EastEnders icon looks unrecognisable in throwback with Hollywood star

EastEnders actress Lorraine Stanley has shared a sweet throwback from her time filming a hit Hollywood movie, and she is unrecognisable from her soap character.

The 47-year-old, who plays Karen Taylor on the popular BBC One soap, appeared in the biographical crime thriller Legend, which sees Tom Hardy play identical twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray.

Taking to Instagram, the actress captioned the post: “@tomhardy Not a bad weeks filming on Legend.”

In the black and white image, soap star Lorraine looked completely different from her Walford role as she posed alongside Hardy, who was character as Ronnie Kray.

Lorraine’s EastEnders character Karen is famed for her unflattering clothing, unkempt hair, and for constantly having her bra strap hanging halfway down her arm.

But for the Hollywood movie, she’s completely transformed with a 1960s fashion style, as she wears her bright blonde locks in a fancy updo, while wearing a cardigan and a face of flawless makeup to portray a barmaid at the infamous Blind Beggar pub.

The 2015 movie is an adaptation from John Pearson’s book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins, and follows the criminal careers and relationships of the East London gangsters.

Taking to Twitter in September 2015, Lorraine shared another black and white photo of herself from the set of Legend, dressed in vintage clothing and posing beside a retro car.

She can be seen looking elegant in a patterned dress worn beneath a black jacket and pointed high-heeled shoes, teamed with a white handbag, as her hair is scooped away from her face.

But Legend wasn’t Lorraine’s first movie role, as she also joined actress Gemma Arterton in the 2010 hit movie Made in Dagenham, playing the part of Monica.

She has also starred in the movies Essex Boys Retribution, London to Brighton, Suffragette, plus many more.

Before joining the BBC One soap, Lorraine was also an established TV star with two previous roles on the BBC soap Holby City, alongside Casualty, The Bill, and London’s Burning.

Call the Midwife fans will also remember Lorraine’s role as Pearl in the very first episode of the period drama that aired in 2012.

Lorraine arrived in Walford as Karen six years ago when the Taylor family arrived in the Square as the unruly blended family.

The feisty laundry assistant has since lost her eldest daughter Chantelle Atkins (Jessica Plummer) to domestic violence and regularly feels the pinch of the cost of living crisis as she tries to keep her family home afloat.

Most recently, Karen has struggled to accept her eldest son Keanu’s (Danny Walters) relationship with former flame Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) as the pair are set to tie the knot in the near future, but the planning of the nuptials is currently not going to plan.