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Andy O'Brien is a fictional character from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', played by

Ross Davidson William Russell "Ross" Davidson (25 August 1949 – 16 October 2006) was a Scottish actor best known for his role as Andy O'Brien in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Career Davidson started his working life as a physical education teach ...

. One of the original characters created for the series, Andy made his first appearance one month after the show first broadcast, in the 10th episode on 21 March 1985. Portrayed as altruistic and middle-classed, Andy and his girlfriend Debbie were an attempt to represent gentrification of the East End. Despite Davidson claiming that there had been plans for his character, Andy is the first regular character in ''EastEnders'' to be killed off. Davidson claimed this was due to an altercation between himself and Executive Producer and show creator, Julia Smith. He was killed in August 1986 when he was hit by an out of control lorry.

Storylines

Nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

Andy O'Brien moves to

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

in March 1985 along with his girlfriend

Debbie Wilkins Debbie "Debs" Wilkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Shirley Cheriton, from 21 March 1985 to 14 May 1987. Debbie is Walford's first upwardly mobile character. She has an on/off relationship with her i ...

(

Shirley Cheriton Shirley Cheriton (born 28 June 1955) is an English actress and performer, best known for her roles as Debbie Wilkins in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and her portrayal of Miss Prescott in the ''Are You Being Served?'' follow up, ''Grace & Fav ...

). Andy and Debbie are decidedly '

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

', in contrast to the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

locals who inhabit the Square. Andy and Debbie have a rocky relationship. Andy wants to settle down and start a family but Debbie is not so keen and she soon attracts the attention of

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Roy Quick The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by executive producer Julia Smith. The first episode of ''EastEnders'' was broadca ...

(Douglas Fielding). Debbie obviously enjoys being pursued by Roy so they agree to have an

open relationship An open relationship is an intimate relationship that is sexually non-monogamous. The term is distinct from polyamory, in that it generally indicates a relationship where there is a primary emotional and intimate relationship between two partner ...

. The pair continue to live together, which is not ideal for Andy, as he still has feelings for Debbie and regularly gets jealous when he sees her with other men. Andy wants to make a difference in

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

, so he occupies himself with altruistic activities, like campaigning against the demolition of the Square, and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. When he discovers Mary Smith (

Linda Davidson Linda Davidson (born 18 June 1964 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian- British former actress and writer. She played the wayward punk Mary Smith in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Mary was one of the serial's original characters; Dav ...

) is

illiterate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

, he starts teaching her to read. This backfires when Mary decides that she is in love with him, forcing him to reject her advances. Mary is not impressed at all, and ends her reading lessons. Andy later begins an affair with the

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

landlady of

The Queen Victoria The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and developmen ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Angie Watts Angie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out. Angie is well known for her ...

(

Anita Dobson Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Sing ...

). However, Angie's husband,

Den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

(

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germ ...

), catches them in bed together, and furiously chases a half-

naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

Andy into the street, which prompts a feud between the pair. It soon emerges that Angie is using Andy to make Den jealous, so their affair is short-lived and Andy soon regrets getting involved in their volatile relationship. Upon seeing that Andy is in such demand with the ladies, Debbie has a change of heart and she and Andy get back together and are soon engaged. Their happiness is short-lived as in 1986, 37-year-old Andy is mowed down by a

lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

after running into the road to save a child from being hit. He is killed instantly. True to form, Andy is even altruistic in death, as his

organ donor Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

card ensures that someone gets his

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

s. Shortly before his death he has had an argument with Debbie which she finishes by telling him to "drop dead", which ironically, he does.

Creation and development

Andy O'Brien was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of ''EastEnders'',

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of ...

and Julia Smith. The character of Andy along with his girlfriend

were an attempt by Holland and Smith to represent the influx of middle-classed people that were opting to move to the usually working-class areas of the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

Gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of the East End was on the increase in the 1980s, and in Holland's experience, the new, wealthier residents were never welcomed or truly accepted within the community, and this was what he hoped to convey on-screen with these two characters. Andy's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, '' EastEnders: The Inside Story''. :"Debbie and Andy are living together, they're not married — but it's a serious relationship... Andy, a Scot, has a very practical contented element in his make-up... A succession of foster-parents... He always seemed to be part of families that genuinely wanted him. It's made him very secure, a little smug, perhaps? Student Nurse at Glasgow Royal Infirmary... Unlike Debbie, who's an ambitious woman working in a traditionally male world, Andy is a very unambitious man working in a traditionally female world... They became in love with the idea that everyone thought they were the perfect couple... The decision to attempt the experiment of living together: A "domestic" relationship, was a difficult one, and they agonised over it for months. Wouldn't they get bored? Would they feel imprisoned? How would they fill the hours, with only the two of them?... They want to knock down walls, put in double-glazing, and all the rest of it.... Forced to move into a different class... They're not habitat/Guardian East-end, and they're certainly not nouveau-riche, but they are, to a lot of people, a possible sign of a shape of things to come in the Borough..." (page 62) Holland required the character of Andy to be somewhere between a wimp and macho; to be on an equal footing with his partner and to represent newish thinking about the male role and equal opportunities.

, a sporty working-class Scot was eventually cast, although Holland and Smith felt he came across as a male

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

. According to Smith and Holland, Andy and Debbie were created to represent a young couple with outwardly mobile pretensions, but it was decided that the formula did not work and both characters were eventually written out of the show. Andy ended up being the first main character to be killed off in 1986, just over a year after the show began. During this time, rumours began to circulate in the British press that Ross Davidson was dropped because Julia Smith disapproved of the off-screen relationship he was having with

, the actress who played Debbie. This was denied by Smith in '' EastEnders: The Inside Story''. In 1994, Davidson gave his own account of why Andy was written out of the serial to the American-based fan newspaper, ''Walford Gazette''. He stated that hostility arose between him and Smith following the recording of an ''EastEnders'' LP of cockney songs. The producer of that LP thought it would be a great idea if Davidson and Cheriton (known to be dating in real life) were to make a record of their own. Cheriton refused but Davidson accepted and took on the producer as his manager.

BBC Records BBC Records was a division of the BBC founded in 1967 to commercially exploit the corporation's output for radio and television for both educational and domestic use. The division was known as BBC Radio Enterprises (1967–1970), BBC Records ( ...

were not pleased and following an altercation between the head of BBC Records and the producer, Davidson had an altercation with Julia Smith, who Davidson claimed had never been happy that he and Cheriton were dating in the first place. Davidson comments, "I made the mistake of telling off Julia Smith. She was a bit rude to me and I unfortunately reacted like a Celt." Their argument escalated until Smith threatened to write Andy out of ''EastEnders'', and Davidson's angry response was to tell her to kill his character off if she intended to write him out. Andy was subsequently killed in a motor accident shortly after. Davidson commented, "I would have like to have stayed another 6 months to a year, but like a lot of their characters, it was time to move on." According to Davidson, the decision to kill Andy led to various script changes as he claims that it had been the original plan for Andy to marry

(

), whom he had a brief affair with on-screen. He also claimed that Andy would have left the nursing profession to run The Dagmar winebar, which was instead given to a different character,

James Willmott-Brown James Willmott-Brown (also credited as Willmott-Brown and Mr Willmott-Brown) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by William Boyde. The character originally appeared in Albert Square from 1986 to 1989, where ...

(

William Boyde William Boyde (born March 1953) is a British actor, best known for his work on the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1986–1989, 1992, 2017). He was educated at Cheltenham College where he appeared as an extra in the film If...which was filme ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Brien, Andy EastEnders characters Fictional nurses Television characters introduced in 1985 Fictional Scottish people Male characters in television