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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 ''

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 ...

'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by

Bryan Kirkwood Bryan Kirkwood (born 1976) is a British television producer. He was the producer of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2006 until 2009, and was the executive producer of the BBC soap ''EastEnders'' from 2010 until 2012. He returned as t ...

, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. His last episode was on 13 July 2012. From 16 July, characters were introduced by his successor,

Lorraine Newman Lorraine Newman (born 1978) is a British scriptwriter, television producer, and the executive producer of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2012 to 2013. Newman, who has worked on ''EastEnders'' for "nearly 20 years", received the role of ...

. The first character to be introduced was the

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as w ...

Les Coker The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(

Roger Sloman Roger Sloman (born 19 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work in theatre, film, and television. Early life and education He grew up and was educated in South East London. He trained to be a teacher and then went to East 15 acting sch ...

). The first regular character to be announced was

Ray Dixon Ray Dixon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Chucky Venn. Ray is an ex-partner of character Bianca Jackson, Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) and the father of her son Morgan Jackson-King, Morgan Butcher (Devon ...

(

Chucky Venn Charles Venn (born 24 June 1973), formerly known by the stage names Chucky Venice and Chucky Venn, is a British actor, known for his roles as Ray Dixon in ''EastEnders'', Jacob Masters in '' Casualty'', Curtis Alexander in Sky One's '' Dream Tea ...

), the biological father of

Morgan Butcher The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' which aired in 2008 (by order of first appearance). All characters were introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer. Santer introduced four ch ...

(Devon Higgs), followed by

Alice Branning Alice Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jasmyn Banks. Alice is the daughter of Derek Branning ( Jamie Foreman). She made her first appearance on 10 May 2012. The character and casting was annou ...

(

Jasmyn Banks Jasmyn Grace Banks (born 20 August 1990) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Alice Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career Banks trained at the Young Persons Theatre Company (RAaW London) and the Italia Conti Aca ...

), the daughter of

Derek Branning Derek Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Terence Beesley in 1996 and then Jamie Foreman from 2011 to 2012. Derek is the eldest child of Jim Branning (John Bardon) and Reenie Branning (Joy Graham). ...

(

Jamie Foreman Jamie Foreman (born 25 May 1958) is an English actor best known for his roles as Duke in ''Layer Cake'' (2004) and Bill Sikes in Roman Polanski's ''Oliver Twist'' (2005). Career Foreman played opposite Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke in Gary Oldm ...

) and, Alice's brother,

Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horac ...

(

David Witts David Peter S. Witts (born 30 June 1991) is a British actor and model, best known for his portrayal of Joey Branning in the long-running British television soap opera, ''EastEnders'', in which he appeared from 2012 to 2013. Early life Witts a ...

). June 2012 also saw the first birth of the year:

Janine Butcher Janine Carter (also Butcher, Evans and Malloy) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', introduced in 1989. The character was played by Rebecca Michael from 1989 to 1993, Alexia Demetriou from 1993 to 1996, and Charlie ...

(

Charlie Brooks Charlene Emma Brooks (born 3 May 1981) is a British actress. Known for the role of Janine Butcher in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has received numerous awards since her first appearance on the soap in 1999, with storylines invo ...

) and Michael Moon's ( Steve John Shepherd) daughter, Scarlett. July saw the arrival of

Masood Ahmed Masood Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Nitin Ganatra. The character made his first appearance in episode 3452, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2007. Masood was introduced as ...

's (

Nitin Ganatra Nitin Chandra Ganatra (born 30 June 1967) is a Kenyan-born British actor. He is known for portraying Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Early and personal life Ganatra was born on 30 June 1967 in Kenya. Both sides of Ganatra' ...

) brother, AJ Ahmed (

Phaldut Sharma Phaldut "Paul" Sharma, also known as Paul Sharma, is a UK-based actor and dancer. He is best known for his roles in Gavin and Stacey as Achmed and Eastenders as AJ Ahmed . Career Television and film Sharma played Vinnay Ramdas in '' Casualty'' ...

). July also saw the second birth of the year:

Lola Pearce Lola Pearce is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Danielle Harold. She is introduced as the granddaughter of Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick) and Julie Perkins (Cathy Murphy), and an extension to the already ...

's (

Danielle Harold Danielle Amy Louise Harold (born 30 May 1992) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Lola Pearce in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', which she played from 2011 to 2015, and reprised the role from 2019 to 2023. Career Before H ...

) daughter Lexi, Newman's first introduction. After the announcement that

Sharon Rickman Sharon Watts (also Rickman, Mitchell and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Jul ...

(

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...

) was returning, her son

Dennis Rickman Jnr The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(Harry Hickles), was introduced, along with guest character, Sharon's fiancé

John Hewland The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(

Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera '' Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Footballers' Wiv ...

Danny Pennant The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(

Gary Lucy Gary Edward Lucy (born 27 November 1981) is an English actor, television personality and model who is best known for playing Will Fletcher in the ITV police drama ''The Bill'', Luke Morgan in ''Hollyoaks'', Kyle Pascoe in '' Footballer's Wives ...

) arrived in September, as part of a love triangle storyline involving

Syed Masood Syed Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Marc Elliott, and first appeared on screen on 21 April 2009. Syed is a British Pakistani and is the eldest son of Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) and Zainab Mas ...

(

Marc Elliott Marc Gilbert F Elliott (born 19 October 1979) is an English actor from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, who is known for his role as Syed Masood in the BBC television soap opera '' EastEnders''. Personal life Elliott was born on 19 October 1979 ...

) and

Christian Clarke Christian Clarke is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', portrayed by John Partridge. He first appeared in the show's 3,509th episode, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2008, and was introduced ...

( John Partridge). Ava Hartman (

Clare Perkins Clare Perkins (born 18 August 1965) is an English actress who is known for her roles as Denise Boulter in ''Family Affairs'' and Ava Hartman in '' EastEnders''. Career Perkins' first role was as Opal in the 1991 TV film 'Hallelujah Anyhow' in ...

), the long-lost daughter of

Cora Cross Cora Cross is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Ann Mitchell. Cora is the mother of Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner), Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks) and Ava Hartman ( Claire Perkins) and the grandmother of Lauren (J ...

(

Ann Mitchell Ann Mitchell (born 22 April 1939) is a British stage and television actress. She came to prominence in the 1980s when she starred as Dolly Rawlins in the crime series ''Widows'' as well as the sequels '' Widows 2'' and ''She's Out'', all writte ...

) was introduced in November and

Kirsty Branning The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(

Kierston Wareing Kierston Wareing (born 7 January 1976) is a British actress. Her first film role was the lead in Ken Loach's '' It's a Free World...'', followed by a supporting role in Andrea Arnold's ''Fish Tank'' – which won the BAFTA award for ‘Best Bri ...

), Max's (

Jake Wood Jake Dylan Wood (born 12 July 1972) is an English actor and podcaster, known for his role as Max Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He has also made guest appearances in series including ''Only Fools and Horses'' and ''Red Dwarf''. ...

) secret wife, made her first appearance on Christmas Day. December also saw the arrival of Zainab Khan's (

Nina Wadia Nina Wadia (born 18 December 1968) is a British actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy ''Still Open All Hours'', and for st ...

) family friend,

Ayesha Rana The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(

Shivani Ghai Shivaani Ghai (born 25 April 1975) is an English actress. Early life Ghai is of Indian origin and was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. She grew up in Gosforth and attended Gosforth High School. Later, she went to university, where she gained a BA ...

Les Coker

Les Coker, played by

, first appeared on 9 January 2012. He subsequently appeared in five episodes in 2012, before returning for an episode in 2014. Les was reintroduced as a regular character in April 2014 and continued to appear until 14 October 2016 when the character was axed from the show. Les first appears when he visits

Carol Jackson Carol Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as the mother of the Jackson family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned tem ...

(

Lindsey Coulson Lindsey Coulson (born 13 April 1960) is an English actress, known for her role as Carol Jackson in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. For this role, she won the 2000 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance. Coulson is also well known ...

) and

David Wicks David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC TV soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Michael French. David originally appeared from 23 December 1993 to 21 November 1996. He returned to the show on 1 January 2012 and departed two weeks later ...

(

Michael French Michael French (born Michael Clark, 17 September 1962) is an English actor, known for his roles as David Wicks in ''EastEnders''; Nick Jordan, a consultant and Clinical Lead, Senior Consultant in emergency medicine in ''Casualty'' and former ca ...

) to arrange Pat Evans' (

Pam St Clement Pamela Ann Clements (born 11 May 1942), known professionally as Pam St Clement, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Pat Butcher in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from June 1986 until January 2012, with a gu ...

) funeral. He tells them he used to know Pat when he was an apprentice, implying he was her client when she was a prostitute, and offers a discount on the funeral. He says that he arranged funerals for many of the other local residents, including David's father

Pete Beale Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holland, one of the cr ...

( Peter Dean), Pat's husband

Roy Evans Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (born 4 October 1948) is an English former footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool. He eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become the team manager. While predominantly plyi ...

(

Tony Caunter Anthony Patrick Caunter (born 22 September 1937) is a Retired British actor best known for his role as Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire TV sitcom '' Queenie's Castle'' and also his portrayal of Roy Evans in ''EastEnders'' from 1994 to 2003. The ...

Ethel Skinner Ethel Skinner is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Gretchen Franklin. Ethel also features in a 1988 ''EastEnders'' special episode, entitled "CivvyStreet", set on Albert Square during World War II, in which ...

(

Gretchen Franklin Gretchen Franklin (7 July 1911 – 11 July 2005) was an English actress and dancer with a career in show business spanning over 70 years. She was born in Covent Garden, Central London. She played Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap ope ...

), Pat's former sister-in-law

Pauline Fowler Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between the first episode on 19 February 1985 and 25 December 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland an ...

(

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 ...

) and

Archie Mitchell Archibald Lionel "Archie" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Larry Lamb. He first appeared on 8 July 2008 as a newest member of the Mitchell family—who had first appeared on the soap in 1990— ...

(

Larry Lamb Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy series '' Gavin & Stacey'' and Ted Case in the final series ...

). He returns to meet

Jean Slater Jean Slater (also Walters) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Gillian Wright. Her first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2004. Having only been introduce ...

(

Gillian Wright Gillian Wright (born 5 May 1960) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Jean Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2004, for which she has won a number of awards. She was a teacher and theatre director before ...

) to finalise arrangements for the funeral of her daughter

Stacey Branning Stacey Slater (also Branning and Fowler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', portrayed by Lacey Turner. She first appears in episode 2826, originally broadcast on 1 November 2004. The character is introduced as a fe ...

(

Lacey Turner Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2010, 2014–present), for which she has won over thirty awards, including four ...

). Jean is distressed to hear that Stacey has died, but

Mo Harris Mo Harris (also known as "Big Mo") is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', who made her first appearance on 18 September 2000, played by Laila Morse. Mo is also played by Lorraine Stanley in the 2004 soap "bubble" ''Pat ...

(

Laila Morse Maureen Oldman (born 1 August 1945), known professionally as Laila Morse, is an English actress. Her roles include Janet in the drama film '' Nil by Mouth'' (1997) and Mo Harris in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Early life Laila Morse wa ...

) reveals she has just spoken to Stacey on the phone, meaning Stacey is alive. Les apologises profoundly before leaving. Les is seen by

Sasha Dixon The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

(Rebecca Sanneh) doing business with

Anthony Moon Anthony Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Matt Lapinskas. He was introduced on 25 July 2011 as an extension to the Moon family. The son of Eddie Moon (David Essex), half brother of Michael Moon ( S ...

(

Matt Lapinskas Matthew William Lapinskas (born 27 February 1989) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Anthony Moon in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2011 to 2012. He was a contestant in the eighth series of '' Dancing on Ice'', fini ...

) and it turns out that when someone dies, Les offers to empty their house and sells the goods to Anthony for his business. Sasha and her employer,

(

), then ask Les to offer every other house to them for the charity shop. He attends a wake for a former

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 ...

resident at

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 ...

, where

Kim Fox Kim Fox (also Fox-Hubbard) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Tameka Empson. She is the half-sister of Denise Fox ( Diane Parish), and aunt to Chelsea Fox ( Tiana Benjamin/ Zaraah Abrahams) and Libby F ...

(

Tameka Empson Tameka Empson (born 16 April 1977) is an English actress and comedian. She appeared as one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show ''3 Non-Blondes''. In 2009, she began portraying the role of Kim Fox in the BBC soap ...

) pretends to know the deceased, and talks to Les, successfully gaining Sasha a work experience placement with Les's firm. He attends the wake of a man previously known by

Patrick Trueman Patrick Trueman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Rudolph Walker. He made his first appearance on 13 September 2001. His storylines include being the possible father of Denise Fox (Diane Parish), to whom ...

(

Rudolph Walker Rudolph Malcolm Walker (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, known for his sitcom roles as Bill Reynolds in ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1972–76) and Constable Frank Gladstone in '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–96). Since 2001, ...

) and is annoyed when Cora turns up, as he has agreements with her and Anthony. Les later appears when Sasha starts her first day of work experience. Les appears again to arrange

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 ...

's ( John Altman) funeral, although it is later revealed to be a scam in which Les is in on. Les moves his funeral business, Coker & Sons Funeral Parlour, to Turpin Road following the relocation of Pam's flower stall to Bridge Street Market. When walking home one night, Fatboy (

Ricky Norwood Richard Colin Norwood (born 15 November 1986) is a British actor who played Fatboy in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' and its online spin-off ''EastEnders: E20''. Ricky appeared on ''Celebrity Big Brother 18'' in 2016, finishing as runner-up behin ...

) notices Les being handed money by

Dot Branning 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 ...

's (

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 ...

) grandson, Charlie Cotton (

Declan Bennett Declan William Bennett (born 20 March 1981) is an English singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He gained prominence as a member of the band Point Break, before going on to perform on London's West End and as a solo musician. He is known on ...

). Fatboy tries to tell Dot what Les and Charlie are up to, but is unsuccessful. In July, Les hires

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

(

Perry Fenwick Perry Fenwick (born 29 May 1962) is an English actor. He is known for portraying the role of Billy Mitchell (EastEnders), Billy Mitchell in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role which he has played since 1998. Career Television ...

) at the undertakers, however he is disappointed when Billy doesn't turn up for work on his first day. Pam is upset when Les insults Emma Summerhayes (

Anna Acton Anna Acton (born 29 January 1977) is an English actress who is best known for her roles as Rochelle Barratt, the wife of a borough commander, in the ITV television series ''The Bill'', and DC Emma Summerhayes in the BBC One soap opera ''East ...

) while drunk, fearful it will reveal a big secret they have been keeping; that she euthanised their dying son, Lawrie. Billy eventually establishes a good working relationship with Les and a friendship as they spend Christmas together. Billy discovers the business is deeply in debt and forces Les to tell Pam this. They vow no more secrets, but after Les meets with his "other woman",

Claudette Hubbard The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. January saw the a ...

(

Ellen Thomas Ellen Thomas (born January 24, 1947) is an American peace activist. She first became involved with the White House Peace Vigil on April 13, 1984. The daughter of a US Marine, Thomas was born in Brooklyn and grew up in California. She became opp ...

) and gives her an expensive necklace. Claudette and Pam are revealed to be old friends, as Claudette is a foster mother and Pam used to help children in care. Les holidays in Gran Canaria with Claudette, although Pam sees it as a coincidence when she learns from Claudette's foster daughter

Donna Yates Donna Yates may refer to: * Donna Yates (EastEnders) * Donna Yates (professor), archaeologist {{hndis, Yates, Donna ...

( Lisa Hammond) that they are both there at the same time. Les arranges a party for the centenary of Coker & Sons, and Pam gets upset at the thought that their grandson,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

(

Jonny Labey Jonny Labey (born 15 January 1993) is a British actor, known for portraying the role of Paul Coker on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Early life Labey is from Grouville, Jersey. He attended Grouville School and Victoria College. He began d ...

), will not attend. The same day, Paul returns but is cold towards Les. He reveals he is aware of his long running affair with Claudette and that was why he went to work abroad in the first place, not because of Pam's decision to euthanise his father as they previously believed. Paul threatens to expose the affair to Pam so Les tries to end things with Claudette, but Claudette tells Les that it will not be that easy. Claudette's son

Vincent Hubbard Vincent Hubbard is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Richard Blackwood. He was introduced by executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins during the show's 30th anniversary celebrations, and was later reve ...

(

Richard Blackwood Richard Clifford Blackwood (born 15 May 1972) is a British actor, presenter and rapper. Between 2015 and 2018, he played Vincent Hubbard in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. In 2020, he began portraying the role of Felix Westwood in the Chan ...

) then becomes aware of the relationship between her and Les, and Paul tells Pam about it. Pam then finds Les's tie at Claudette's house, and when Les and Claudette give conflicting explanations, Pam leaves to stay with her sister. Les becomes very distraught at her departure, and Claudette urges him to tell Pam the truth, just as Pam returns and walks in on them together. Shortly after Claudette leaves the house, Pam urges Les to end the affair or their marriage is over. Two months later, Les visits Claudette for comfort after Pam refuses to speak to him on Lawrie's birthday. He later calls Claudette, telling her he cannot stop thinking about her, and makes an excuse to Pam to go and be with Claudette again. He is then caught in his underwear in Claudette's house by Donna, who concludes they are having an affair, and despite Les and Claudette denying it, Donna tells Pam what she saw. Pam then goes to Claudette's house and sets about destroying gifts from Les until Claudette says the presents are not hers, and Pam should ask Les about Christine. When Pam asks Les, he reveals that Christine is his secret feminine alter ego, where he dresses up in women's clothes and has done so since he was seven years old, but after they married he did not need Christine until Lawrie died, when the alter-ego became a grief outlet for him, and Claudette has been supporting this secret. Pam is horrified at him having lied to, and tells Les he disgusts her. However, Pam agrees to "meet" Christine. Les, as Christine, explains that this is how he can cope with things, as Christine is more open than Les, and he is still the same person. Pam apparently begins to accept this, but when Paul interrupts, Pam says she cannot accept it, so packs a bag and leaves, while Paul comforts Les. Paul manages to convince Pam to return home to talk to Les, but when she gets hesitant again, Les moves out to give Pam some time to think, and he moves in with Billy. Pam and Les have dinner together but she still cannot get the image of him dressed as Christine out of her mind, soLes burns all of Christine's clothes and photos and Pam agrees to take things one day at a time, but

Babe Smith Babe Smith (also known as Aunt Babe) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', portrayed by Annette Badland. She first appeared in episode 4796 of the show, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2014, ...

(

Annette Badland Annette Badland (born 26 August 1950) is an English actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Mrs. Glen ...

) is watching and finds and pockets a surviving photo of Les dressed as Christine. Shortly after, Paul encourages Les to remind Pam of the man she first fell in love with and she agrees to his moving back in as long as they sleep in separate beds. A few months later, Les spurns Babe, so she sends Les an anonymous email, blackmailing him over his crossdressing. When Pam notices money has been paid from their account, Les admits he has been blackmailed. The blackmailing continues regularly, and Pam starts to suspect Babe, and eventually they discover the truth. Les confides in Claudette and says he misses Christine, so she gives him some of her clothes and makeup that she still has. Stressed, Les dresses up again but is caught by Paul. Paul refuses to destroy Christine's things for Les, saying Les should not suffer for who he is. When Pam finds Les dressed as Christine, she chastises him and he suffers a heart attack. Billy sees him as he enters the ambulance. Billy calls Les a "pervert" to Pam, so she fires him from the funeral parlour. Pam then tells Les they should retire away from London and Les agrees; when Paul and his boyfriend Ben Mitchell (

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

) find out, they decide they should take over the running of the funeral parlour. Paul's mother,

Jenny Rawlinson The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, or his successor Sea ...

(

Amy Marston Amy Jessica Marston (born 1972) is an English actress on screen and in theatre. She is known for her roles as Sylvia Sands in ''The Hello Girls'', as Deborah in ''Rome'', and as Jenny Rawlinson in ''EastEnders''. film and television career M ...

), arrives looking for him, but he only assumes she is the blackmailer and orders her away. Pam and Les vow to tell Paul who she is, but Paul is killed in a homophobic attack. Pam struggles to cope, refusing to talk to Les about Paul, so he considers dressing as Christine; he explains why he cross-dresses to Billy and gives him his job back. Les then decides to be strong for Pam so tells Claudette he will no longer be Christine, but the blackmailing continues, with Pam refusing to go to the police, but she tells Claudette that Babe is the blackmailer. After four months of blackmail, Claudette reveals this to Babe's family, and Babe, who has just been attacked by

Abi Branning Abi Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Lorna Fitzgerald. She was introduced by executive producer Kate Harwood on 3 July 2006 as an extension to the Branning family, along with father Max (J ...

(

Lorna Fitzgerald Lorna Katie Fitzgerald (born 17 April 1996) is a British actress from Northampton. Her most notable role to date is that of Abi Branning in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Since leaving ''EastEnders'' in January 2018, Fitzgerald has develope ...

) and come close to death, tells Claudette that she now sees how bad she has been and regrets everything, so it will stop. Les and Pam later attend a court hearing for Paul's killers. Les calls one of them,

Simon Atmore The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, or his successor S ...

( Tom Palmer), a liar after he denies having anything to do with Paul's death. When they arrive home, Pam tells him he needs to be Christine again. Les later suffers a small heart attack after talking to

Linda Carter Linda Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Kellie Bright. She first appeared on 19 December 2013 and her casting was announced alongside her on-screen partner, Mick Carter ( Danny Dyer). Linda was ...

(

Kellie Bright Kellie Denise Bright (born 1 July 1976) is an English actress. Her roles include Linda Carter in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', for which she won the 2015 British Soap Award for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance, Julie in ''Ali G I ...

) who tries to comfort him and he eventually dresses up as Christine. Les then asks Pam if she would consider leaving Walford together for a fresh start after the trial is over which she agrees. Les and Pam are delighted when Babe returns all of their money. However, they decide to leave and Les appoints Billy as the manager of Coker and Sons. Pam packs a box of Christine's wig and clothes suggesting she has accepted her. After saying an emotional farewell to his friends and after giving Billy his funeral hat, Les departs with Pam for a new life in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

Development and reception

Having been originally introduced as the funeral director who arranged Pat Evans' (

) funeral, Sloman appeared in one episode on 9 January 2012 as a guest character. He then appeared in five episodes between June and July 2012. Les was reintroduced for one episode on 25 March 2014 when he arranges

's ( John Altman) funeral. Following this, Sloman was reintroduced as a regular cast member with Les' wife, Pam (

Lin Blakley Linda E. Blakley (née Stevens; born 1 July 1947) is an English actress, known for her role as Pam Coker in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career In 2004, Blakley appeared in the film '' The Football Factory'' as the mother to Tamara (Sophi ...

) being introduced also. Executive producer

Dominic Treadwell-Collins Dominic Treadwell-Collins (born 26 August 1977) is a British television producer, known for his work on the soap operas ''Family Affairs'' and ''EastEnders'', creating the ''EastEnders'' spin-off series ''Kat & Alfie: Redwater'' and Executive Pr ...

said "Les and Pam are part of our plans to rejuvenate the show's older generation. It's already so exciting to watch the chemistry between Roger and Lin on set, playing characters who have been together for so long, they know each other inside out. Or so they think." Les and Pam arrived on 14 April 2014 when they relocated their funeral business to Turpin Road. Sloman and Blakley were axed by new executive producer Sean O'Connor in 2016, with a show insider commenting, "Pam and Les have been a big part of the show over the past few months and with their current storyline, bosses felt that it was the right time for their characters to leave the Square. There is still plenty more drama to come from the Cokers before they leave Walford." Of Pat and Les, Kate White of ''

Inside Soap ''Inside Soap'' is a weekly magazine published in the United Kingdom, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas in the United Kingdom, including '' Coronation Street'', ''Doctors'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdal ...

'' said "Pat had, erm, 'relations' with Mr Coker the undertaker. What a forward-thinking way to get a discount on your funeral." The ''

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 ...

's'' Jane Simon commented on Les's scenes, saying "You don't often get laughs out of an undertaker, but the chap who turns up to arrange Pat's funeral has Carol Jackson spluttering into her tea." A reporter writing for the '' Inside Soap Yearbook'' described Pam and Les as a "soap favourite" and hoped they would "hurry home soon".

Ray Dixon

Ray Dixon, played by

, is an ex-partner of

Bianca Butcher Bianca Jackson (also Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted ...

(

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is an English actress and DJ, known for her roles as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), and Bianca Jackson in the ...

) and the father of her son

(Devon Higgs). He made his first on screen appearance on 10 January 2012. Venn was cast in the role after hearing that producers were interested in him for the part. The character and casting were then announced on 15 November 2011. > Ray is a former army soldier with "discipline and he abilityto handle himself in certain situations." He is also described as "noble" and "a man of principles". He also has a daughter,

(Rebecca Sanneh). His storylines include meeting Morgan for the first time and having a relationship with

(

). Ray departed the soap on 28 May 2013.

Gethin Williams

Gethin Williams, played by

Bradley Freegard Bradley Freegard is a Welsh actor from Pontypridd, Wales. Early life Freegard was born 13 December, 1976 in Pontypridd, Wales. He studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Career Freegard plays the regular role of Steffan Jones in t ...

, appears on 17 and 27 January. He is

Jane Beale Lesley Jane Beale (also Clarke and Collins) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 22 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. Sh ...

's (

Laurie Brett Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969) is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Jane Beale in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road''. Early and personal life ...

) former haute cuisine tutor, who attends a fundraising event organised by Jane after hearing about it on the radio. Impressed with her catering for the function, he asks her to interview for a job at his new restaurant. Jane does not want to take the job but, when Gethin rings the next day, her friend Tanya Jessop (

Jo Joyner Joanne Mary Joyner (born 24 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Mandy Carter in Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge''. Since 2018, she has starred as Luella Shakesp ...

) arranges for them to meet up. Jane passes the interview, but reveals to Tanya that the restaurant is in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Gethin returns to Walford to attend Jane's leaving party. Jane has doubts about leaving Walford but later assures Gethin she wants to take the job, with him revealing his plans to set up a restaurant in Paris, with Jane as sous chef. Freegard auditioned for the part of Gethin but thought his audition did not go well because he found it "difficult without any sense of context to get the full grasp of what your character's all about." He filmed his scenes over two days in November 2011. Gethin is the first Welsh character in ''EastEnders'' since

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

, played by

Richard Elis Richard Elis (born 1975) is a Welsh actor. He was brought up in the Amman Valley, Wales. He trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1996, aged 21 Days before he graduated, Elis was asked to audition for London casting ...

from 1996 to 1999.

Sasha Dixon

Sasha Dixon, played by Rebecca Sanneh, is the daughter of

(

) and half-sister to

(Devon Higgs). She appears on 26 January 2012, and more regularly from 14 May 2012 onwards. The ''EastEnders'' website says that Sasha's father Ray sees Sasha as "being the best thing in his life, but he wishes her mother didn't exist." Ray is very loyal to Sasha, and Chucky Venn, who plays him, said that when Kim and Sasha fall out, he can create harmony between them. Sasha first arrives in

in search of her father. She reveals she has an interest in

forensic pathology Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...

and is questioned by

(

) about Ray's past relationships. Ray introduces her to Morgan, angering Morgan's mother,

(

). In May Sasha returns to stay with Ray, and his girlfriend Kim. Kim struggles to accept Sasha and worries that Sasha will make her look stupid. Kim then looks after Sasha, and after Sasha tells Kim about her interest in forensic science, Kim takes her to a murder scene. Kim exaggerates the details of the murder, which scares Sasha. Kim then hears from Ray that Sasha is a good dancer, but it emerges that she has no rhythm. Sasha then attends Kim's fitness class but does not enjoy it. When Kim opens her bed and breakfast, Sasha offers to help book theatre tickets for a customer. She is caught using Kim's credit card at school and gets a detention for it. However, she reveals she tried to get a detention on purpose, just to avoid working for Kim. When playing basketball with Kim and Morgan, the charity shop window is broken and Sasha takes the blame. Sasha then starts working at the shop to make up for it, and falls out with Kim. Kim treats her to dinner and sees that Sasha fancies Fatboy (

). Kim then helps Sasha to find a work experience placement in a hospital, but is forced to reveal that she lied about knowing someone in forensics. However, she successfully gets Sasha a placement with

's (

) firm of funeral directors, and Sasha enjoys her first day there.

Nico Papadopoulos

Nico Papadopoulos, played by

Aykut Hilmi Aykut Hilmi (born in London, United Kingdom) is an actor of Italian and Turkish-Cypriot parentage. He is known for starring in the West End theatres and being part of the Royal National Theatre company. Aykut performed in hakespear omeo & Julie ...

, is a worker at McKlunky's fast food restaurant, who Fatboy (

) irritates after a night out. When Fatboy gets a job at McKlunky's the next day, Nico gives him his uniform, revealing himself to be the manager. Nico later arrives in

, revealing that he is a friend of Fatboy's friend

(

) and the nephew of her boss, Andonis Papadopolous. Later, while Fatboy is working a day shift, Nico tells him he has to work the late shift, meaning he will miss his DJ gig. During the

Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

, Fatboy lies to Nico to get off work, only for Nico to see Fatboy enjoying the festivities on television. Later, Nico calls the police when

(

) becomes aggressive with him, after he discovers that Fatboy has given her free food. Nico is later present at the birth of Lola's baby

Lexi Pearce The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. ...

, which happens in the restaurant. Nico and Fatboy decide to use this to gain publicity for the restaurant, having Lola, Lexi and Lola's grandfather, Olympic Torch bearer

(

), appear with them in a photo for the local newspaper. On 7 August, Nico asks Fatboy for

Lauren Branning Lauren Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. The role was originated by Madeline Duggan, who first appeared on 3 July 2006. Duggan played the role for four years until her exit on 23 June 2010. Three months l ...

's (

Jacqueline Jossa Jacqueline Mary Osborne (''née'' Jossa) (born 29 October 1992) is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for portraying Lauren Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2010 to 2022, and winning the nineteenth ser ...

) number, to which Fatboy agrees, even though Lauren calls Nico a fascist. On 9 August, McKlunky's enters the local cook-off, competing against other local food establishments. Nico makes Fatboy dress as a chicken, and is annoyed when they do not win. On 21 August, Nico sacks Fatboy when he stands up to him about being mistreated at work. In ''

'' magazine, Kate White said of Nico: "He may give Fat Boy a headache, but we have a crush on McKlunky's manager. He's not had the fanfare of

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

(Tony Discipline) or

(

), but he's the fittest fella on the Square right now!"

Alice Branning

Alice Branning, played by

, is the daughter of

(

). The character and casting were announced on 14 April 2012. Alice made her first appearance on 10 May 2012. On 22 September 2013, it was announced that Banks would be written out of the show and will leave following the conclusion of Michael Moon's ( Steve John Shepherd) exit storyline. Her last episode was on 24 December 2013.

Joey Branning

Joey Branning, played by

, is the estranged son and eldest child of

(

), and the brother of

(

). He made his first appearance in the episode broadcast on 22 June. Witts quit his role in 2013 and departed on 26 December 2013.

Scarlett Butcher

Scarlett Butcher (also Moon) is the daughter of

(

) and Michael Moon ( Steve John Shepherd). She was played by Amelie until 2013. She is born in the episode broadcast on 22 June 2012. Scarlett was written out of the series in late 2013, as part of Janine’s upcoming exit storyline. On 14 June 2021, it was announced that Scarlett would be returning alongside Janine. On 16 August 2021, it was announced Tabitha Byron would be taking over the role of Scarlett. The character returned on 27 August 2021. Scarlett is 11 weeks premature via

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...

on her parents' wedding day and has no heartbeat, so is placed on a ventilator. Her condition stabilises and she is baptised, with Janine naming her Patricia, after her late stepmother, Pat Evans (

), but she starts to regret using the name Patricia and Michael registers the name Scarlett Patricia Moon. Concerned with Scarlett's deteriorating health, her parents organise a christening for her at the hospital with her uncle,

Ricky Butcher Ricky Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest-running male protagonists to feature in ''EastEnders''. Owen originally left the ro ...

(

Sid Owen Sid Owen (born David Sutton; 12 January 1972) is an English actor, television presenter and former singer, who played Ricky Butcher in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' on and off since 1988. He also appeared in the tenth series of ''Strict ...

) and his step-daughter

Whitney Dean Whitney Dean (also Carter) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Shona McGarty. The character is the ward of long-running character Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and was introduced on 1 April 2008 when Pal ...

(

Shona McGarty Shona McGarty (born 14 October 1991) is an English actress and singer who portrays Whitney Dean in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career Before joining ''EastEnders'', McGarty had been involved in amateur musical theatre for six years, in ...

), as godparents. Janine and Michael bring Scarlett home on 7 August 2012 and Janine worries as there are no nurses to help her. On 14 September, Janine leaves Walford temporarily, leaving Scarlett in Michael's care. Michael struggles and asks

Roxy Mitchell Roxanne "Roxy" Mitchell (also Slater) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', portrayed by Rita Simons.Rita Simons Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress and singer from London. She is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed-off, alongside her on screen ...

) to look after his daughter and later hires

(

) as her nanny. Janine returns several months later and manipulates Michael into giving her custody, denying him access to Scarlett. Janine re-hires Alice. When Janine tells Michael she plans to change Scarlett's surname from Moon to Butcher, Michael strangles her, so Janine takes out an injunction, stopping Michael from seeing Scarlett. Michael plots to murder Janine, telling Alice that they can take Scarlett and flee the country together. However, Alice tells Janine and when she confronts him, Michael attacks her. Alice and Janine both stab Michael and he dies. However, when initially questioned by the police, Janine blames Alice for everything so Alice is charged with murder and Janine is released without charge. Eventually the truth comes out and Janine is arrested for Michael's murder.

(

) initially takes care of Scarlett but sends her to live with her aunt

Diane Butcher Diane Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sophie Lawrence. Diane appeared as a regular character between 1988 and 1991, when Lawrence decided to leave. The character made several brief returns in 199 ...

(

Sophie Lawrence Sophie Lawrence (born 12 June 1972, Ilford, London) is an English actress and singer. She played the role of Diane Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991, making subsequent guest appearances ...

). Janine is found not guilty and takes one last trip to Walford before boarding a Eurostar train to France to reunite with Diane and Scarlett. Eight years later, Scarlett reappears in London when she contacts her half-brother,

Tommy Moon The following are characters who first appeared, or returned, in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' during 2010 listed by order of first appearance. Executive producer Diederick Santer left ''EastEnders'' on 26 February 2010, handing over to Br ...

(Sonny Kendal) online, under the assumption that he is her cousin, and meets up with him in a local park, witnessed by Tommy's mother

Kat Slater Kathleen "Kat" Slater (also Moon) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Jessie Wallace. She is also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the sec ...

(

Jessie Wallace Karen Jane Wallace (born 25 September 1971), known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kat Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2000. Her role as Kat won her the Nationa ...

) and Whitney. Scarlett tells them that she is in a foster home which she hates and has asked Tommy if she could live with him, as he is her only family. Kat declines and sends her back to the home but after revealing to Tommy that Scarlett is his half-sister and not his cousin, Kat becomes determined to fight for her. Janine reappears at Scarlett's court hearing which is postponed so that the judge can investigate Janine's alleged stable new life. During this interim, Scarlett runs away from her foster home and Tommy keeps her hidden upstairs in his bedroom at

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 ...

'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 ...

) house. Janine tracks them down and tries to take Scarlett away from Walford but during the scuffle between Janine, Scarlett and Tommy, a cardigan catches fire downstairs on the cooker and the house goes up in flames. All survive unharmed and at the subsequent court hearing, Kat is given temporary custody of Scarlett after the judge has found out Janine's new life is a fabrication. Eight months later, following a review, Janine regains full custody of Scarlett and they move in with Sonia Jackson (

Natalie Cassidy Natalie Ann Cassidy (born 13 May 1983) is an English actress. She has played Sonia Fowler in ''EastEnders'' since 1993, appeared in the BBC Two sitcom-horror '' Psychoville'' and was a contestant on the seventh series of ''Strictly Come Dan ...

) before then moving into The Queen Vic with Janine’s boyfriend,

Mick Carter Mick Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' played by Danny Dyer, making his first appearance in the show in the episode originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2013. Dyer's casting was annou ...

(

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...

). It was reported in May 2012 that the character of Janine would go into labour on her wedding day to Michael, three months early. It was then reported in June 2012 that the baby would be named Scarlett Patricia Moon, after Janine initially decides to call her Patricia, after her former stepmother Pat Evans (

), who died earlier that year on 1 January. However, when she has second thoughts about the name, Michael registers the new name without telling her. A source from ''EastEnders'' said, "With a mother like Janine, this little girl is sure to be a fighter." Scarlett was portrayed by a prosthetic baby until the episode broadcast on 7 August 2012, when she was played by a real baby.

AJ Ahmed

AJ Ahmed, played by

, is the younger brother of established character

(

). AJ made his first on-screen appearance on 9 July 2012. He left on 10 January 2014 to start a new job in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Lexi Pearce

Lexi Pearce (also Mitchell), played by Isabella Brown, is the daughter of

(

) and Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe/

Max Bowden Max Bowden (born 31 December 1994) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Justin Fitzgerald in the BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'', and his portrayal of Ben Mitchell (EastEnders), Be ...

), who is born in the live segment of 23 July episode. From 2012 until July 2015, Lexi was portrayed by Dotti-Beau Cotterill. She was previously played by two babies. Her return in 2019, alongside Lola's, was announced on 20 December 2018. Isabella Brown's casting was announced on 19 March 2019. Lexi made her return alongside Lola and Ben on 1 April 2019. Lexi is conceived during a one-night stand and Lola discovers she is pregnant in November 2011. Lola denies that Ben is the father and

(

) breaks up with

Jay Brown Jay Brown (also Mitchell) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Jamie Borthwick. He made his first appearance on 14 December 2006. Jay's storylines since joining the programme have included being part of a ...

(

Jamie Borthwick Jamie Simon Borthwick (born 23 June 1994) is an English actor who has portrayed the role of Jay Brown in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006. He is also known for his role in Not Going out as The kid who Kicks Lee Career Borthwick ha ...

