A priest from Oxford said appearing on Eastenders was part of a “lovely hobby” she enjoys alongside her clergy duties. 

Rev Sorrel Shamel-Wood, who serves at University Church in Oxford, took up acting part-time and recently featured in the BBC soap as a vicar officiating a funeral. The episode aired on Tuesday 14th October 2025, after being filmed over the summer. 

Rev Shamel-Wood said in a statement that, acting was a “refreshing” change from church life. “I work part-time, to balance my two vocations as a mother and a priest and this is a lovely hobby my family get to do together”, she said. 

“It is really refreshing, meeting people who are completely outside of the church. Church can sometimes be a bit of a bubble […] meeting people who are nothing to do with a church is refreshing”. 

The priest found herself in a familiar role when she presided over the funeral of Ben Mitchell’s husband Callum Highway’s father. She described the day of filming as long but enjoyable. 

“It was a long day, you do a lot of takes. It was a real funeral directors and I am comfortable working with funeral directors so that was a familiar dynamic”, she said. “We started with us in the background and warmed up to the funeral scene”. 

Rev Shamel-Wood added that although she did not meet the main cast, the experience gave her a new appreciation for the world of television.  

“There was paparazzi there, trying to hide behind a tree to get a story. That’s not a world I was aware of,” she said.