EastEnders stars will join Nick Knowles and the DIY SOS team in an Essex town next month to help transform a community project.

The cast members from Albert Square will don their hard hats and join an army of volunteers to create a new Harlow building for Butterfly Effect Well-Being, enabling the project to offer its services to more people in need of help with issues including social isolation and self-harm.

Butterfly Effect Well-Being, which runs a range of groups to bring people together and improve mental health, is currently operating out of a portacabin and is in desperate need of the DIY SOS team.

Its founder Angela Hannibal set up the project after losing her mum to suicide. Her mum had struggled for years with poor mental health and after she died, Angela decided to quit her career as a pharmacist to try to help people like her.

The project has been gifted an empty building by Harlow Council, but it is "in a state of disrepair" and needs extensive internal and external works to make it fit for purpose. 

Nick and the DIY SOS: Big Build team are now appealing for volunteers in Harlow to join the EastEnders stars and help turn the building into a warm and welcoming hub, where anyone in the community can go for help, support and company when they most need it.

Nick Knowles says: “This is a special project that does so much to help the community in Harlow and I can’t wait to get stuck in with our EastEnders friends and see this amazing build come together. As always, we wouldn’t be able to deliver such important projects without the generosity of our brilliant volunteers, so if you have a trade or can help us with materials then get in touch!”

Catherine Catton, BBC head of commissioning, factual entertainment and events, commented: “This is a fantastic collaboration between EastEnders and DIY SOS which will transform a truly deserving project. We are so looking forward to seeing the build come together for Butterfly Effect Well-Being and helping Angela and her team provide support to even more people.”

DIY SOS is appealing for tradespeople including; electricians, plumbers, carpenters, plasterers and decorators to offer support with the transformation in October.

There will be a trades day held in Harlow on Tuesday October 3.

Those interested in volunteering or donating products to this charitable build must email diysosharlow@bbc.co.uk before trades day to arrange an appointment to meet with the team.

The build will take place from Wednesday October 25 to Tuesday October 31.

The EastEnders stars taking part in the episode will be announced ahead of broadcast later in 2023.