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Ashley Cotton is a fictional character from the

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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 ...

'', the son of

Zoe Cotton The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1993, by order of first appearance. 1994 was a historic year for ''EastEnders'', as in April, a third weekly episode was introduced. Due to the p ...

(Elizabeth Chadwick/Tara Ellis) and

Nick Cotton Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia ...

( John Altman) and the grandson of

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''In ...

). He was played by Rossi Higgins in 1993, and then by

Frankie Fitzgerald Frankie Fitzgerald (born 28 April 1985, in South London) is an English actor, best known for his role as Nick Cotton's son Ashley in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Career Fitzgerald trained at The Webber Douglas Academy of Performing Arts, ...

from 2000 to 2001.

Storylines

1993

Ashley first appears after his mother Zoe (Elizabeth Chadwick) arrives 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 ...

to inform his grandmother, Dot (

) of his existence. Dot goes to meet 9-year-old Ashley where he becomes close to his grandmother. Dot is eventually persuaded to leave Walford to live with Zoe, Ashley and her son

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

( John Altman) in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

. Dot leaves Gravesend and returns to Walford in 1997 without Ashley or his parents and reveals that Ashley and Zoe have moved to London to get away from Nick, after he was sent to prison for drug offences.

2000–2001

Ashley (now played by Frankie Fitzgerald) returns to the square briefly in July 2000 to visit Dot for a few days. It is obvious he has taken after his father when he gets up to mischief and constantly butts heads with Martin Fowler (

James Alexandrou James Alekos Alexandrou (born 12 April 1985) is an English actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying the role of Martin Fowler in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1996 to 2007. He was also the presenter of ''Bizarre Crime'' on B ...

when they share a room. Nick is later released from prison and reunites with Ashley and Zoe (now played by Tara Ellis) in the special spin-off episode titled "

Return of Nick Cotton ''EastEnders'' is a British soap opera that has aired on BBC One since 19 February 1985. Several spin-off shows have been made, some of which use the narrative of flashbacks to look at the history of the characters such as " CivvyStreet". Others ...

". Ashley leaves to go with Nick despite Zoe's reluctance so he and Nick get into a stolen car and decide to travel before returning to Walford. When they return to Walford and settle in with Dot, Ashley is under the influence of his villainous father Nick by taking drugs and gets involved in robberies with Nick. After Nick falls off some scaffolding, due to

Mark Fowler Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the ro ...

(

Todd Carty Todd Carty also known as Todd John Jennings (born Todd Robert Carty; 31 August 1963) is an English actor and director who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage appearances have ranged from pantomime to serious dram ...

) spiking his drink, he orders Ashley to set fire to Mark's house, but Ashley cannot go through with it and leaves after Nick disowns him. Nick contacts Ashley a few months later and they reconcile. Their bond resumes until a fateful summer evening in June 2001 when Ashley steals Mark's motorbike after an argument with him in

The Queen Vic 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 developme ...

, unaware that Nick had cut the bike's brakes the previous night in hope of killing Mark. Nick, Dot and Mark's mother Pauline (

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap ...

) shout at Ashley to stop but he is unable to do so until he comes face-to-face with a pedestrian. Ashley swerves to avoid the pedestrian and brakes sharply, but the motorbike flips over a pavement and Ashley crashes into the laundrette. 17-year-old Ashley dies instantly and Nick is riddled with guilt. Dot later overhears an argument between Mark and Nick, discovering that Nick is responsible for Ashley's death. After Ashley's funeral, Dot confronts Nick and throws him out of the house.

Casting

Writing for ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' in July 2000,

Sharon Marshall Sharon Jean Marshall (born 21 September 1971) is a British entertainment journalist and screenwriter best known for being the resident "Soap Expert" from 2003 to 2022 on ITV's '' This Morning''. Television career In 2006, Marshall appeared as ...

revealed Ashley would be returning to ''EastEnders'' now played by Frankie Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was appearing in a variety show when he was spotted by a talent scout who suggested he send some photos to the

...
's casting department. A few months later, Fitzgerald was asked to audition for the role of Ashley. While on his way home from the audition, Fitzgerald was told he had won the part. Marshall revealed Fitzgerald was hired after producers noted his resemblance to John Altman, who plays his on screen father, Nick. An ''EastEnders'' spokesperson said "They could easily be father and son. They've got the same brooding dark-haired looks." Marshall said Fitzgerald was set to "steal the show - as well as a few young Walford hearts" as Ashley. She also stated the character would be a chip off the old block, spelling trouble for the residents of Albert Square. Of his casting, Fitzgerald said "I am thrilled and honoured to be playing Nick Cotton's son and can't wait to work with John. People keep asking me what the storylines are but I am as eager as everyone to know." Fitzgerald made his debut as Ashley on 27 July 2000.

Development

Ashley's first scene back in Albert Square saw him stealing pineapples from the fruit and veg stall, showing the character was similar to his father. In September 2000, Martyn Leek of the ''

Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), who left the Dublin-based ''Freeman's ...

'' reported Nick Cotton would be returning to ''EastEnders'' to find his son. Nick's return scenes were filmed in Birmingham, with a

...
spokesperson saying "We were filming in Moseley and Winson Green all week. Nick is trying to get his son Ashley back on the straight and narrow so it is a bit of a turnaround from how he used to be." Lisa Perrott, the publicist for ''EastEnders'' said Birmingham was chosen as they needed to film scenes away from the Albert Square setting and the location suited the storyline. Ashley and Nick meet during a special spin-off episode, entitled ''

'', which was broadcast on 1 October 2000. Nick comes face to face with Ashley after he catches him trying to steal his car. Sue Smith of ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' said "A chip off the old block, their reunion is bound to wreak havoc." In June 2001, Fitzgerald was axed from ''EastEnders'' and his character died following a motorbike accident. Fitzgerald told Ian Woodward of the ''Daily Mirror'' that he was shocked and disappointed when he learned he was being axed from the show. The actor said "I was dumbstruck. I thought I was going to be in Albert Square for a long, long time." Fitzgerald found filming Ashley's deaths scenes difficult and he said he thought about death a lot before they filmed his last scene. He explained "I went over and over in my mind the whole aspect of dying. Even though I knew it was pretend time, it had a big impact on me. It freaked me out. I felt utterly drained."

Reception

In March 2001, a major storyline saw

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant Mitchell (EastEnders), Grant (Ross Kemp), s ...

(

Steve McFadden Steve Robert McFadden (né Reid; born 20 March 1959) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', which he has played since 1990. He was also the presenter of the game show, ''Britain's ...

) shot by unknown assailant. William Hill took bets on who shot Phil and Ashley came third with the odds of 13–2. Shortly before the character's departure, the ''Daily Mirror's'' Ian Woodward said Ashley had clearly become "one of the more popular teenagers in ''EastEnders''."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Ashley Male characters in television EastEnders characters Television characters introduced in 1993 Child characters in television Teenage characters in television