) when she thinks he is the father of Lola's baby. In April 2012, Lola discovers her baby is a girl. During the live episode of 23 July 2012, Lola goes into labour whilst her grandfather

(

) is

carrying Carry or carrying may refer to: People *Carry (name) Finance * Carried interest (or carry), the share of profits in an investment fund paid to the fund manager * Carry (investment), a financial term: the carry of an asset is the gain or cost of h ...

the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

through

. Aided by

(

), Jay, Ben,

(

), Fatboy (

) and Nico Papadopalous (

), Lola gives birth to her daughter, with Billy making it just in time to witness the birth of his great-granddaughter. Lola brings the baby home and names her Lexi, after an old friend, which later transpires to be Alexa Smith (

Saffron Coomber Saffron Marni Coomber (born 15 November 1994) is an English actress, best known for her role as Sapphire Fox in ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' from 2010 to 2012. She also portrayed Alexa Smith in '' EastEnders'' from 2012 to 2013. Early and person ...

), with the middle name Billie, in honour of her grandfather. Lexi then wins a local "beautiful baby" competition. Lola gets a new social worker, Trish Barnes (Tessa Churchard), who visits regularly, one time seeing paint on Lexi's feet and becomes concerned that Lexi could have an allergic reaction, and later worrying when Lexi develops a cough, so Trish decides to visit daily. When Lola is arrested for assault, Trish takes Lexi into care. In a desperate plea to save Lexi, Lola tells Ben's father,

(

), that Ben is Lexi's father, following their one-night stand a year previously. Phil agrees to help get Lexi back, on the condition that Lexi lives with him. Lola eventually agrees and Lexi visits her 3 times a week. Lola is angered when Phil decides to tell Ben he is a father. Phil later wins custody of Lexi and is allowed to be her kinship foster carer and Lola's access is not increased, leaving her devastated. Phil organises a christening for Lexi on 1 January 2013, but Lola is angry to discover that he plans to name her "Mitchell" instead of "Pearce", however after a talk with Phil – Lola later agrees that they are all part of the Mitchell family, and agrees to change Lexi's last name to Mitchell. Lexi is baptised with Jay and Cora as godparents. Phil starts controlling Lola and Lexi's relationship and is determined to stop Lola from being reunited with her daughter. At a hearing to determine Lexi's future, his solicitor tells the court that Lola is an unfit mother, so her access is unchanged. Lola overhears Phil saying she will never get custody of Lexi, so she snatches her from Phil's house. They are eventually found, and the next day when Trish visits, Phil says he intends to help reunite Lexi and Lola, and Lola is then given increased access to Lexi. Phil later takes Lola and Lexi to prison to see Ben, so Lexi can meet her father, although Ben tells Lola to keep Lexi away from Phil. Lexi is later taken to the hospital after Lola suspects Lexi has

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

, although she is relieved to discover that Lexi is fine. At the final court hearing, Phil says that Lola deserves her daughter and Lexi is returned to Lola. In March 2014, Lexi is kidnapped by Adam White (Ben Wigzell), but her grandfather, Phil, and his cousin

Ronnie Mitchell Veronica "Ronnie" Branning (also Mitchell) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Samantha Womack. She and her younger sister Roxy Mitchell (played by Rita Simons) were introduced by executive producer Died ...

(

Samantha Womack Samantha Zoe Womack ('' née'' Janus; born 2 November 1972) is an English actress, singer, model and director who has worked in film, television and stage. Womack initially planned a career in singing and she represented the United Kingdom i ...

) get Lexi back to Lola, who is unaware that her daughter was the subject of a confrontation between Adam and Ronnie about the whereabouts of

Carl White Carl White is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Daniel Coonan. He first appears in the 4660th episode, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 20 June 2013. Carl is the ex-boyfriend of Kirsty Brannin ...

(

Daniel Coonan Daniel Coonan is a British actor. Early life Coonan was brought up in Haringey, in north London, moving to Plymouth, Devon in his teens, where he took up acting lessons. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Career Afte ...

), who was killed in the New Year by Ronnie. Lola worries that Ben might want involvement in Lexi's upbringing when she discovers that Ben will be returning to Walford for his father's wedding to

(

). Ben informs Lola that she does not need to worry as he comments that she is a good mother to Lexi, who is in the right place to be brought up. In July 2015, Lola and Jay begin a relationship and plan to leave Walford when Jay is wanted by the police. When Lola, Lexi and Jay try to leave, Jay is arrested by the police and Lola discovers that Billy was the one who reported Jay to try and stop Lola and Lexi leaving. Lola eventually convinces Billy that she does not want to live in Walford, so she and Lexi can have a better life. Billy and Lola share an emotional farewell and Lola leaves for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, taking Lexi with her. In October, Jay receives a call from Lola on his 21st birthday, ending her relationship with him and revealing she is now with

Dexter Hartman Dexter Hartman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by Khali Best. His debut was on 7 January 2013. Dexter is the grandson of Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell) and son of her illegitimate daughter, Ava Hartman (Clare ...

(Khali Best), who is determined to provide Lexi with a stable upbringing. On 20 December 2018, it was announced that Harold would reprise the role of Lola, set to return in April 2019 with her daughter, Lexi.

John Hewland

John Hewland, played by

, is the fiancé of

(

). He first appears on 13 August 2012, cast as part of a storyline to bring Sharon back to the series. A show insider called the storyline "dramatic" and said: "The scriptwriters have come up with a dramatic storyline that sees Sharon contact

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

(

) after she realises she doesn't want to marry her fiancé." John first appears when Sharon returns to her wedding to collect her son

Dennis Rickman Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Nigel Harman. He made his first appearance on 14 April 2003 at the funeral of his late mother, Paula, before going on to become one of the show's centra ...

(Harry Hickles) after walking out on John, but forgetting to collect Dennis. Dennis is with John and is fine, until John demands to know why Sharon is leaving him. She says she and Dennis are not happy, and he says she will regret going. Sharon realises Dennis is missing, and sees John driving off with him. She and Phil follow in their car, but lose them. They go to John's house where they force his sister

Nina Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq * Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...

(

Juliet Cowan Juliet Cowan (born 21 May 1974 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a British television, film and stage actress. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as ''EastEnders'', ''Silent Witness'' and '' Casualty''. Cowan has ...

) to reveal where she is meeting John with their passports. They get there but Nina warns him and he drives away. Another car chase ends when they get stuck in traffic and Dennis escapes from the car. John calls Sharon and Dennis scum, so Phil punches John.

Dennis Rickman Jnr

Dennis Rickman Jnr, portrayed by Harry Hickles from 2012 to 2015 and

Bleu Landau Bleu Louie Landau (born 5 April 2005) is an English actor, known for his role as Dennis Rickman Jnr in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from September 2015 to February 2020. In 2017 he starred in Guy Richie's film ''King Arthur: Legend of the ...

from 2015 to 2020, is the son of

Sharon Watts Sharon Watts (also Rickman, Mitchell and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Juli ...

(

) and

(

Nigel Harman Nigel Derek Harman (born 11 August 1973) is an English actor, best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He has worked mostly in theatre. He starred in the final series of '' Hotel Babylo ...

). Born off-screen in 2006, he made his first appearance on 13 August 2012. The role was recast from Hickles to Landau in 2015; no specific explanation was provided for the decision to recast the role. The character was killed off during the soap's 35th anniversary celebrations, making his final appearance in the episode originally broadcast on 21 February 2020. The character's departure had not been publicised prior to broadcast. Having believed that she was infertile, Sharon discovers that she is pregnant on Christmas Day 2005. Dennis is stabbed and killed in the early hours of New Year's Day 2006 and Sharon moves to Florida, where she gives birth to Dennis Jr;

(

) receives this news in July 2006. Dennis appears in August 2012, on the day of Sharon's wedding to her partner

(

). Sharon discovers that he is missing, and eventually realises that John has kidnapped him. Sharon asks her ex-lover

(

) to help rescue Dennis, and he takes the pair back to Walford. Dennis starts Walford Primary School and starts to think of Phil as a father-figure. Dennis is upset when Phil's enemy

(

) reveals the truth about his father's murder, as he believed that he was a helicopter pilot who died saving others. Sharon admits to Dennis that she lied to protect him. The revelation upsets and enrages Dennis, though he later forgives his mother. In 2013, after losing their home at the local bed-and-breakfast, they move in with Derek's younger brother

Jack Branning Jack Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Scott Maslen. He made his first appearance on 29 October 2007. He is the youngest child of Jim (John Bardon) and Reenie Branning (Joy Graham) and the brot ...

(

Scott Maslen Scott Alexander Maslen (born 25 June 1971) is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's ''The Bill'' and Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap ''EastEnders'' since 2007. He also took part in the 20 ...

). Jack teaches Dennis to box, leading to him starting a fight at school. In October 2013, Dennis starts bullying

(Devon Higgs) and at school, he has a fall in front of Morgan's adoptive half-sister

(

), who started teaching at the school, and tells Sharon that Whitney pushed him. Sharon reports her and she is almost fired until Dennis reveals the truth. In 2014, Sharon is attacked in her bar; as a result, she loses her temper and shakes Dennis who is then frightened and runs away. In early 2015, a fiery clash leads Dennis to leave scratches on his mother's face. When he misbehaves in school, and around Sharon's friends when she is not there, Sharon refuses to believe that Dennis is lying about his behaviour, and blames those that he has upset when Sharon's childhood friend

Ian Beale Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the drama's longest-serving main character and, following the departure of Pauline Fowler ( Wendy Richard) in 2006, became the only one ...

(

Adam Woodyatt Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', which he played between 1985 and 2022. Early life and education Woodyatt was born on 28 June 1968 in W ...

) and his wife

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

(

) inform her of Dennis' misbehaviour. On Christmas Day 2015, after overhearing Sharon and Phil during dinner, Dennis (now played by

) tells his friend and Ian's son Bobby Beale (Eliot Carrington) that he knows he killed his half-sister

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

(

Hetti Bywater Harriet Jessica Phoebe “Hetti” Bywater (born 10 September 1994) is an English former actress. She is best known for portraying Lucy Beale in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', taking over the role from Melissa Suffield in January 2012 until ...

). When Dennis and Bobby race their bikes, they fight on the Walford Common and Phil and Ian find Dennis. Phil is drunk whilst driving and crashes the car while distracted. Dennis is severely injured and taken to hospital. He has a subdural haematoma which requires an operation. Ian takes responsibility by saying he was driving, making a deal with Phil. However, Phil confesses that he was the one who drove the car, so when Dennis is discharged from the hospital, Sharon takes him to stay with her father

Gavin Sullivan Gavin Sullivan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by Paul Nicholas. He first appeared on 21 August 2015. Gavin is the third husband of Kathy Mitchell (Gillian Taylforth) and is also revealed as the biologic ...

(

Paul Nicholas Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre, playing the lead role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the West End’s Palace T ...

). Dennis returns a week and a half later with Sharon for

's (

) and

Honey Mitchell Honey Mitchell (also Edwards) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Emma Barton. She made her first appearance in the show on 22 November 2005. The character left the show on 2 September 2008. Barton briefly ...

's (

Emma Barton Emma Louise Barton (born 26 July 1977) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Honey Mitchell in ''EastEnders'' which she has portrayed on and off since November 2005. Before her role in ''EastEnders'', Barton appeared ...

) second engagement party to find Phil on the floor having collapsed from coughing up blood. Sharon reveals to Kathy Sullivan (

Gillian Taylforth Gillian Taylforth (born 14 August 1955) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Kathy Beale on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and has also appeared as Jackie Pascoe/Webb on ITV's ''Footballers' Wives'' (2002–2006), and as ...

) that Gavin hit Dennis during their stay and that is why they left. She tells Dennis to stay away from Gavin. However, in July 2016, Dennis misses Gavin and has a second mobile phone to which he only contacts Gavin from. Sharon discovers this and is furious, but later when Gavin collects Denis from school, she's unnerved to think he could easily abduct the boy. In September 2016, Dennis starts bullying Billy and Honey's son

Will Mitchell The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2007, by order of first appearance. A new family were introduced in this year, with Zainab Masood, Masood Ahmed, Shabnam Masood and Tamwar Masoo ...

(Freddie Phillips) and is caught making remarks about Will and his family moving to the house above the funeral parlour by

(

). Dennis comes home, being beaten by Will. He apologises to Will for bullying him and his sister Janet Mitchell (Grace) before Will apologies for hitting him. In November 2016, Sharon becomes concerned about Dennis's behaviour and decides to apply to send him to an alternative high school. Dennis takes the stabbing of a school friend, Eddie Kendall, hard and confides in his adoptive half-sister

Louise Mitchell Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

(

Tilly Keeper Matilda Elizabeth Keeper (born 16 August 1997) is an English actress, known for her role as Louise Mitchell on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Shortly after leaving the soap, Keeper appeared in the BBC film ''Make Me Famous'' and has since ...

