BBC EastEnders star Heather Peace shares heartbreaking update as both she and her wife battle cancer
EastEnders actress Heather Peace has revealed that both she and her wife Ellie Dickinson have faced breast cancer diagnoses.
The 50-year-old performer, who portrays Eve Unwin in the BBC soap, revealed to The Mirror that she underwent treatment for a 12cm tumour requiring a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
Her wife of 11 years had previously been treated for a smaller but aggressive lump.
Speaking about their parallel experiences, Peace noted with humour: “She’s like, ‘Even that you have to do bigger.’ It’s like ‘Hold my beer.'”
The couple have supported one another throughout their respective cancer journeys.
Peace’s diagnosis came after she noticed changes in one of her nipples but initially delayed seeking medical attention due to her demanding EastEnders filming schedule.
It was Dickinson who eventually persuaded her to see a doctor, and within three hours of that appointment, she received her breast cancer diagnosis.
“I swear everybody looked at me, it might be my imagination, but I felt like a dead woman walking,” Peace told The Mirror.
“I honestly did because it was so big, and so quick that they told us and the seriousness and gravity with which I was told.”
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Dickinson’s “breast cancer was a smaller, aggressive lump, so she had a lumpectomy and then radiotherapy,” Peace explained.
Peace underwent a left breast mastectomy in November 2024 with immediate reconstruction surgery, continuing to work on EastEnders throughout her treatment.
Though she initially had reservations about implants, she praised her surgeon as an “artist” for the care shown.
“It was Ellie who said, ‘I know that you wouldn’t cope without a breast as such,'” Peace explained.
She acknowledged the importance of the aesthetic aspect: “The level of care in the aesthetic, knowing how that can affect a woman mentally. I didn’t realise how much that part of me meant.”
The actress is now preparing to begin radiotherapy treatment.
Peace paid tribute to their strengthened relationship, telling The Mirror: “This journey with Ellie, I feel proud of myself, I feel proud of our marriage, it’s the strongest it’s ever been because we can actually do the for sickness and in health, for richer for poorer.”
She added: “We’ve been able to show up for each other. That bond is so much deeper than the romance from 15 years ago. Marriage is great. You know when you hit another level, there’s something special in that.”
The couple have three daughters together.
Breast cancer affects approximately one in eight women in the UK during their lifetime, according to NHS data.