EastEnders actor Aaron Sidwell will return to his old dance school for its 18th birthday gala performance later this month.

Aaron, who played Steven Beale in the BBC soap, was a member of the Yew Tree Theatre School in Cranbrook, which was formed in 1993. He joined in 2004 and has recently returned in a teaching role.

Last year, Aaron also starred in the Hazlitt Theatre’s Christmas pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with Holly Matthews.

He has strong links to the area – he is a former pupil of Kingswood Primary School near Maidstone and Bethany School in Goudhurst.

Aaron will appear in the gala performance by the group, now named the Yew Tree Performing Arts Academy, at the Victoria Hall in Southborough on August 26, 27 and 18.

More than 80 ex-students will be performing in the show, directed by renowned conductor John Rigby, who is fresh from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance at Leeds Castle.