) that he does not want Phil to die, who has rejected a transplant. Phil overhears this and announces to his family he is going on the transplant list. Sharon decides to let Dennis go to Eddie's funeral. On the day of Eddie's funeral, Dennis is unsure about going, but Phil encourages him so he does not regret it and can say goodbye. Dennis later attends the funeral. In December 2016, Dennis volunteers to take a part in the Christmas show that involves his and Louise's characters kissing, but that part is given to someone else. He is later reprimanded when he gets caught watching Louise and other girls getting changed. Sharon punishes Dennis for this but Phil says he was doing what normal boys do. While Sharon is on holiday with Phil, Sharon's best friend

Michelle Fowler Michelle Fowler (also Holloway) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Susan Tully from the show's first episode on 19 February 1985 up until the character's departure on 26 October 1995. She returned on 24 De ...

(

Jenna Russell Jenna Russell (born 5 October 1967) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared on the stage in London in both musicals and dramas, as well as appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She performed the role of Dot in ''Sunday in the ...

) looks after Dennis and Louise. In March 2017, Dennis sees Michelle and 17-year-old

Preston Cooper The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his succ ...

(Martin Anzor) kissing so starts blackmailing Michelle into buying him things and letting him stay off school. Michelle is furious when she finds out Dennis bought a video game using her credit card and Dennis brands her a paedophile, resulting in a slap from Michelle. Louise does not witness this but catches Michelle calling Dennis a "brat". Dennis demands £100 from Michelle to keep quiet about her hitting him, but she refuses and he kicks her. When Louise finds him, she tries to get through to him over arguing with Michelle and he reveals that Michelle and Preston are having an affair. The affair is revealed which leads to Michelle crashing Phil's car and Sharon returning and convincing Preston to return to the United States in April 2017. Sharon then tells Dennis and Louise to be nice to Michelle. When Louise has a party with her friends,

Madison Drake The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his succ ...

and

Alexandra D'Costa The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his succ ...

(Seraphina Beh and Sydney Craven), Dennis turns up and Louise lets him stay on the condition he keeps quiet about them having alcohol. Louise gets drunk after her drink is spiked and is sick, and as she staggers outside, she coughs up blood and collapses, which panics Dennis and those around Louise. In July 2017, Dennis and Will plan to throw eggs at

Keegan Baker The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his succ ...

( Zack Morris), but accidentally hit his half-sister,

Bernadette Taylor The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his succ ...

(Clair Norris). Keegan gets into Dennis's house and tells them Bernadette is pregnant. Dennis and Will apologise and Keegan attempts to force Dennis to smoke a cigarette, but is caught and thrown out by Michelle. After this, Dennis forgives Michelle for hitting him. In August 2017, Sharon and Phil receive a date for Dennis' adoption hearing. Dennis asks Phil if he wants him to change his surname to Mitchell upon his adoption as he wants to keep his current surname, which Phil does not mind. In 2018,

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...

(

Ricky Champ Ricky Champ (born 1 July 1980) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Paul Parker in the BBC Three sitcom ''Him & Her'', and Stuart Highway in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Champ has also appeared in ''Crims'', ''Plebs'', and th ...

) gets Dennis to steal the keys to The Queen Vic as part of his plan to take revenge on the Carter family. Dennis wants a new phone but Sharon refuses so he buys a stolen phone from Jagger Rawley (Aaron Thomas Ward), and he then hides a bag of phones in the garage for him, which

Keanu Taylor The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his succ ...

( Danny Walters) finds. Phil sees off Jagger's gang when they arrive and they later threaten Dennis via text message. Keanu confronts the gang and they attack them both, though Phil sees them off again. The gang later kidnap Dennis but he is rescued by Keanu. In September 2018, Stuart gives Dennis a bag of weapons before he breaks into The Queen Vic again and is shot. Dennis is shocked when he hears Stuart has been shot and worries that the police are looking for him, telling Sharon that he heard the gunshot. In January 2019, Dennis becomes involved in a drug dealing gang, joined by

Tiffany Butcher Tiffany Butcher-Baker (also Dean and Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Maisie Smith. Tiffany is the daughter of established characters Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) ...

(

Maisie Smith Maisie Louise Collender Smith (born 9 July 2001) is an English actress and singer. She appeared in the feature film ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008) and played the regular role of Tiffany Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2008 ...

) and

Evie Steele The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2018, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive consultant, John Yorke. Madhav Sharma and Indira Josh ...

(Sophia Capasso). In April 2019, Tiffany is annoyed about Dennis speaking to one of the gang members, Stix Redman (Kasey McKellar), and has booked train tickets to Hackney. Sharon finds out about the train tickets and Dennis denies. However, Tiffany finds out and they are both caught arguing by Sharon, before Tiffany reveals to Sharon that Dennis has been meeting up with a drug dealing gang. Sharon punches Stix in front of Tiffany and Dennis. The following day, Dennis tells Phil and Sharon that Tiffany had got him into the gang and Sharon accuses Tiffany of drug grooming Dennis. Whilst talking about the recent events, Sharon shouts at Dennis for hanging around with the gang before Dennis storms off and when Sharon tries to talk to him, he punches her. He apologises to her the following day. In May 2019, Dennis receives a black eye from being hit with a football by

Ollie Carter The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. January saw the a ...

(Harry Farr) and Bailey Baker (Kara-Leah Fernandes) takes the blame. Dennis believes that Bailey hit him and takes revenge by throwing water balloons at Bailey's uncles Riley (Tom Jacobs) and Chatham Taylor (Alfie Jacobs), along with his friends, and videoed the incident, before being chased off by Ollie's mother and Sharon's best friend

(

). Karen finds out about the video from

Gray Atkins The following is a list of characters introduced to the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2019, by order of first appearance. The characters are introduced by the show's executive consultant, John Yorke, or his successors, senior executive pr ...

(

Toby-Alexander Smith Toby-Alexander Smith (born 26 February 1991) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Gray Atkins in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2019 to 2022. Early life and education Smith was born on 26 February 1991 in Lichfield, ...

) and confronts Dennis. Gray warns Phil to delete the video. When being confronted by Phil, Dennis pushes a pregnant Louise, hitting her stomach against the doorknob. Sharon reveals to Phil that Dennis has hit her the previous month, leading to Phil confronting Dennis. In June 2019, Dennis goes to a family therapy session with Phil and Sharon, which does not go well when Sharon breaks down and Dennis tries to argue with her and Phil. In November 2019, as part of revenge towards Sharon after cheating on Phil with Keanu, who impregnated her,

Mel Owen Melanie "Mel" Owen (also Healy and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Tamzin Outhwaite. Mel was introduced by executive producer Matthew Robinson and made her first appearance on 19 October 1998 ...

(

Tamzin Outhwaite Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includi ...

) tries to ply Dennis with alcohol and pretends to drug him, panicking Sharon. On Christmas Day 2019, Dennis learns of the affair between Sharon and Keanu; he sides with Phil and the other Mitchells. In January 2020, Phil leaves with Louise and her mother

Lisa Fowler Lisa Fowler (also Shaw) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Lucy Benjamin. The character was introduced as a "home-wrecking blonde" by executive producer Matthew Robinson on 7 December 1998. The characte ...

(

Lucy Benjamin Lucy Benjamin (born Lucy Jane Baker; 25 June 1970) is an English actress. After appearing in various television series including '' Close to Home'' (1989–1990), ''Press Gang'' (1989–1993) and ''Jupiter Moon'' (1990, 1996), she was cast in ...

). Sharon tried to make Dennis believe that Phil and his son Ben Mitchell (

) murdered Keanu the previous month as part of revenge for Sharon's cheating, leading Dennis to storm off. Dennis stays at The Queen Vic for a while, bonding with

Shirley Carter Shirley Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Linda Henry. She first appeared on 7 December 2006, during episodes set in Dorset. This is Henry's second role in ''EastEnders'', as she previously playe ...

(

Linda Henry Linda Varilis (''née'' Henry; born 24 August 1959) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV drama '' Bad Girls'' and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she has played since 2006. S ...

). He refuses to move back in with Sharon, who is staying with Ian and Kathy. Bobby pushes Dennis, hitting his head against the table and becoming unconscious after Dennis insults Sharon. The following day, Bobby tries to apologise to him and Dennis throws a can of coke on him. He is touched when Sharon buys him football tickets and spends time with her. After Dennis keeps on ignoring her, Sharon persuades him that Phil is using him, and Dennis eventually trusts Sharon again. Dennis envies how Bobby is now getting attention from Sharon. Dennis bullies Bobby over his conversion to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, putting anonymous

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

posts online, leading to Bobby being brutally attacked and hospitalised, which Ian finds out about. Sharon plans a getaway with Dennis, but it is unknown to him that she plans on inviting Keanu too. When he learns of this, Dennis runs away to the boat party. Ian discovers Dennis and confronts him over Bobby, before locking Dennis in a cabin in the boat; however, when the boat crashes and takes on water, Ian breaks open the door to save Dennis. Before they can get out, a tidal wave in the boat smashes into them, knocking them unconscious and carrying them out of the boat. The pair float to the surface, where Ian regains his consciousness; however, Dennis dies after drowning on the boat. On the same night that Dennis dies, Sharon gives birth to another son,

Albie Watts The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2020, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's senior executive producer, Kate Oates, and the executive pr ...

, and finds out about Dennis' death shortly after Albie's birth. In November 2021, a baby is left on Sharon's doorstep and after several weeks, the baby's mother

Jada Lennox The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's senior executive producer, Kate Oates, and executive produce ...

(Kelsey Calladine-Smith) reveals that she had a

one-night stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

with Dennis while he was associated with drug dealing prior to his death, and that he is baby

Alyssa Alyssa is a feminine given name with multiple origins. Alysa is an alternative spelling. As used in Western countries, the name is usually derived from the name of the flower alyssum. The name of the flower derives from the Ancient Greek, Gree ...

's father, becoming a father at 13.

Reception

Kate White of ''

'' said that she thinks Dennis' nickname "Denny" is, "the single most annoying thing in soap. If we hear Sharon shout it once more, we'll go mad!" After Landau's first appearance as Dennis, viewers reacted on social media website Twitter, saying that the "new Denny" looked nothing like the "old Denny". In August 2017, Landau was longlisted for Best Young Actor at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards. He did not progress to the viewer-voted shortlist.

Pete

Pete, played by Jason Riddington, appears on 4 September. He is first seen in the local nightclub R&R, where he flirts with

Tanya Cross Tanya Cross (also Branning and Jessop) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Jo Joyner. She made her first appearance on 27 June 2006. Joyner left the show temporarily on 25 December 2009 for maternity leave ...

(

) and

(

). Shirley calls him desperate, and he tells her he has just been released from prison. Shirley then gets drunk with him, but when he grabs club manager Sharon's buttock, she tells him to leave. Pete then meets Shirley's ex-partner

(

), and leaves with Shirley. He buys chips for her but when she says goodbye, he grabs her, so she kicks him. He grabs her by the face, so Phil punches him. ''

'' called Pete "a dodgy guy". ''

All About Soap ''All About Soap'' was a fortnightly UK magazine founded in October 1999. It was released on Tuesdays. Storylines of the shows it covers are from soap operas shown in the United Kingdom and from Australia, including '' EastEnders'', '' Coron ...

'' called him "a creepy man", a "slimy stranger" and a "sleazy stalker".

Jimmy

Jimmy is the son of

Carly Wicks Carly Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Kellie Shirley, and by Michaela Stephen in a home movie the Wicks family watched on 23 April 2007. She made her first appearance on 17 February 2006. Carly w ...

(

Kellie Shirley Kelly Jane Shirley (born 11 July 1981), known professionally as Kellie Shirley is an English actress who works in film, television, theatre and radio. She hails from Croydon via a large Northern Irish family. She has also co-presented programme ...

), born off screen in July 2012. He is portrayed by a baby named Ryan. Jimmy is named after Carly's dead brother James "Jimbo" Wicks (Lloyd Richards). He appears in the episode broadcast on 7 September when his mother introduces him to his grandmother

(

). Shirley is instantly smitten with Jimmy and cries as she holds him for the first time. Carly and Jimmy leave Walford, taking Shirley to stay with them. Kellie Shirley said that she was worried about dropping the baby while filming, but said it was "a really nice experience, especially as he was a really good baby." She confirmed that Ryan's mother was on set during filming so that he did not become frightened or confused, and the scenes were filmed quickly "because you can only film with a baby for a certain amount of time."

Trish Barnes

Trish Barnes, played by Tessa Churchard, is a social worker. In 2012, she visits

(

), but Lola is out buying nappies for her daughter

, and her grandfather

(

) has the baby. Billy lies to Trish that he still has a job, even though he has recently lost it. Billy is also concerned when Lola returns with her friend

(

), as he is on police bail for perverting the course of justice in relation to a murder. Trish comes back the next day with a list of concerns, and tells Lola she will be visiting more due to her bad attitude. Trish visits Lola again on several occasions, and sees paint on Lexi's feet, so tells Lola off as it could cause an allergic reaction, though it does not. Trish later worries when Lexi develops a cough. Trish finds out that Billy has lied about being employed, and then decides to visit daily as she feels he and Lola are not coping as she has used a tea towel as a nappy and the flat has not been cleaned. When Lola is arrested for assaulting Alexa Smith (

), she is angry to see Trish arrive with the police. She bites Trish to stop her taking Lexi, but fails to stop her and is devastated when Trish takes Lexi from her. Lola decides to fight for Lexi and visits Trish at her office, apologising for biting her and asking when she can take Lexi home. Trish says she will have to attend parenting classes and have three access visits a week. Lola gets angry, so Trish says that her behaviour could cause her to lose Lexi for good. Trish brings Lexi to Lola again, but after Lexi leaves, Lola is devastated again, so Billy asks Lexi's grandfather

(

) for help, and Phil decides to apply for a residency order for Lexi to live with him. Trish later arrives at Lola's, but without Lexi as she is ill. Trish is present when Phil decides to take Lexi to see his son, Lexi's father Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe), who is in prison for murder, and Trish and Lola both refuse to let him. Phil asks

(

) to pretend to be his fiancée to have a better chance of getting Lexi, and during a meeting between Trish, Phil and Lola, where Trish is assessing Phil, Sharon interrupts and introduces herself to Trish. When Alexa drops the assault charge, Lola thinks she will get Lexi back, but Trish informs her that the neglect case is still pending. Trish attends court where Phil is granted custody of Lexi, being her foster father, and Lola is allowed three access visits per week. When Lola learns that Phil wants to take Lexi on holiday for two weeks, Lola asks Trish's advice. Trish says that Lola is entitled to her access visits and can seek legal advice, however Lola agrees to let Phil go. When Phil returns, Trish informs him that she is pleased with Lola and she may get full custody of Lexi soon, leaving Phil unhappy. Trish attends a court hearing, stating Lola's positive progress and recommending that Lola has increased access to Lexi, but Phil has his solicitor tell the court that Lola turns up late and has a bad temper, so Lola's access does not change. Lola is angry and devastated, and Trish lends her support to Lola. After Phil and Lola sort their differences, Trish visits Phil and informs him that social services are preparing to increase Lola's visits to Lexi, with a view to returning Lexi to Lola in a couple of months. Checking on Lola's progress, Trish arrives unexpectedly and is invited to and attends a family dinner with Lola, Phil and Sharon. At the dinner, Sharon tells Trish that she and Phil are back together. At the court hearing, Trish is present when Lola is re-awarded custody of Lexi. She also visits Lola at home to see how she is coping. On another visit in August, Trish tells Lola she will cut back her visits to once a month as Lola is doing so well, and says soon she may not need to visit at all. In 2017, Trish visits

Denise Fox Denise Fox (also Wicks and Johnson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Diane Parish. She made her first appearance on 11 May 2006 and temporarily left ''EastEnders'' in early 2008 to give birth to her ...

(

Diane Parish Diane Parish (born 1 November 1969) is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006 Born in Chelsea, London and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Pari ...

), who is planning to have her baby adopted when it is born. She tells Trish that she does not want to spend any time with the baby. Trish visits Denise to inform her about how her son is doing with his potential adoptive parents. Trish and Denise both sign the paperwork for the adoption and Trish gives Denise a letter from the adoptive family, who have named the child

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

Development

Churchard's official credits list her as having filmed a 10-episode recurring role in ''EastEnders'', the first episode being on 18 September 2012. Speaking of the storyline involving Trish, Harold told ''

'' that when Trish arrives at Lola's house, "everything goes wrong at once", and explained that "Trish isn't given a good impression of Lola as a mother, and Lola isn't impressed when she sees her taking pages of notes". Lola is not happy about Trish getting involved in her life with daughter Lexi. ''

'' described Trish as the "bossy new social worker".

Reception

The scenes where Trish takes Lexi from Lola were criticised by the charity The Who Cares? Trust on Twitter, who called the storyline an "unhelpful portrayal" and said it had already received calls from members of the public who were "distressed about the ''EastEnders'' scene where a social worker snatches a baby from its mother's arms". The scenes were also condemned by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), calling the BBC "too lazy and arrogant" to get correctly portray the child protection process, and saying that the baby was taken "without sufficient grounds to do so". Bridget Robb, acting chief of the BASW, said the storyline provoked "real anger among a profession well used to a less than accurate public and media perception of their jobs". She stated: Another social worker said "Accurate procedures were not followed

hen a character's baby was taken away Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringe ...

Was it police protection, section 20? Where was the immediate risk to the baby? As a social worker, I was in tears, as was a colleague of mine, watching how our profession was portrayed on television." The BBC responded to BASW by saying: A social worker who received the BBC's statement commented: In November 2012, Irish politician

Robert Troy Robert Troy (born 24 January 1982) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency since 2011. From July 2020 to August 2022 he served as Minister of State at the Department of ...

expressed concerns that the storyline could influence the result of an upcoming referendum on children's rights. Troy said, "Quite a few times I have been asked about a storyline on ''EastEnders'' where a young mother has had her child taken into care and has faced a very difficult battle to get access to the child. People have been emotionally affected by the story and have a real concern about the sort of heavy-handed state intervention that's portrayed."

Danny Pennant

Danny Pennant, played by

, made his first screen appearance on 27 September 2012, appearing until 2 November. On 6 March 2013, it was announced that Lucy was returning to the cast. Danny appeared on 7 June 2013 before becoming a regular character in July. On 19 January 2014, it was announced that Lucy would be leaving ''EastEnders''. He departed on 14 February 2014. Gary Lucy 2

Danny comes to the local Indian restaurant for a meal with two colleagues. He returns later to see if he left something behind and meets

(

) and sees that he has money problems. He urges Syed to be honest with his family about them, though he is not. They continue to meet in secret when Syed invests money he borrowed from his mother, Zainab Khan (

) with Danny, and then borrows £500 back the next day. They become close and kiss twice, the second time witnessed by Syed's father,

(

). Danny meets Syed's fiancé

( John Partridge), and when Syed leaves his stag party, Danny follows and tries to kiss Syed. Syed insists he loves Christian and asks for his money back, but Danny says the investment has fallen through. Masood arrives and tells Danny to back off and Syed punches Danny when he says Syed wanted to be caught. Christian and Syed marry and Danny continues to message Syed, demanding his £500 back. Christian sees the messages so arranges to meet Danny, pretending to be Syed. Danny tells Christian that he and Syed in fact have had sex so Christian punches him. Syed finds Christian badly beaten, implying he and Danny had a violent fight. Danny tells police that Christian assaulted him, and Christian is arrested. Danny tells Syed he will withdraw his statement if Syed returns his £500. However, Masood threatens to report Danny for fraud in regard to the failed investment and Christian is released without charge. In June 2013, Danny returns and attends the opening of

's (

) restaurant. Ian expects Danny, a friend of

Mr Lister The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' which aired in 2008 (by order of first appearance). All characters were introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer. Santer introduced four ...

(

Nick Wilton Nicholas Wilton is an English actor and scriptwriter. He has appeared as Mr Lister in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a recurring character; he has also appeared in ''Carrott's Lib'' and ''Jackanory''. Early life Wilton studied English ...

) to invest, but Danny reveals that he only helps people to invest and refuses to help Ian as

(

), spills a drink on him. Danny then starts working for

(

). Later on, it is revealed that he is also attracted to women and kisses her. They have sex but Janine tells him that it is a one-off and she sees him as any other employee. Danny develops a rivalry with his co-worker,

Lucy Beale Lucy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. The character was played by Eva Brittin-Snell (from 1993 to 1996), Casey Anne Rothery (from 1996 until 2004), Melissa Suffield (from 2004 to 2010), and Hetti Bywater ...

(

), and they compete and use dirty tactics against each other to gain commission on their pay. However, Lucy discovers that Danny is squatting in a vacant flat as he is homeless. Danny pleads with Lucy not to tell and she agrees, but warns him that she now has power over him. When Janine decides to buy The Queen Vic, she fires Danny and Lucy to free up some cash. But after Janine is arrested and imprisoned, they convince

(

) to give them their jobs back. Danny kisses Lucy and they become a couple but he also flirts with and kisses Johnny Carter (

Sam Strike Samuel Harry Strike (born 18 January 1994) is an English actor. Life and career Strike was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He starred in two revival series of CBBC's ''M.I. High'' as Dan Morgan from 2013–2014. In 2014, Strike guest starred ...

). Johnny later finds Danny is stalking him over an internet dating site for gay people, calling himself the "Walford Wonder". He initially decides not to tell Lucy but she discovers that Danny has been stealing from Janine and invites her to join him. Danny and Lucy lose their jobs when Janine sells the business so they plan to set up their own estate agents. They also plan to buy a flat together but Johnny tells Lucy about Danny's internet stalking and shows her Danny's profile on his mobile phone. Lucy is heartbroken by this revelation and confronts Danny with the information, asking him if he is only with her because she has Janine's money. Danny denies this and claims he loves her but Lucy does not believe him and throws the money out of her bedroom window into the street, where Johnny and other locals help themselves. Danny rushes outside and collects as much as he can and Lucy tells him to leave, threatening to call the police and report him for the embezzlement of Janine if he doesn't. Danny is last seen walking away with a handful of the money. After Lucy is found dead, Danny is ruled out as a suspect in her murder investigation as he had, according to the police, moved to

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

Development

The character and Lucy's casting was announced on 3 August 2012. The actor has an initial contract of three months. Danny is a 28-year-old city banker, who has been described as being "mischievous", a "charmer" and someone who "oozes sex appeal". An ''EastEnders'' statement read "With his irresistible charm and luring persona, Danny is desired and envied by both men and women—girls want to be seen with him and boys want to be him. He will inevitably create controversial encounters and his provocative and lustful nature is bound to land him in trouble". On 22 August, it was announced that Lucy would be playing a gay character, set to become involved in a love triangle with

( John Partridge) and

(

Marc Elliot Marc Elliot is an American author. He is a member of NXIVM, a cult that purported to be a multi-level marketing company. Elliot claims that taking courses through NXIVM and working directly with Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman have helped him ove ...

). A source said, "All the girls think he's a real ladies' man. But they're soon disappointed when it turns out he's not interested in women. He'll ruffle a few feathers and Christian and Syed's relationship will be tested". A ''EastEnders'' spokesperson refused to confirm this saying, "It's fair to say that Danny is going to cause a few problems for the residents of Walford but viewers will have to tune in and see for themselves as we don't want to spoil the surprise!". When it was announced that Lucy was returning to the cast in 2013, executive producer

said, "We are absolutely delighted to reveal that Gary Lucy will be returning to ''EastEnders''. Gary clearly felt at home on the show and his wonderful portrayal of Danny Pennant left us with an intriguing character to explore. It really was only a matter of time before he returned. Danny's stories will see him crossing paths with some of our best-loved characters and I am sure the audience will relish the fact that the complex nature of this character means that nothing is ever simple."

Alexa Smith

Alexa Smith, played by

, is a former friend of

(

). She appears in four episodes from 1 to 5 October 2012, two episodes on 13 and 15 November 2012 and one on 7 March 2013. Alexa first appears when Lola sees her with a group of friends and recognises her from their time together in a care home. The next day, Lola meets Alexa and her friends, and Lola tries to impress them, keeping a look out while they shoplift. Later, they go to the local café where Alexa starts throwing things at people, including Lola's friend

(

). Lola defends Abi, and Alexa says that she can only be friends with one of them, so Lola sides with Abi. Alexa is later shocked to discover Lola has a baby, and that Lola named her Lexi, after her. The next day, Lola sees Alexa and her gang, and Alexa insults Lexi, saying she should have had an abortion. When Abi arrives, Alexa mocks her for wearing makeup, wiping it from her face, and she and her friends start pushing and slapping Abi, filming everything on a mobile phone. They take Abi's phone, so Lola snatches it from Alexa. Alexa's friends grab Lola and when Alexa says that Lexi is dead, Lola breaks free and punches Alexa in the face, leaving her with a nosebleed. Alexa and her friends then show the police the part of their mobile phone video showing Lola attacking Alexa, and Lola is arrested, with Lexi being taken away by social services. About six weeks later, Alexa and her gang return and attempt to bully

(

) until her friend

(

) chases the gang away. The next day, Alexa and her friends see Lola and her friend Jay Mitchell (

) and taunt them about Lexi being in care. Lola tries to attack Alexa, but she is stopped by Jay and her grandfather

(

). Later, Billy sees Alexa alone and tells her he knows what it is like to be in care, as she does, and asks Alexa to give Lexi a chance to come home. Alexa is affected by Billy's words but when Lola arrives, she accuses Billy of witness tampering. However, Lexi's grandfather

(

) learns from his lawyer that Alexa has dropped the assault charges against Lola. Three months later, Phil has custody of Lexi, but Lola snatches her after hearing Phil say she will never get Lexi back. Lola calls Alexa, having nobody else to turn to. Phil, Billy and

(

) find Lola's phone and call Alexa, offering her money for information. They meet Alexa, who says Lola is in Tottenham, as she could not help Lola. Phil searches the squat that Alexa is staying in, but does not find Lola, though she is hiding in the house. She and Alexa talk, and Alexa says she ran away from her foster home. Alexa says Lola can stay the night while she parties with her friends, but Lola leaves when the police arrive. Harold explained to Katy White from ''

'' that Lola and Alexa were best friends when they were in a care home together, but when Alexa was fostered, Lola felt abandoned. She said that "in care homeenvironment, friends mean more than family", and is now happy to see Alexa. White said that Alexa and her friends are "very wild", meaning that "getting caught up with them is the last thing Lola needs." She explained that Lola's affection for her friend and her desire to fit in see her hanging out with them and putting up with their bad behaviour. Harold told ''

'' that while Lola has changed since they were in care, Alexa has not, and called the Alexa and her gang "scary", saying "They don't care about anyone but themselves �� It's nasty." White described Alexa as "vicious" and "a very nasty piece of work."

