# Matilda Ziegler
**Matilda Ziegler** (born 1964) is a British television and stage actress best known for playing Donna Ludlow in the BBC soap opera *EastEnders*, Irma Gobb, Mr. Bean's girlfriend, in the ITV sitcom *Mr. Bean*, and Pearl Pratt in the BBC costume drama *Lark Rise to Candleford*.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/matilda-ziegler/umc.cpc.1z9mip6j1ym66iuyef12ip4rk) She was born in the United Kingdom.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/57311/matilda-ziegler)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964, United Kingdom[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/57311/matilda-ziegler) |
| Breakthrough role | Donna Ludlow in *EastEnders*, August 1987 to April 1989, the illegitimate daughter of Kathy Beale[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [4](https://ee-walford.fandom.com/wiki/Matilda_Ziegler) |
| Signature comedy role | Irma Gobb in *Mr. Bean* (early 1990s), voiced again in *Mr. Bean: The Animated Series* from 2002 to 2004 and in the revived series from 2015 to 2019[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) |
| Long-running drama role | Pearl Pratt in *Lark Rise to Candleford*, series 1–4 (2008–2010), BBC[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/matilda-ziegler/) |
| Film work | *The Rhythm Section* (2019), *Living* (2022), *Jilting Joe* (1998), *City Slacker* (2012), *Decadence* (1994)[6](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/cv/9233/acting) |
| Stage highlights | Lady Sneerwell in *The School for Scandal* at the Barbican (2011); Twelfth Night with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Volpone, Machinal, and Look Back in Anger at the National Theatre[7](https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/matilda-ziegler-115906/) • [8](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/matilda-ziegler) |
| Screen credits | 42 listed credits as an actress[9](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/matilda-ziegler/credits/3030461289/) |
## Early career and EastEnders
Ziegler's first screen role came in her early twenties, in the [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) soap opera *EastEnders*, which she joined in August 1987 as Donna Ludlow, the illegitimate daughter of the series regular [Kathy Beale](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-beale).[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [4](https://ee-walford.fandom.com/wiki/Matilda_Ziegler) Over roughly two years the character contended with prostitution, an attempted gang rape, and heroin addiction, and died of a heroin overdose. The final death scenes have been described as one of the most powerful anti-drug images ever screened on the program, and Ziegler left the show in April 1989.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler)
## Mr. Bean and Irma Gobb
In the early 1990s Ziegler appeared in the ITV comedy *Mr. Bean*, playing several characters but above all Irma Gobb, the title character's long-suffering girlfriend, in a three-episode stint.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) The role became her best-known international credit.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/matilda-ziegler/umc.cpc.1z9mip6j1ym66iuyef12ip4rk) She later reprised it as a voice role in *Mr. Bean: The Animated Series* from 2002 to 2004 and again in the revived series from 2015 to 2019, a span of more than two decades with the character.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [10](https://thrillng.com/matilda-ziegler/)
## Television work after EastEnders
Through the 1990s and 2000s Ziegler built a steady career in British television. Her credits include *Harbour Lights* (1999, as Jane Ford), *Where the Heart Is*, *An Unsuitable Job for a Woman*, *The Bill*, *Holby City*, and the BBC sitcom *Swiss Toni* (2003–04), in which she played Ruth, wife of car salesman Toni.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/matilda-ziegler/) She appeared in the BAFTA Television Award-winning drama *Sex Traffic* (2004), directed by [David Yates](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-yates), and played Christine Miller in the fourth series of *The Inspector Lynley Mysteries* in 2005.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler)
From 2008 to 2010 she played the interfering gossipmonger Pearl Pratt in *Lark Rise to Candleford*, the BBC adaptation of Flora Thompson's novel, appearing across all four series.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/matilda-ziegler/) At the time she identified the role as the one she was best known for, and noted that people tended not to think of her as "the demure, shrinking violet."[7](https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/matilda-ziegler-115906/)
Her later guest roles span a wide range of British and American productions: *Outnumbered* (2007), *Lewis* (the episode "The Soul of Genius", 2012), *Death in Paradise* (2013), *Vera* (the episode "Young Gods", 2013), *Foyle's War* (2015), *Call the Midwife* (2015), a second-season episode of *The Alienist* (2020), two episodes of *The Girlfriend Experience* as Dr. Lindbergh (2021), *Miss Scarlet* (2022), *The Outlaws* series 3 (2024), *Maternal* (2023), and Netflix's *The Diplomat* (2023, as Olga).[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/57311/matilda-ziegler) • [5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/matilda-ziegler/)
