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Legendary EastEnders extra who has starred in Harry Potter and X-Men

Legendary EastEnders extra who has starred in Harry Potter and XMen
Soap star Ben Champniss featured in blockbusting movies long before he arrived in Walford

Actor Ben Champniss is famed for playing market trader 'Shrimpy' on EastEnders. He's been flogging men's clothes and hats on Bridge Street since 2014 and can usually be seen watching all of the square's drama unfold in the background.

Although he's not a main character in the BBC One soap, Shrimpy has spoken on many occasions. Die-hard Fans will remember when he got into an argument with Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) over his dog in 2017.

"Your dog’s that Bronson, right? He’s just peed on the box of my cotton blend trilby hats,” Shrimpy fumed at Keanu. But before he ever arrived in the East End, the actor had already starred in block-busting movies.

READ MORE: Mr Lister actor Nick Wilton once posed naked in TV advert featuring Gordon Ramsey

Actor Ben Champniss standing outside Albert Square's fictional tube station
Actor Ben Champniss standing outside Albert Square's fictional tube station (Image: BBC)

The 37-year-old soap first landed on the big screen in 2000 when he starred in the original X-Men film. In an uncredited role, he portrayed a Jewish Prisoner of War. In the same year, he played a restaurant patron in the romantic drama One Day, which saw Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess fall head-over-heels.

However, Harry Potter super fans will recognise Champniss from the background of the final scene, of the 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. It's the moment that the trio of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are at King's Cross sending their own children to Hogwarts.

It's the final scene that ends the eight-film franchise. Molly Conlin who played EastEnders' Dotty Cotton from 2008 until 2010 can also be seen in the same scene.

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