Hetti Bywater

Hetti Bywater
Born
Harriet Jessica Phoebe Bywater

(1994-09-10) 10 September 1994
EducationBirkbeck, University of London (BS)
OccupationActor
Years active2011–2017

Harriet Jessica Phoebe Bywater (born 10 September 1994) is an English former actress. She is known for portraying Lucy Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, taking over the role from Melissa Suffield from 2012 until the character's murder in 2014.

Life and career

Bywater was born on 10 September 1994 in Sedlescombe, East Sussex.[1] She studied performing arts at the Theatre Workshop in Sussex, and from the ages of 13 to 15, attended Claverham Community College in Battle.[2]

Bywater began her career in 2011 by making guest appearances in Casualty and Doctors. She also had a minor role in the St George's Day film in 2012.[3] Later in 2012, Bywater was cast as Lucy Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, taking over from Melissa Suffield.[4] In 2014, it was announced that the character of Lucy would be murdered, introducing a whodunnit storyline ("Who Killed Lucy Beale?") that ran until the show’s 30th anniversary in February 2015, when the identity of the murderer was revealed.[5][6][7]

Following her exit from EastEnders, Bywater had a guest appearance in the fourth series of Death in Paradise in 2015.[8] Between 2016 and 2017, Bywater appeared in two episodes of the first series of the Sky One drama Delicious.[9] In 2024, Bywater was seen working as a barmaid in a pub in Islington.[10] She subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology at Birkbeck, University of London and, as of July 2025, was the Communications Officer for The Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO) in London.[11]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Doctors Angelica Bater Episode: "Jealous Girl"
Casualty Sara Barker Episode: "A Real Shame"
2012 St George's Day Lol's Girlfriend Film
2012–2015 EastEnders Lucy Beale Regular role
2014 Counting Backwards Short film
2015 Death in Paradise Jess Chambers Guest role
2016–2017 Delicious Daisy Recurring role

References

  1. ^ "A TEENAGER from Eastbourne has landed a starring role in the hit BBC soap EastEnders". Eastbourne Herald. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Hetti Bywater: East Sussex's former Lucy Beale EastEnders actress looks completely different now". Sussex Live. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Where is Lucy Beale actress Hetti Bywater now? EastEnders star's career revealed after character was killed off". Heart. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  4. ^ Metro.co.uk, Christopher Hooton for (3 January 2012). "Lucy Beale gets makeover for EastEnders return with new actress". Metro. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Death in Walford: Lucy Beale's dramatic exit". EastEnders News & Spoilers. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Harriet Bywater Actors Profile". The Casting Website. Retrieved 9 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ^ "Hetti Bywater". FHM. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  8. ^ Walker, Danny (14 July 2014). "Hetti Bywater set for Death in Paradise role and already filmed on location in Paris and Mexico". mirror. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  9. ^ "EastEnders' star Hetti Bywater transformed as she enjoys day out". Metro. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  10. ^ Hardie, Beth (10 September 2024). "'Unrecognisable' EastEnders star who worked in very different industry after axe from soap". mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  11. ^ Bywater, Hetti. "Hetti Bywater". linkedin.com. LinkedIn. Retrieved 27 July 2025.