EastEnders’ Penny Branning star shares sweet tribute to famous dad with rare pic
EastEnders' Kitty Castledine has shared a rare photo of her famous footballer as the family celebrates his birthday.
Kitty Castledine is famed for playing Penny Branning on EastEnders (Image: BBC/JACK BARNES)
EastEnders actress Kitty Castledine has posted a heartfelt tribute to her famous father to mark his birthday.
The 23-year-old star is currently portraying Penny Branning in the BBC One soap, having made her debut alongside her established cousin Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) in January 2024.
The duo had been residing in Paris together before fleeing back to London and finding themselves arrested for drug smuggling, though they managed to escape the charges.
Later that year, Penny found herself in legal hot water once again following a catastrophic incident at Peggy’s Bar. As the venue’s manager, Penny was overseeing ticket sales for an event, but Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) interfered with the booking system, causing dangerous overcrowding.
Kitty Castledine as Penny Branning in EastEnders(Image: BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron)
The nightclub crush left numerous people injured and sent Lauren and Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) to the hospital, though both fortunately recovered, reports OK!.
Most recently, Penny enjoyed a brief romantic fling with Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) before learning he was a murder suspect connected to his missing ex-girlfriend’s disappearance, who had actually been killed by Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington).
On screen, Penny is connected to Albert Square aristocracy through her father Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), whilst serial cheater Max (Jake Wood) serves as her scheming uncle. However, beyond the BBC drama, Kitty is the daughter of a professional footballer and a renowned television personality.
Kitty Castledine has paid tribute to her famous dad on social media(Image: Kitty Castledine / Instagram)
The soap star’s dad is ex-Premier League footballer Stewart Castledine, who had a nine-year stint with Wimbledon and also played for Wycombe in the second tier.
Stewart has also made appearances on telly, presenting BBC One’s Big Strong Boys and Houses Behaving Badly, and even modelled for fashion brands like DKNY and Topman.
On Thursday (January 22), Kitty shared a lovely photo of Stewart on her Instagram story as they celebrated his birthday with a meal out. She captioned the snap: “The birthday king! Happy Birthday Dad (love heart).”
Kitty’s mum is Lucy Alexander, presenter of Homes Under the Hammer and the Channel 4 show Place In The Sun.
Kitty Castledine is the daughter of television star Lucy Alexander(Image: Brett Cove/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Stewart and Lucy reportedly tied the knot in 2000, in a ceremony in Richmond, London, after being set up by a mutual mate.
They have two children, including Kitty and a son named Leo Castledine, 20, who is also a footballer and currently plays for Middlesbrough.
Before his current contract, Leo was loaned out to Huddersfield Town from Premier League club Chelsea. He has also worn the England jersey for the U19s five times.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer
