{"id":541643,"date":"2026-07-14T21:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/541643\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T21:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:42:10","slug":"eastenders-casts-joel-marshall-actors-real-life-aunt-as-mum-cleo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/541643\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders casts Joel Marshall actor’s real-life aunt as mum Cleo"},"content":{"rendered":"

We finally get to meet troubled Joel Marshall’s mum in EastEnders<\/a> tomorrow (15 July).<\/p>\n

Cleo \u2013 the ex-wife of Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw) \u2013 was often spoken about last year when the father and son arrived in Walford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the time, Joel told classmate Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) that his mother had abandoned him as a child, and on one occasion, branded her a “slapper”.<\/p>\n

Now he’s been left with no choice but to reunite with her, after being released from a stretch in a young offender’s institute.<\/p>\n

Ross’s new wife Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) expressed no desire to welcome him back to Albert Square, after he knocked her unconscious in sickening scenes that aired in October.<\/p>\n

She bravely faced him in the courtroom<\/a>, and although her ordeal seemed to be over when he was handed a sentence, she knew that one day she’d have to deal with his inevitable return.<\/p>\n

\"Max<\/p>\n

Max Murray as Joel Marshall in EastEnders.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n

The couple arrive back from their honeymoon to a huge shock \u2013 it’s Cleo, with Joel in tow, revealing that she no longer wants her son to live with her.<\/p>\n

Ross is then faced with an impossible decision, as he\u2019s forced to choose between his new wife, and his only son.<\/p>\n

The BBC One soap has now confirmed that Mazz Murray \u2013 the aunt of Joel actor Max Murray \u2013 will take on the guest role of Cleo.<\/p>\n

Speaking of her new role, the actress said: \u201cIt was so wonderful to be part of these EastEnders episodes as we delve into Joel\u2019s familial past, and my experience was made all the better working alongside my talented, gorgeous nephew Max.<\/p>\n

“And also, my childhood school friend Alex Walkinshaw playing my ex-husband!\u201d<\/p>\n

Mazz is best known for her stage credits, having played Donna Sheridan in the West End production of Mamma Mia: The Musical for six years. For two years prior to that, she played Tanya in the same show.<\/p>\n

\"Mazz<\/p>\n

Mazz played Donna Sheridan in the West End production of Mamma Mia.\u00a0Jeff Spicer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Other parts include Mama Morton in Chicago, Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Maureen in Rent.<\/p>\n

Long term EastEnders viewers may also recognise her as Julie, a woman who booked Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) through an escort agency in 2017. 13 years earlier, she played Miranda in two episodes.<\/p>\n

She also played a shop assistant in Ben Elton sitcom Blessed, and earlier in her career, had a guest role in The Bill.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Visit our dedicated EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n

Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n

Check out more of our Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We finally get to meet troubled Joel Marshall’s mum in EastEnders tomorrow (15 July). Cleo \u2013 the ex-wife…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-541643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}