## Film
Ziegler's film roles include *Decadence* (1994), *Jilting Joe* (1998), *City Slacker* (2012), *The Rhythm Section* (2019), in which she played [Blake Lively](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-lively)'s character's mother, and *[Living](https://www.edgepedia.org/living-2022-film)* (2022), [Oliver Hermanus](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-hermanus)'s adaptation set in 1953 London, in which she played the Prim Lady.[1](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler) • [6](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/cv/9233/acting)
## Stage career
Ziegler's stage work includes Shakespeare and modern drama. Her credits listed by the [Steppenwolf Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/steppenwolf-theatre-company) include *Twelfth Night* with the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company), *Women Laughing* at the [Royal Court Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-court-theatre), and *Volpone*, *Inadmissible Evidence*, *Machinal*, and *Look Back in Anger* at the National Theatre, as well as *Featuring Loretta* and *The Memory of Water* at the Hampstead Theatre.[8](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/matilda-ziegler)
In 2011 she returned to the stage after ten years away, her previous live performance having also been at the Barbican in a production of *Twelfth Night*, to play Lady Sneerwell in Deborah Warner's revival of Sheridan's *[The School for Scandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-school-for-scandal)*. She described the plotting widow as "the most exotic creature... psychotic. Nuts," a woman whose life was ruined by scandal and who feeds on exacting revenge.[7](https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/matilda-ziegler-115906/) More recently she played the roles of Mum, Lydia, and Doctor in the UK tour of the critically acclaimed *People, Places and Things*, and appeared in Steppenwolf's production of *[Downstate](https://www.edgepedia.org/downstate-play)* (September 20 to November 18, 2018).[8](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/matilda-ziegler)
## Teaching and other work
Ziegler's career has extended beyond acting. She began helping at a school when its director of drama fell ill, took on more responsibilities over time, and eventually worked full-time as the school's director of drama. All three of her children were pupils there. She said that teaching had not been a career she had considered, but that she enjoyed the continuity of working with children over time.[11](https://www.ohmymag.co.uk/entertainment/celebrities/matilda-ziegler-played-mr-beans-girlfriend-but-what-has-she-done-since-from-eastenders-to-teaching_art22575.html) In 2022 she was named a new patron of Norwich's Puppet Theatre.[11](https://www.ohmymag.co.uk/entertainment/celebrities/matilda-ziegler-played-mr-beans-girlfriend-but-what-has-she-done-since-from-eastenders-to-teaching_art22575.html) She has also contributed to [BBC Radio](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio) productions, including Radio 4's *Rigor Mortis*, *Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off*, and John Finnemore's *[Cabin Pressure](https://www.edgepedia.org/cabin-pressure-radio-series)*, in which she played Princess Theresa of Liechtenstein.[10](https://thrillng.com/matilda-ziegler/)
## References
1. [Matilda Ziegler, FMDb](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/195544-matilda-ziegler)
2. [Matilda Ziegler, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/matilda-ziegler/umc.cpc.1z9mip6j1ym66iuyef12ip4rk)
3. [Matilda Ziegler, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/57311/matilda-ziegler)
4. [Matilda Ziegler, Walford Wiki](https://ee-walford.fandom.com/wiki/Matilda_Ziegler)
5. [Matilda Ziegler, United Agents](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/matilda-ziegler/)
6. [Matilda Ziegler acting CV, United Agents](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/cv/9233/acting)
7. [Matilda Ziegler interview, Official London Theatre (11 May 2011)](https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/matilda-ziegler-115906/)
8. [Matilda Ziegler, Steppenwolf Theatre](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/matilda-ziegler)
9. [Matilda Ziegler List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/matilda-ziegler/credits/3030461289/)
10. [Matilda Ziegler Biography, ThrillNG](https://thrillng.com/matilda-ziegler/)
11. [Matilda Ziegler played Mr Bean's girlfriend, but what has she done since?, Ohmymag](https://www.ohmymag.co.uk/entertainment/celebrities/matilda-ziegler-played-mr-beans-girlfriend-but-what-has-she-done-since-from-eastenders-to-teaching_art22575.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › British and Australasian soaps and characters › EastEnders › EastEnders cast members*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license