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Mary Smith, also known as Mary the Punk, is a fictional character from the

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

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

'', played by

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

, from 5 March 1985 to 26 May 1988.

Punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

Mary is

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 ...

's original wild child. She often makes life difficult for herself due to her stubborn, defensive nature and she tends to feel that everyone around her is out to get her. In fact, Mary is her own worst enemy and most of her misfortune is down to her irresponsible behaviour and her inability to heed good advice. Davidson's return to the soap for a single episode was announced in December 2018. She returns for the funeral of

Doctor Legg Dr. Harold Legg is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Leonard Fenton. Dr. Legg is Walford's original GP. He is widely trusted within the community, and is always on hand to dish out advice. Dr Legg appears as ...

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Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (''né'' Finestein; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was a British actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Dr. Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard FinesteinDot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

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

Storylines

Mary arrives in Walford in March 1985 when she is housed in

Reg Cox The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by executive producer Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith. The first episode of ''Ea ...

's (Johnnie Clayton) old council flat (23b

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 ...

), following his death, bringing her daughter, Annie Smith. Mary had been touring with a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

group when she got pregnant and moved to London to escape her overbearing family who viewed Mary's choice of lifestyle with contempt. Single mother Mary finds bringing her daughter up extremely difficult. She has little money and virtually no experience, and her inability to listen to anyone's advice means that she often makes mistakes with her daughter's welfare. This is compounded by the fact that Mary is illiterate; Annie is nearly harmed when Mary gives her the wrong dosage of medication. Mary is an incredibly irresponsible mother and almost everyone on the Square has a turn at looking after Annie at one time or another. Most take pity on Mary and are willing to help her out, which she regularly uses to her advantage. Mary makes an unlikely friendship with local busybody,

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

(

), who will regularly be put upon to babysit for baby Annie whilst Mary goes out to party or earns cash. Although Dot likes to preach to Mary, she is one of the few people that Mary listens to on Albert Square. Strapped for cash, Mary finds it difficult to provide for Annie, so her friend

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

(

Dulice Liecier Dulice Liecier (born 7 April 1965, Stepney, London), is a British actress. Liecier played Precious Matthews in the Children's BBC serial ''Grange Hill'', and Ava in the 1987 James Bond film, “Living Daylights”. Career Liecier was one of the ...

) talks her into becoming a stripper and she regularly dances for married shopkeeper

Saeed Jeffery Saeed Jeffery is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Andrew Johnson (actor), Andrew Johnson from 19 February to 26 December 1985. Saeed is the original owner of the First til Last grocery store. He is never tru ...

(

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

). One night when Mary is out stripping, she leaves Annie in the care of Sheena. Sheena then leaves Annie alone while she goes out with a client. Mary's neighbour,

Sue Osman Sue Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sandy Ratcliff. She is one of the serial's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 19 February 1985 and departing on-screen in May 1989. Create ...

(

Sandy Ratcliff Alexandra Ratcliff (2 October 1948 – 7 April 2019) was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap o ...

), finds Annie before any harm can come to her, but Mary subsequently cuts all ties with Sheena. In February 1986, nurse Andy O'Brien (

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

) tries to help Mary by teaching her to read. However, Mary falls in love with him so she stops stripping and drops her punk image to impress him. Andy is forced to reject her advances, and an angst-ridden Mary spitefully informs him that she will not be attending any more of his reading lessons. The following day her punk image is back. However, without her stripping job, she is now penniless again.

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

( John Altman), seeing her in a desperate state, tries to coax her into becoming a prostitute. Mary declines, but her desperation for money makes her question whether it would be such a bad idea after all. Luckily, Andy manages to put a stop to this by getting her a job working in a hospital canteen. Mary later has a relationship with the married

Mehmet Osman Mehmet Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Haluk Bilginer. Mehmet is portrayed as a charmer, rogue and a serial womaniser, and makes recurring appearances in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1987, and the ...

(

Haluk Bilginer Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera '' EastEnders'' ...

), but he is only using her to win a bet with his brother

Ali Osman Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original ''EastEnders'' cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly fi ...

