EastEnders stars film explosive high-speed lorry crash

There were fast and furious scenes in the fictional London Borough of Walford yesterday as EastEnders stars put the pedal to the metal while shooting the soap's most explosive stunt ever.

Filmed on location, the dramatic scene sees veteran bad boy Phil Mitchell and manipulative newcomer Carl White in a high-speed crash with a lorry - leaving Phil fighting for his life.

Actors Steve MacFadden (Mitchell) and Daniel Coonan (White) looked suitably banged up as they played their part in the storyline, which will air in September.

The plot twist will also see Albert Square old-timer Barbara Windsor reprise her role as Phil's mother, former Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell, for a special episode.

Windsor left the show in 2010 amid reports she would never return to a part that was hers since 1994.

Executive producer Lorraine Newman said: "A suitably explosive start to a jam-packed autumn and winter full of love, romance and reprisals. Treats for audiences old and new. And one literal vanishing act. It's time to take your seats."

PA