EastEnders’ beloved Heather Peace has treated herself to a fierce new ‘do, a year on from the cancer battle that saw her adopt a pixie cut following chemotherapy treatment.
Taking to Instagram, the Eve Panesar-Unwin uploaded a video from the salon chair alongside her friend and stylist, Morgan Rhodes.
‘It’s been 14 months since my wonderful friend & hair stylist @m0rganrhodes first cut my disastrous chemo hair into the shortest of pixie crops,’ she began the emotional caption.
‘Here we are now with what looks like a mop on my head, ready to cut my hair into something that may stay for a while and isn’t an ‘interim’ cut.
‘What a road it’s been; slowly getting back to feeling confident in my skin again.
‘Thanks so much Morgan for your time & care on this road. You are an artist in your field. You’ve given me so much strength at times when I felt very broken and small. Feeling very lucky & blessed’
Heather playfully messed with her hair in the clip, leaving it laying heavy on the top; ‘It’s a lot of hair,’ she joked.
With Morgan behind her, Heather said she was looking for a style ‘that we’re going to keep at least through until March because I’ve got loads of big [filming] blocks coming up.’
She commented that she’d ‘had a lot of people liking the fringe,’ before telling Morgan: ‘don’t say ‘I told you so’ because I know!’ before telling the camera: ‘she just discusses it because she feels like she has to, she’s probably already got a plan’.
Showing off the finished product, Heather was beaming with her new cut, looking incredibly fierce.
Heather had previously used a wig on-screen after losing her hair, uploading a video to Instagram of the initial fitting, while letting fans know of her diagnosis at the same time.
‘I’ve been on quite a road for many months now, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of October, since then I’ve undergone surgery and recovery over the Christmas period and today my chemotherapy journey ended,’ she began the incredibly emotional caption.
‘I woke up this morning and it was like the end of the London Marathon; I’d turned onto The Mall and could see the giant clock & the finish line.
To conclude – I’ve just picked up my medal.
But I’m forever changed, during this time I’ve narrowed my world. I’ve had the most precious time with my wife Ellie and our 3 girls; Annie, Jessie & Lola. Just trying to appreciate every moment of them.
‘I’ve stayed still. I’ve found joy in the simplest of things. Interactions with others have felt honest and real because I’ve had no capacity for small talk. It has felt like such a personal shift. There have been so many positives.
Concluding the caption, Heather said: ‘Life feels very different now and it’s wonderful. I will continue to cherish and be grateful for all I am blessed with. I feel very lucky.’
She later documented the aforementioned pixie cut, which led to her being able to ditch the wig on-screen
‘After 6 months in a baseball cap today there was enough hair growth back to finally get some sort of a style,’ she told her followers in the caption.
‘I haven’t had hair this short since my 20s!’
Heather’s wife, Ellie, also bravely battled the disease the same year.
Speaking to The Mirror, Heather said: ‘Her breast cancer was a smaller, aggressive lump, so she had a lumpectomy and then radiotherapy.
‘Of course then I come along with my 12 cm lump, absolutely ginormous, and mastectomy, chemotherapy, just about to go into radiotherapy.
‘She’s like ‘Even that you have to do bigger.’ It’s like ‘Hold my beer.’’