Patsy Kensit will join EastEnders, a representative for the BBC soap has confirmed to the PA news agency.
The 54-year-old actress has been in the soaps Emmerdale and Holby City but has not made an appearance in Albert Square to date.
PA understands she will join the cast "for a brief stint" on the long-running soap.
The Sun newspaper reported that she will be playing a role in "one of their biggest current storylines" and is due to enter the soap at Christmas.
It has been reported previously that Kensit said she would "love" to work on EastEnders and play a "strong matriarch" like Peggy Mitchell, who was played by the late Barbara Windsor for 22 years.
Kensit told the Radio Times in 2019: "My father was involved in organised crime in the East End, so I grew up around villains and that kind of backdrop.
"And I can pull a pint and say, 'You're barred'."
EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One Monday to Thursday.
Source: Press Association
