Actress Jill Halfpenny has moved from Coronation Street to Albert Square.

Jill, 27, has landed the plum role as a new love interest in forthcoming plot lines in EastEnders.

She plays Kate who mysteriously arrives in Albert Square and quickly catches the eye of resident hard man Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden.

But Kate isn't really as nice as she looks and turns nasty in a shock storyline in the New Year.

It is not the first time Jill has played a femme fatale. She was the man-eating nurse Rebecca Hopkins who had an affair with Martin Platt prompting the break-up of his marriage to Gail in Coronation Street.

The new part has thrilled Jill. "I regularly watch EastEnders and I was over the moon when I was told I'd got the job," she told the Sunday Mirror.

"I was in an aerobics class when my mobile rang. I found it easy to do 100 sit ups after that - I was raring to go!"