EastEnders welcomes George

Susan George will play a sophisticated conwoman

British actress Susan George - who shot to fame in the 1971 movie Straw Dogs - is to join the cast of BBC soap EastEnders.

George, 50, will play Margaret, a temporary love interest for the character Terry Raymond, played by Gavin Richards.

A BBC spokeswoman added that George was expected to be in the series for "quite a while".

Susan George films

Billion Dollar Brain

Straw Dogs

Mandingo

A Small Town in Texas

Tomorrow Never Comes

Venom

The Jigsaw Man

George is reported to have said she was "really pleased" to have won the role.

She is expected to first be seen in Albert Square in June.

Con artist

George's character Margaret, although sophisticated on the outside, turns out to be a clever conwoman who dupes Terry.

Rough diamond Terry - left by his wife Irene last year - is currently being lulled into a similarly false sense of security by teenager Janine Butcher.

George is the latest in a line of established celebrities to move into the hit BBC One soap.

Rough diamond Terry falls for Margaret

She follows Carry On star Barbara Windsor, Spandau Ballet heart-throb Martin Kemp and stage star Sheila Hancock.

George's other notable movies have included Billion Dollar Brain, Mandingo and Tomorrow Never Comes.

On TV, she appeared in cult 70s series The Persuaders and Tales of the Unexpected.

But EastEnders is her first prominent role on TV since 1993, when she appeared in ITV drama series Stay Lucky with Dennis Waterman.