Hetti Bywater

Harriet Jessica Phoebe Bywater (born 10 September 1994) is an English former actress. She is known for portraying Lucy Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, taking over the role from Melissa Suffield from 2012 until the character's murder in 2014.

Life and career Bywater was born on 10 September 1994 in Sedlescombe, East Sussex. She studied performing arts at the Theatre Workshop in Sussex, and from the ages of 13 to 15, attended Claverham Community College in Battle.

Bywater began her career in 2011 by making guest appearances in Casualty and Doctors. She also had a minor role in the St George's Day film in 2012. Later in 2012, Bywater was cast as Lucy Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, taking over from Melissa Suffield. In 2014, it was announced that the character of Lucy would be murdered, introducing a whodunnit storyline ("Who Killed Lucy Beale?") that ran until the show’s 30th anniversary in February 2015, when the identity of the murderer was revealed. Although her character was killed off in 2014, Bywater returned for the flashback episode in February 2015, reprising the role.

Following her exit from EastEnders, Bywater starred as one of the main roles, Young Sally, in the short film Counting Backwards in 2014. Bywater had a guest appearance in the fourth series of Death in Paradise in 2015. Between 2016 and 2017, Bywater appeared in two episodes of the first series of the Sky One drama Delicious. In 2024, Bywater was seen working as a barmaid in a pub in Islington. She subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology at Birkbeck, University of London and, as of July 2025, was the Communications Officer for The Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO) in London.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2011 Doctors Angelica Bater Episode: "Jealous Girl" Casualty Sara Barker Episode: "A Real Shame" 2012 St George's Day Lol's Girlfriend Film 2012–2015 EastEnders Lucy Beale Regular role 2014 Counting BackwardsYoung Sally Short film 2015 Death in Paradise Jess Chambers Guest role 2016–2017 Delicious Daisy Recurring role