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EastEnders legend's mother introduced today – and is played by actor's real-life mum

There was a big surprise in store for viewers involving fan-favourite extra Shrimpy...

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BBC

Published: Monday, 16 March 2026 at 5:30 pm

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EastEnders has aired a surprise twist involving Shrimpy on today’s episode (Monday 16 March).

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The market stall trader, who is played by actor Ben Champniss, has been making brief appearances since 2014.

But in Monday’s episode of the BBC One soap themed around Mother’s Day, viewers were treated not only to an appearance from the fan-favourite extra – but also from his mother.

As Alfie Moon served them both champagne in The Queen Vic, the character said: “Alright Shrimpy, lovely to meet your mum for the first time. What do we call you, Crabby?”

And posting on Instagram after the release of the episode, Champniss revealed another twist for fans: she’s not just his on-screen mum, but also his mum in real life.

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Alongside a picture on him and his mum on set, the actor wrote: “Shrimpy and his mum don’t ‘arf look like my mum and me in today’s episode of EastEnders…! (Don’t blink!)."

He continued: “Happy Mother’s Day, Walford…! What an incredible morning we had! Makes a change from the usual Mother’s Day flowers, eh “Crabby”…?!."

He added: “Mum says she’s more than happy to sign autographs and stop for selfies…."

His mum Jackie said in the comments: “Such a good experience, loved it! It was great to see your ‘other life’ Ben! X."

And it wasn’t the only drama in store for viewers during the episode, as the show aired the surprise return of a character after seven years away from the Square.

The episode saw the Beale clan coming together to celebrate Mother’s Day. But tensions soon arose as Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) invited her divisive father, Max Branning (Jake Wood), to join them.

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Authors

RadioTimes.com senior trends writer Molly Moss. She is sitting outside wearing a black top, holding a white teacup with a smily face on it to her mouth

Molly MossTrends Writer

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.

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