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

's Daniel Kilkelly called her "a boisterous girl".

Lisa

Lisa, played by Marianne Benedict, appears on 1 October when

(

) sets his brother

(

) up on a date with her. She is much taller than Derek, which makes everybody else laugh. ''

'' found the scenes funny, saying "Sometimes the simplest jokes are the best. We loved pint-sized Derek's supersize date! Tee-hee!" ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

'' called it the "Awkward date of the week", commenting that " tlooks like Derek needs to take a leaf out of

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

's book and get himself some man-heels, what with his date towering over him like that. He looks pretty smug, she looks pretty miserable. Should have stuck with the other brother, love."

Jackie Bosch

Jackie Bosch, played by

Frances Lima Frances Lima is a British actress known for her brief role as Georgina Lee in ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. She also been a guest on ''The Bill'' for 3 episodes. Filmography * '' The Imitators'' (1996) * ''The Theory of Flight'' (1998) * '' Met ...

, is a former girlfriend of

(

). She appears on 13 November 2012, when Derek's brother

Max Branning Max Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jake Wood. He made his first appearance on 27 June 2006. Wood took a four-month break from the show in 2011 and the character was absent between August and No ...

(

) decides to take Derek to visit the love of his life to cheer him up. Derek knew Jackie when she was 16 and is the only woman he has ever loved but she broke his heart. However, Jackie remembers Derek as a bully who beat up

(

), and says their few dates were not a big love affair as Derek calls it. Derek leaves after Jackie says she was not surprised when she heard Derek had been in prison. News of Jackie's appearance was first reported in October 2012, when photographs emerged from on-location filming, featuring actors Foreman and

, who plays Derek's brother

, and two women, one of whom was Lima. At the time, no details of the characters were known. ''

'' and ''

'' both speculated that they may have something to do with a secret Max is keeping from his fiancée

(

), but ''All About Soap'' noted that the house where filming took place was different from one seen in a previous episode where Max dropped off an envelope of cash, while ''Inside Soap'' said it was the same one. They also said that the women did not appear to be Max's usual type, but said Jackie (the older of the two women) did not seem happy to see them. When it emerged that Jackie was Derek's ex-girlfriend, and that Derek would be angry about the meeting and threaten to reveal Max's secret, ''

Soaplife ''Soaplife'' was a 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 d ...

'' stated: "So 'East'''Enders'' specially casts Jackie, spends a packet on a location shoot so that Derek can get angry and mention the Max secret again? Hope the secret's better than this plot..."

Ava Hartman

Ava Hartman, played by

, is the daughter of

(

) and half-sister of

(

) and

Rainie Cross Rainie Highway (also Cross and Branning) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Tanya Franks. Introduced as the drug-addicted sister of Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner), Franks has had three separate guest stin ...

(

Tanya Franks Tanya Christine Franks (born 16 August 1967) is an English actress, producer and writer. She has had starring roles on the television shows ''Family Affairs'', ''The Bill'', ''Pulling (TV series), Pulling'', ''EastEnders'' and ''Broadchurch''. ...

). Ava first appears on 20 November 2012. It was announced in September 2013 that Ava would be leaving the series at the end of her storylines with Sam James (

Cornell S John Cornell Salmonn John (born 1963) is a British actor who has appeared in various film and television productions since 1999. He is most renowned for his role as Trife's uncle, Curtis, in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Adulthood'' (2008) and ...

), as was originally planned. She departed on 17 December 2013. In July 2012, Cora tells Tanya that her daughter, Ava Anderton, was born in 1964 but was taken away by the staff while Cora was sleeping and they told her that Ava had died. In fact, Cora was forced to put Ava up for adoption. In November, Cora tells her partner

(

) that Ava is alive and Patrick tells Tanya. Tanya tracks Ava down, and discovers she in the deputy headmistress of a local school. Tanya and Patrick visit the school, where Tanya is shocked to see Ava is mixed-race and tells her she is moving to the area. Ava gives them a tour of the school but Tanya runs out, leaving her purse behind. Tanya agrees to say nothing to Cora and not see Ava again and she and Patrick drive away before Ava can return the purse. Ava returns the purse the next day and Cora invites Ava in. Cora is shocked when Ava reveals her name. Ava learns the truth, and has a long talk with Cora, telling her she had thought about finding her before but decided the past was best left in the past, and nothing has changed, so leaves. A few weeks later, Cora visits Ava and gives her a bracelet that was given to Cora by Ava's father, along with a Christmas card. Ava later brings Cora a card in return, and wears the bracelet. Later, Tanya's daughter

(

) befriends

(Khali Best), and invites him to dinner with her family. Ava gatecrashes and berates Tanya for meddling. Tanya is clueless, and it is then revealed that Dexter is Ava's son. Ava is angry with Dexter for not speaking to her about what he was doing. Ava then gets a job at a school in Walford. Ava helps out when

's (

) son,

Liam Butcher Liam Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sonny Bottomley for two months in 1998 and 1999, twins Jack and Tom Godolphin from 1999, Gavin and Mitchell Vaughan in 2002, and Nathaniel Gleed from 2002 to ...

(James Forde), is involved with a gang that Dexter used to be a member of. They gang trash Ava and Dexter's home, and they move 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 ...

. Ava does not want to have anything to do with Cora, but Dexter urges her to, and she starts a friendship with

(

), who has a romantic interest in her. Their date is interrupted by Ava's ex-husband and Dexter's father, Sam James (

). Ava resents him because he claimed to have gone out to buy milk but did not return for 20 years, and both Ava and Dexter want Sam to leave. However, Ava slowly realises she still has romantic feelings for Sam and they have sex. The pair reunite and Dexter slowly warms to his father. It emerges that Sam requires a kidney transplant. Ava hopes to donate one of hers but is not a match. Dexter decides to take a test to see if he is a match, but Ava refuses to let him. He does so anyway, and he is a match, and Dexter and Sam go through the transplant operation. Ava fusses over both of them while they are recovering, and while Dexter is used to Ava's overprotective nature, Sam feels smothered. On Dexter's birthday, Ava discovers that Sam only came to Walford to get Dexter's kidney, leaving her furious. She throws him out, but keeps the reason for his departure secret from a devastated Dexter. Blaming her for Sam's sudden disappearance, Dexter moves in with Cora. Ava is offered a job in Newcastle, and Cora urges her to take it, but she turns it down. Dexter then discovers the truth about why Sam left. He emails the company offering the job, pretending to be Ava, and accepts the job on her behalf. She then agrees to go, but decides Dexter should stay in Walford because he has his own life now. Ava then thanks Cora, calling her "mum", and leaves.

Development

Since viewers discovered that Cora had a baby in the 1960s who she claimed was dead, speculation started about the fact that Ava could still be alive. Initial rumours suggested that Ava was actually

(

), who had recently returned to the series, despite Sharon's birth mother, Carol Hanley ( Sheila White), having already appeared on screen in 1990. Perkins' casting as Ava was officially confirmed on 4 September 2012, when it was announced that viewers would discover that Ava was still alive. Perkins said of her casting, "I am delighted to be joining the show but to be working alongside Ann Mitchell makes it a dream come true. I have admired Ann's work for many years, and both she and Jo (Joyner) have been a real pleasure to work with. I'm now looking forward to see what the writers have in store for Ava". An insider from ''EastEnders'' told ''

'' that finding out that Ava is alive would "be the most explosive moment of Cora's whole life", adding that it would be both "the most wonderful and yet the most terrible thing that could happen" because although Cora has her daughter back, she has not been able to get to know her until now. The insider said that Cora and Ava must both come to terms with this fact, and speculated that Ava may have been taken away from Cora by the nurses because her father was black and "racial prejudice asprevalent in the 1960s", calling it "an unimaginable cruelty to inflict on them both." Mitchell revealed the reasons for Ava being taken away: "The baby's father was black and he left Cora before he knew she was pregnant. She was 18 and unmarried, and at that time, having a baby in her situation was a social stigma. She was made to feel enormous shame by her parents, who forced her to give the baby up for adoption." She said Cora did not tell anyone, "partly through an enormous sense of guilt, and to keep things as safe and uncomplicated as they could be." Of Ava's arrival, Mitchell said "It's going to be mayhem. The implications will be huge. The family will want answers, and I'm sure we won't be seeing the back of Ava." Perkins' official credits list her as currently (September 2012) filming a regular role in ''EastEnders''.

Tansy Meadow

Tansy Meadow, played by

Daisy Wood-Davis Daisy Wood-Davis (born Jessica Daisy Davis; 22 October 1990) is a British singer and actress. She has appeared in several stage productions, including ''Dreamboats and Petticoats'' as Laura and ''The Rocky Horror Show'' as Janet Weiss. From 2014 ...

, is the sister of

Poppy Meadow Poppy Meadow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Rachel Bright. She was introduced by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood on 11 January 2011 as the best friend of established character Jodie Gold ( Kylie Ba ...

(

Rachel Bright Rachel Bright is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Poppy Meadow in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Career Bright was introduced as Poppy Meadow on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in two episodes on 11 and 13 January 2 ...

). She appeared on 22 November 2012. Poppy receives a phone call from Tansy to say she is visiting the next day, and Poppy is unhappy about it. Poppy tells her friends that Tansy is successful and has a fiancé, and Poppy has lied to Tansy about her life. Poppy's friends

(

) and

(

) refuse to pretend to be her employees at the salon, calling Poppy their boss, when in fact Poppy is employed there. Poppy calls Tansy to try to put her off, but Tansy arrives while Poppy is on the phone to her. Tansy shows off her engagement ring, so Fatboy (

) pretends to be Poppy's successful banker boyfriend until

(

) reveals that Fatboy is a barman. Poppy apologises to Tansy for lying, and then Lucy and Whitney turn up pretending to be Poppy's employees, with an emergency at the salon. Later, Tansy cries as Poppy has everything perfect, and reveals she split from her fiancé three weeks ago because he cheated on her, and although she has worked out that Poppy does not own the salon, she thinks Poppy and Fatboy are good together. Poppy says they are just friends, but Tansy says that he clearly likes her a lot. Tansy's arrival for a single episode was announced when it was revealed that Poppy was to become a regular character. Wood-Davis filmed her scenes in late August and early September. ''

'' said of Tansy: "Super-successful Tansy is always bragging about her wonderful life and fiancé, so Poppy feels a bit of a failure in comparison." Tansy also appears in a 15-minute spin-off episode, called " All I Want for Christmas".

Ayesha Rana

Ayesha Rana, played by

, is a family friend of Zainab Khan (

). She makes her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 17 December 2012. She was written out in early 2013 and departed on 1 March 2013, after the departure of Zainab. Ayesha is first seen in the café, where Zainab does not recognise her, and accuses her of pushing in the queue ahead of her. Later, Ayesha arrives at Zainab's home while Zainab is wearing a face mask. Zainab is annoyed that she was not ready for Ayesha's visit as she is three weeks early. Ayesha then overhears Zainab telling her son

Tamwar Masood Tamwar Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Himesh Patel. He made his first appearance on 1 October 2007. On 12 March 2016, it was announced that Patel would be leaving the show, with Tamwar making hi ...

(

Himesh Patel Himesh Jitendra Patel (born 13 October 1990) is a British actor, musician, and singer. He is known for portraying Tamwar Masood on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2016, for starring in the 2019 musical romantic comedy film '' Y ...

) that he would be better for her than her suitor, Rashid Kayani ( Gurpreet Singh). Zainab tries to get Ayesha and Tamwar together, and she thinks it has worked at her New Year's Eve party, but Tamwar is just looking after Ayesha because she is sick after AJ Ahmed (

) spiked the punch. Ayesha then meets Rashid, and thinks he is "alright". However, she soon develops a crush on Masood, which he discovers and does not tell Zainab. He urges her to try with Rashid and she does meet him again. She thinks Rashid is not right for her and it is clear she still wants Masood. She lies to Zainab that she is still seeing Rashid, while telling Masood she loves him. He rejects her advances, and she later confesses her love of Masood to Zainab, saying he feels the same, and then leaves Walford. After Masood and Zainab break up and Zainab moves to Pakistan, Ayesha returns for Masood. She ruins his date with Carol and the next day they kiss. Masood attempts to move away with Ayesha but in the end he rejects her and she leaves alone. Tamwar sees she is back and thinks she is the reason Zainab left.

