An iconic EastEnders star looks unrecognisable four decades on from her soap debut.

Mary ‘the Punk’ Smith, played by Linda Davidson, featured in the serial drama’s original cast when it first aired back in 1985.

She was a single mother to her daughter Annie and viewers saw the complicated character struggle to raise her child and earn money all while sporting her distinctive style.

From becoming a prostitute to various failed romances, Mary had several controversial storylines before she left the show in 1988.

Linda reprised the role in 2019 when she attended the funeral of fellow original cast member Dr Harold Legg and again in 2022 for Dot Cotton’s funeral.

However, 40 years on from her debut appearance on the soap, Linda’s appearance has changed drastically.

She has ditched the edgy punk style that Mary became so renowned for.

Instead of the dark, long spiky hair and thick eyeliner she wore in EastEnders, Linda has a sleek, blonde pixie cut.

Now reportedly running her own social media agency and working in web design, Linda wears classy red lipstick and smart suits instead of Mary’s leather jackets.

Linda previously opened up to Christine Lampard about her time on the soap during an interview on ITV’s Lorraine.

Looking back on Mary’s stint on the Square Linda revealed that they never expected to the soap to grow into the TV institution it is today.

‘We were all contracted for six months and the BBC called it a bi-weekly drama, so we didn’t know we were in a soap until all the press went out, all of a sudden they started calling it a soap and we said oh my god we’re in a soap!’ she said.

‘She was a fantastic character to play and she was really well written, she came about because [creator] Tony Holland was walking in the East End and he saw a young woman pushing a pram with a mohawk and a miniskirt.

‘It was such a poignant image of a young woman with such an aggressive look but such love for her child and so she created the character based on that image.’

However, 40 years on from her debut appearance on the soap, Linda's appearance has changed drastically
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However, 40 years on from her debut appearance on the soap, Linda’s appearance has changed drastically

She has ditched the edgy punk style that Mary became so renowned for. Instead of the dark, long spiky hair and thick eyeliner she wore in EastEnders, Linda has a sleek, blonde pixie cut
+5
View gallery

She has ditched the edgy punk style that Mary became so renowned for. Instead of the dark, long spiky hair and thick eyeliner she wore in EastEnders, Linda has a sleek, blonde pixie cut

Linda also told Christine that in recent years she decided to give up acting to focus on a career in technology, having also worked as a writer for BBC websites and Tomorrow’s World.

She added: ‘I carried on acting for years, so I was writing for Tomorrow’s World and they were launching something called a website and I got engulfed with the power of communication and I had a conversation with June [Brown who plays Dot Cotton] she’s been so generous with her love and time for me, but I said I think I’m going to stop acting and do this thing.’

When asked whether she would consider reprising her role as Mary long-term, Linda admitted: ‘I absolutely loved it, but my current fantasy is that Annie her daughter goes back into it full time, and Mary pops back in for a cup of tea every now and again, then I wouldn’t have to give up my job!’