Matilda Ziegler

Matilda Ziegler is an English actress best known for her roles as Donna Ludlow in EastEnders Irma Gobb in Mr Bean and Pearl Pratt in Lark Rise to Candleford Zieglers first screen role was in her early twenties during 198789 she appeared in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders playing Donna Ludlow the illegitimate daughter of series regular Kathy Beale Donna contended with prostitution an attempted gang rape heroin addiction and finally suicide dying of a heroin overdose The final death scenes of Zieglers character who had choked to death on her own vomit have been hailed as one of the most powerful antidrug images ever screened on the programme She left EastEnders in April 1989 In the early 1990s Ziegler starred in the ITV comedy Mr Bean where she played multiple characters especially a threeepisode stint as Irma Gobb the title characters longsuffering girlfriend She reprised her role as Gobb voicing her in Mr Bean The Animated Series from 2002 to 2004 and in the revived series from 2015 to 2019 Other television credits include Lark Rise to Candleford 20082010 in which she played the part of Pearl Pratt in the BBC adaptation of Flora Thompsons novel Harbour Lights 1999 Where the Heart Is 2000 Holby City 2003 An Unsuitable Job for a Woman 1998 The Bill 2003 and Home alongside Anthony Sher in an adaptation of JG Ballards novel Ziegler played Ruth wife of car salesman Toni in the BBC sitcom Swiss Toni 200304 She also appeared in the BAFTA Television Award winning drama Sex Traffic 2004 In 2005 she played Christine Miller in the fourth series of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and in 2007 she guest starred in the BBC One daytime medical drama Doctors as Jess Butler She also appeared in Outnumbered Lewis in the episode The Soul of Genius 2012 Death in Paradise 2013 and Vera in the episode Young Gods 2013 In 2015 she appeared in an episode of Foyles War and in series 4 episode of Call the Midwife In 2020 she appeared in a second season episode of The Alienist and appeared in two episodes of The Girlfriend Experience in 2021 Zieglers film roles include Decadence 1994 Jilting Joe 1998 City Slacker 2012 and The Rhythm Section 2019 where she played Blake Livelys mother