Development

Ayesha's arrival was teased by executive producer

in an interview with

when she said, "The Masoods are rightfully incredibly popular and we've got big plans for them. ��We also have a new female character joining the household in December. Let's just say that she's bound to cause a bit of mischief!" The character and casting were announced on 16 November, when Ayesha was described as "Sweet and studious, but rather shy", having lived a sheltered life. She is also described as a "naïve introvert". A BBC statement said of her storyline: "Since the tragic death of her beloved father, she has been left alone with a distant mother and uncaring brothers. Ayesha has agreed to fulfil her father's dying wish, going through with an arranged marriage. Can the Masoods help her? And will her time on lbertSquare encourage this naive young woman to find her voice?" It was said that Ayesha would find living in

"a shock to the system, as she is used to grander surroundings." Shivani said of her casting: "I've been watching ''EastEnders'' for years and am excited to be joining such an iconic show." Details of Ayesha's arrival emerged on the day of her first episode, when it was revealed that Ayesha would be moving to Walford to get to know her suitor who lives in London, and that Ayesha would have a "shaky start" with Zainab, as she initially does not realise who Ayesha is.

Adam White

Adam White, played by Ben Wigzell, is

's (

) ex-boyfriend

's (

) brother. Adam first appears when he is in a group of men who give Carl's former prison cellmate

(

) a beating after running his car off the road and chasing him. In February 2013, Kirsty's husband

(

) goes to Adam's house to find Kirsty. Kirsty has a bruise on her neck, and realising Adam caused the injury, Max punches him. Adam and another man then beat Max after locking him inside the house. In May, Adam starts calling Kirsty, as Carl is due to be released from prison. Kirsty worries that they will track her down so Max returns with his brother

(

) to confront Adam again. Adam punches Max so Jack throws him to the ground and the brothers order him to stop contacting Kirsty. In August 2013, Adam attacks Kirsty, asking her for money. Carl stops Adam, who did not know Carl would be there. Carl blames Adam for Kirsty marrying Max and their mother

Nora White The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' during 2013, listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Lorraine Newman, executive producer until December 2013, when Dominic Trea ...

(

Lynn Farleigh Marilyn J. "Lynn" Farleigh (born 3 May 1942) is an English actress of stage and screen. Early life Farleigh was born in Bath, Somerset on 3 May 1942 to Joseph Sydney Farleigh and his wife Marjorie Norah (née Clark). She attended the Redlan ...

) being in a care home, and Adam explains he owes money to somebody. Carl and Adam go to nightclub R&R, where Carl plans to sell drugs but they are confronted by Max and club owner

(

). Carl then disowns Adam and he leaves. Adam returns in March 2014, in search for Carl, who has since been murdered by

(

), alongside his mother,

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

(

). Ronnie lies to both of them about her identity, claiming to be her sister Roxy (

Rita Simons Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress and singer from London. She is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed-off, alongside her on screen ...

), who had been Carl's girlfriend, and says she does not know where he went. However, Adam knows she is lying as Carl had sent Adam a photo of himself and Roxy together. Adam later kidnaps

, which displeases his mother. Phil and Ronnie track them down, demanding Lexi back. The Whites demand to know what happened to Carl in return for the baby. When the Mitchells are hesitant to provide an explanation, Adam loses his patience but Phil warns him off harming Lexi and takes Lexi off Adam. Nora begs them for answers and Ronnie breaks down and admits that she killed Carl, leaving a distraught Nora and Adam shocked. Ronnie and Phil return with Lexi, and give her back to her mother

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola (fo ...

(

) who is unaware of what has happened. Phil tells Ronnie she has to deal with Adam and Nora or he will. Ronnie then gets market inspector Aleks Shirovs ( Kristian Kiehling) to attack Adam and beat him up. Ronnie takes Phil to visit Adam in hospital after Aleks's assault on him whilst Nora sits beside his bedside. Ronnie warns both Nora and Adam off hassling the Mitchells further, threatening them with more violence. Ronnie and a disturbed Phil then leave. Adam and Nora have not been seen since. In Adam's first appearance, he is credited as "Thug", but his name was revealed in his second appearance. In August 2013, ''

'' said of Adam: "As if having bad boy Carl on the Square wasn't bad enough, now his brother Adam has popped up as well. And he's even more of a villain than Carl." Adam returned on 10 March 2014 and departed on 17 March 2014.

Kirsty Branning

Kirsty Branning, played by

, is the third wife of

(

) and the secret that Max has withheld from his former wife and current fiancée

(

) for several months. Kirsty's storylines include faking a pregnancy to stop Max leaving her, suffering a

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

when Max nearly discovers her deceit, and her ex-fiancé

(

) trying to end her relationship with Max. In September 2013, it was announced that the character had been axed by new executive producer

, and Kirsty departed on 9 January 2014.

Storylines

Kirsty unexpectedly arrives at Max's home on Christmas Day after his brother

(

) informs her of where he lives. Tanya answers the door and Kirsty introduces herself as Max's wife, moments before Max and Tanya are going to remarry. It is revealed that Max met Kirsty in 2011 after his split from Tanya, when he was living with Derek. Kirsty was working as an erotic dancer and was introduced to Max through Derek. They were both at a low ebb and Kirsty fell in love with Max, and they married. They planned to move to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

together but Max returned to

after hearing there was trouble there. Max learnt of Tanya's

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

and stood by her, and left Kirsty behind. Unknown to Max, Kirsty was pregnant with his child. Derek stayed in contact with Kirsty, and Max sent money so she could divorce him. Derek did not give Kirsty the last payment, but lied to Max that Kirsty had signed divorce papers. Derek told Kirsty that Max did not want the child and she terminated the pregnancy. After this is revealed, a huge argument ensues after which Derek suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Kirsty stays in Walford and gets a job at the local

. On the day of Derek's funeral, Max and Derek's sister

(

) tells Kirsty that if she cannot find proof that Max loves her, then she must leave. When Kirsty meets Max, they argue but end up kissing passionately. Kirsty then attends the funeral, upsetting Tanya as Max has told her that Kirsty has left Walford. Tanya pays Kirsty to leave, but she does not go, so Tanya allows Kirsty to come to a family dinner to see what Max has with her. Kirsty revels in the fact that there are family problems. When Max's daughter

(

) is upset, Kirsty takes the opportunity to bond with her, upsetting Tanya. Kirsty gives Lauren the keys to her room at the B&B. Max finds the keys and pockets them. Tanya finds them and assumes Max is still involved with Kirsty, so she goes to Kirsty's room and starts packing her belongings. Kirsty catches her, so Tanya tells Kirsty to leave, giving her the divorce papers to sign but Kirsty writes "never" on them. Lauren visits Kirsty and tells her to leave as Max will always want Tanya. Later,

Kat Moon Kathleen "Kat" Slater (also Moon) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jessie Wallace. She is also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the seco ...

(

) urges Kirsty to move on from Max, and as she realises how much she is hurting Max by staying, she signs the divorce papers. She tells Max she is leaving Walford. Tanya realises that Max still has feelings for Kirsty and ejects him from their home as Kirsty leaves Walford. Kirsty returns her wedding ring through the post. Max finds her staying with her ex-boyfriend

's (

) brother, Adam White (Ben Wigzell), who is abusive towards her. After Adam beats Max up, Kirsty and Max reconcile with a passionate kiss in Max's car. She returns to Walford and lives with Max in the B&B. Kirsty is angry when Max continues to say he has a special connection with Tanya because they have children. Kirsty tells Max she is pregnant, and Max says he is not ready to have a child with her. They agree that she will have an abortion, but she confides in Kat that she is not really pregnant, and Max then asks Kirsty to not abort the pregnancy. Kirsty then hopes she will get pregnant, and announces to her neighbours in the pub that she is pregnant. Max then finds himself and Kirsty their own home. Kirsty worries when people ask questions about her pregnancy, and Kat urges her to tell Max the truth. Adam starts calling Kirsty, as Carl is due to be released from prison. She also starts worrying when they will track her down. Kirsty cancels an

ultrasound scan Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging techniques) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscle ...

appointment but lies to Max that the hospital cancelled it. Max takes her anyway and Kirsty suffers a

, so she does not have a scan. Kirsty is stunned to see that Carl has arrived in Walford. She tells him she is married and pregnant, and that he should leave. However, Carl insists he will win Kirsty back. Eventually Kirsty thinks she may be pregnant, so takes a pregnancy test but bins it when Max arrives. They argue about Carl and the bin is knocked over, so Max finds the test. She admits that she was never pregnant, so Max returns to Tanya, as he was only with Kirsty because of the pregnancy. Tanya, however, refuses to take him back, and leaves Walford. Max moves into his old house. While Max is away from Walford, Kirsty and Carl visit Carl's mother,

(

), because she does not know they have split up. On Max's return, Carl lets Max think he is now with Kirsty. Max tells Kirsty he could not stop thinking about her while he was away, so she suggests that they meet later, and if Max does not arrive then their relationship is over for good. Carl discovers this, so makes sure Max is busy at work and visits Kirsty at the time Max was meant to be there. The next day, Carl implies to Max that he and Kirsty had sex. Max tells people about this. She is angered by what both Max and Carl have done and rejects them both. When she confronts Max again, they passionately kiss, but are interrupted by Lauren, who has been in a rehabilitation clinic. Kirsty then puts the relationship on hold for Lauren's sake. However, Lauren convinces them to reunite, as Max is lovesick. Carl continues to interfere in Kirsty and Max's marriage, and when Max is arrested for cutting the brakes of Carl's car, he ends his relationship with Kirsty and says he is guilty. Kirsty does not believe him, and suspects Carl forced Max into this position. In desperation for money, Kirsty has sex with Carl, and then steals £1000 from him. Max is then acquitted of the crime and reunites with Kirsty. However, Carl then tells Max that he had sex with Kirsty while he was in prison, and this leads to Max ending his relationship with her. In early 2014, Kirsty becomes concerned when Carl is nowhere to be seen, unaware that he has actually been murdered by

(

). She asks

(

) and Terry Spraggan (

Terry Alderton Terry John Alderton (born 31 October 1970) is an English comedian who had acting and presenting roles in the early 2000s before returning to stand-up comedy a decade later. Personal life Alderton was born on 31 October 1970 in Rochford, Ess ...

) about Carl's whereabouts, but nobody knows where he is. When

(

) reveals to Max that Tanya is in a new relationship, he takes Kirsty back. The reunion is short, however, when Kirsty makes the mistake of cooking the meal with wine, knowing that Max's daughter Lauren is an alcoholic. Max throws the meal at the wall and Kirsty is thrown out of the house. The next day, Kirsty is homeless and Max gives her £20 to live on, so she seeks advice from Shirley. At

(

) and

's (

) engagement party, Kirsty acts drunk and tries to hug Max, stealing his car keys. Max, Lauren and many other locals step outside to find Kirsty in Max's car. She insults Max and throws away her wedding ring before leaving Walford.

Development

Wareing knew about the part of Kirsty in April 2012, and discovered she had the part in August at a meeting with executive producer

and series consultant

Simon Ashdown Simon Ashdown is a British television writer, best known as being a BAFTA award-nominated ''EastEnders'' writer. Career From 1995 to 2013, Ashdown was series consultant and lead writer on ''EastEnders''. He was involved in the creation of the Sl ...

, who offered her the role. She started filming at the end of October, knowing her first episode would be on Christmas Day. She described her first scene as "really weird", "surreal" and "bizarre" because she had grown up watching ''EastEnders''. The character was kept a secret, with no announcement being made, and the only people Wareing told she had the part were her father and brother. She found it more difficult over time to keep the secret, as for her, it was "exciting and nerve-wracking" and she wanted to share her news. She had to tell people who saw her arriving at

BBC Elstree Centre The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios, is a television production facility, currently owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Boreh ...

that she was temping in the office or playing a background role. Wareing said in an interview released after her first episode was broadcast, that she loves playing Kirsty, saying "there are a lot of places she can go, I feel." She said that Kirsty has "a lot of sides to her", meaning there are a lot of directions in which the character could be taken. She said that as not much is known about the character, "there is potential for a lot to come out about her." At first she thought Kirsty was "a bitch", but felt that eventually people may need another side to her and sympathise with her. She added that Kirsty is "far from boring". An official statement said "Kirsty is set to cause trouble for Max and Tanya. Will Max and Tanya's relationship survive, and will Kirsty want to give up her husband? One thing's for sure, Kirsty is fiery, flirty and does what she wants."

Others

References

External links

* * * * * {{EastEnders characters, year, state=expanded

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

*, EastEnders 2012 in British television