Rio Ferdinand, a former England football player who has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, introduced the rapper to the soap opera.
One of the most watched and longest-running soap operas on British television for the past 37 years is EastEnders. The majority of the show’s viewers have always been in the UK, although it also has a small international fan base.
Even in some of the most unlikely locations, fans of the soap opera can be found pretty much anywhere that BBC services are available. Famous rapper 50 Cent is one particular admirer who is said to often watch from his residence in Houston, Texas.
Although it may come as a surprise, 50 Cent is a self-professed fan of EastEnders and has previously said that participating in the soap opera is his “greatest showbiz ambition.” The rapper intended to join the likes of Boris Johnson, Amanda Holden, David Walliams, and Robbie Williams who have all made appearances in Albert Square.
The rapper-turned-actor, also known as “Fiddy,” who has sold over 30 million songs worldwide, has been a fan of the series ever since former West Ham, Manchester United, and England midfielder Rio Ferdinand first introduced him to it. In fact, 10 years ago, when it was rumoured that he was in talks with the show’s producers, 50 Cent came close to realising his ambition of appearing as a guest on Walford, but it never happened.
The actress Barbara Windsor had already left the cast by the time the rapper at the time revealed to being a huge Peggy Mitchell fan. 50 Cent, actual name Curtis Jackson, spoke with The Mirror in 2010 and claimed the following: “I really wanted Peggy to kick me out of her bar, but it’s too late now because I didn’t organise things quickly enough.
I’ve collaborated with artists like Eminem and Justin Timberlake, worked with actors like De Niro and Al Pacino, and even appeared as a guest on The Simpsons, which is considered a sign of success in the US, yet I still can’t realise my biggest showbiz ambition.”
After leaving the programme in 2009, actress Barbara Windsor did make a few one-off appearances as Peggy in 2013, 2014, and 2015, claiming she wanted to spend more time with her husband Scott Mitchell, who is 26 years her junior. Windsor left behind a rich acting career that dates all the way back to the late 1950s, but regrettably passed away in 2020 at the age of 83.
