddy, but in the end it – thankfully – turned out to be her hubby Ian.

She also clashed with the second Mrs Beale – Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) – but Laura's most epic battle was with Janine (Charlie Brooks).

When she discovered Ian had been paying Janine for sex things got ugly pretty quickly. After Janine humiliated Laura – who had been rejected by Ian – the two women had a violent fight.

Late that evening, Laura fell to her death down the stairs after tripping on a discarded toy. The almighty Pat (Pam St Clement) then framed Janine for Laura's murder, as payback for her getting away with killing Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson).

After leaving the BBC soap in 2004, Hannah – who is the daughter of Minder actor Dennis Waterman – had roles in Holby City and Doctors. She also had a recurring role on New Tricks.

She emigrated to Australia in 2014 with her fiancee, fellow actor Huw Higginson, who played PC George Garfield in The Bill from 1989 to 1999.

The couple are parents to a son, Jack.

Hannah was previously married to her EastEnders co-star Ricky Groves.

Hannah now mostly works in the theatre and recently starred in a stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She played multiple roles including Madam Hooch, Dolores Umbridge and Aunt Petunia.

It's a far cry from working the late shift at Beale's Plaice – but the star looks like she's thriving in her new life, and looks unrecognisable in new snaps despite her trademark blonde tresses.

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