The former EastEnders<\/a> actress previously starred as Shirley Carter\u2019s daughter Carly Wicks from 2006 to 2008 and then in a guest appearance in 2012. Well, now she\u2019s making the jump to the Midlands medical practice from next month.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time that Shirley has appeared in a Doctors role, though, as she previously features in the drama back in 2016. This time round, Shirley will star as Jo McLennon, a patient struggling with agoraphobia.<\/p>\n Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations or open places where escape might be difficult or help wouldn\u2019t be available if things go wrong, and now housebound Jo is in the care of Dr Al (Ian Midlane).<\/p>\n He soon realises the extremities of her condition, as well as the impact of Jo\u2019s agoraphobia on her sons. One of her sons, Freddie, stops going to school, while his brother Conor struggles with his own personal issues and drugs.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\n This marks Shirley\u2019s return to the world of acting after welcoming her third child with husband Phil Davies just last month. While she\u2019s well-known for her EastEnders role, the actress has more recently been seen on our screens in the likes of ITV\u2019s Ridley, Meet the Richardsons and Death in Paradise.<\/p>\n But fans will most likely remember Shirley for her fiery EastEnders performance as Carly, the older half-sister of Dean (played by Matt Di Angelo) and younger half-sister of Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) and Jimbo Wicks, who Carly later named her son after.<\/p>\n She exited EastEnders after a dramatic storyline that saw her on-screen father Kevin (Phil Daniels) die in a tragic car accident. After his funeral, Carly and Denise (Diane Parish) vowed to travel the world to scatter Kevin\u2019s ashes but when Parish returned to the soap, her character revealed that Carly had stayed in Thailand and then in Australia.<\/p>\n Shirley returned to the soap in 2012 after being asked by Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to return to Walford to comfort her grieving mother after the shock death of Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) and to help her with her turn to alcohol.<\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Doctors is set to get even more emotional over the coming weeks as fans will be coping with the impact of Karen Hollins<\/a>\u2018s (Jan Pearson) shock death.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see how her husband Rob (Chris Walker) and daughter Imogen (Charlie Clemmow) are struggling to cope, with upcoming episodes set to show how the pair are increasingly at loggerheads, but are also intent on finding the best spot to scatter Karen\u2019s ashes<\/a>.<\/p> ![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Kellie-Shirley-plays-Pamela-Bellman-in-Death-in-Paradise-155d310.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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