(

Nejdet Salih Nej Adamson (born 23 December 1958), also credited as Nejdet Salih, is a British actor. Career Born in London, Adamson is of Turkish Cypriot descent. He played Ali Osman in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', a role he played from the series' ...

). After months of chasing, Mehmet finally manages to have sex with Mary, and he triumphantly claims his winnings from his brother. However, Mary witnesses his gloating and she furiously vows to get revenge. After sabotaging his car, she proceeds to make regular crank calls to his cab firm. Things then get worse for Mary when she quits her job at the canteen after she is promoted but afraid to admit that she cannot read. Once again she finds herself desperate for money. By December 1986, Mary is persuaded to turn to prostitution by

Pat Wicks Pat Evans (also Beale, Harris, Wicks and Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. She was played by Pam St Clement from 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired, until her departure on 1 January ...

(

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 ...

), who is being pimped by Mehmet. By early 1987, Mary has flung herself wholeheartedly into prostitution, much to the concern of everyone on the Square. Pat has a change of heart and starts refusing to give Mary any more contacts, so Mary decides that she will find her contacts on her own. She starts making regular trips to

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

and comes home late one night covered in bruises and blood. Initially, Mary claims that she had been beaten by the Walford attacker — a man who had assaulted several other women in the area — but she later confesses that she had been beaten by other prostitutes for trying to poach their clients. Despite this, Mary refuses to stop prostituting herself, even when the healthcare worker,

Carmel Roberts Carmel Jackson (also Roberts) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Judith Jacob from 5 June 1986 to 24 August 1989. Carmel, a health visitor, was initially introduced in a recurring, minor role in 1986, when ...

(

Judith Jacob Judith Jacob (born 13 December 1961) is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor Carmel Roberts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she played from 1986 to 1989.Arthur Fowler Arthur Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Bill Treacher from 1985 to 1996. The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man but made some foolish choices that he always ended ...

(

Bill Treacher William Charles Treacher (4 June 1930 – 5 November 2022) was an English actor. He was best known for portraying the role of Arthur Fowler in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1996, having been the first person to be cast for ...

) before she is harmed. Dot can no longer stand the maltreatment of Annie so she contacts Mary's parents, Chris Smith (

Allan O'Keefe Allan O'Keefe is a British actor, known mostly for his work on British television. One of his first roles was playing Quando in ''The Villains'' (1964), a series of unrelated televised plays, which only have the subject of villainy in common. He l ...

) and

Edie Smith The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1987, by order of first appearance. Tina Hopkins Tina Hopkins, played by Eleanor Rhodes, is introduced as Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) girlfri ...

( Eileen O'Brien), who arrive in Walford and demand to take Annie back with them to Stockport. Mary initially refuses, but she eventually realises that her burnt-out flat is no place for a baby, so she begrudgingly allows Annie to go. In 1987, Mary begins a relationship with

Rod Norman Roderick "Rod" Norman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Christopher McHallem from July 28, 1987, to February 27, 1990. Rod the roadie, is a modern-day hobo. He dosses in squats and never settles anywhe ...

(

Christopher McHallem Christopher McHallem (born 1960) is a British actor, writer, musician and director. McHallem began his career in 1977 with the punk rock/post-punk band the Transmitters under the pseudonym "Dexter O'Brian", but left the band shortly after its ...

); a good-hearted, scruffy, layabout who has a soft-spot for women in distress. Rod is a good influence on Mary and desperately tries to get her to stop prostituting herself, regain control of her life. Rod is also instrumental in helping Mary regain custody of Annie. However,

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

are now involved, as Mary's mother decides to apply for full custody of Annie. Mary is frequently frustrated by the amount of time it is taking for Social Services to decide who should have custody of Annie, but Rod keeps her going and even manages to get her a job as cleaner in The Dagmar winebar. Still, Edie refuses to give Annie back, so Rod tries a different tactic. He phones Chris and tells him that Mary is threatening to kill herself unless she gets her baby. The lie works and by the end of the year, Mary's father arrives on the Square bringing baby Annie back to an overjoyed Mary. Chris desperately tries to convince Mary to return to Stockport with him for a family Christmas. She refuses, but on Christmas Eve, after getting extremely drunk, Chris snatches baby Annie and attempts to drive her back to Stockport with him, only to crash his car into a garden wall before he can leave. Annie survives, but Mary finds it hard to forgive her father for his near-fatal mistake. In 1988, Mary and Rod begin to go through some problems, which eventually lead to them splitting up. Mary begins to behave erratically again, regularly taking drugs and begging around the Square for money to fund her habit. She begins to neglect Annie again and even dumps her on Sue while she disappears for a week without informing anyone she is going. She becomes an unwitting pawn in

Simon Wicks Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another chara ...

