Rev Sorrel Shamel-Wood, a cleric from Oxford, has made a surprising appearance on the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. The reverend, who serves at University Church in Oxford, took to the screen as a vicar officiating a funeral, bringing her part-time acting career to the small screen.

For Rev Shamel-Wood, acting is a labour of love and a hobby she enjoys alongside her clergy duties. “Appearing on EastEnders was part of a lovely hobby,” she said, stressing the intersection of faith and the arts in her life.

“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”.  

“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 Sorrel 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. 

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