's (

Nick Berry Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sin ...

) game to bed as many women as possible and is later hurt when he cruelly rejects her. Her father tries desperately to help her regain control of her life, giving her a job as receptionist at his new haulage company. However, upon the arrival of her mother, Edie, Mary decides she is sick of her family's interference, and after vandalising her father's business with

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

, she takes Annie, jumps on a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and leaves Walford, sticking up two fingers in the air as she goes. Over thirty years later, Mary and Annie (now played by Marilyn O'Brien) return for the funeral of

(

Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (''né'' Finestein; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was a British actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Dr. Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard FinesteinLofty Holloway George "Lofty" Holloway is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Tom Watt. Lofty is one of the serial's near-original characters, making his first appearance in the third episode, which was first broadcast on 2 ...

( Tom Watt),

Sharon Mitchell Sharon Mitchell is an American sexologist and former pornographic film actor and director. In 1998, she founded the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM), which tested over 1,000 adult film performers per month before a 2011 da ...

(

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 ...

), and

Kathy Beale Kathy Beale (also Mitchell and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Gillian Taylforth. Portrayed as "an attractive, bright, caring and highly moral woman", Kathy is one of the serial's original ...

(

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, Jackie Pascoe/Webb on ITV Network, ITV's ''Footballers' Wi ...

). They reminisce and Mary thanks Dot for her help with Annie as a child, before leaving. Mary returns over three years later for Dot's funeral, explaining to Sharon that after Dr. Legg's funeral she set up a

WhatsApp WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows us ...

group with Lofty and Colin Russell (

Michael Cashman Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman (born 17 December 1950), is a British actor, politician, and LGBT rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. ...

) in order to keep in touch, which was how she found out that Dot had passed away. She shares her experiences with Dot during her step-granddaughter

Sonia Fowler Sonia Fowler (also Jackson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on and she departed on She returned briefly in 2010 along with other members of the Jackson fam ...

(

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 ...

)'s eulogy, where she agrees with

Disa O'Brien The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1990, by order of first appearance. Harry Osborne In January 1990, a mysterious old man (John Boswall) is seen lingering around Albert Square. ...

(

Jan Graveson Janice Margaret "Jan" Graveson (born 1965 in Easington, County Durham) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in Eastenders as Disa O'Brien and Benidorm as Susie . Career An actress who had dreams from an early ag ...

) that Dot saw something worth saving in those that people would have deemed lost causes such as herself.

Creation and development

Mary Smith was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of ''EastEnders'',

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

and Julia Smith. Mary's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, '' EastEnders: The Inside Story''. :"Aged 19. Mary was brought up in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

. Her parents were Irish

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

s...Her father is a long-distance lorry driver....When she left school Mary could hardly read or write, she didn't learn because she didn't want to...She gave no trouble, no aggro, but no-one took any notice of her...Her mother nagged her about her soul...At 15 she went to a gig with a crowd of people from school and in one night her life changed...She fell in love with a band, a man and a culture. She had found her own religion...She became pregnant...Semi-literate, unskilled and at the same time ashamed...She couldn't go back to the oppressive society of her childhood, where everybody judged everybody and where she would be labelled, even by her own mother, as a 'loose woman'...She wouldn't have an abortion...She drifted into our area, and became one of the single parent families that congregate there...Will she be a survivor, or a loser?...Over the months she may develop a fear of authority...Maybe she will be forced to drift into a life of prostitution..." (page 56). As Holland and Smith wanted a diverse cross-section from the East End community, it was decided that one of the main cast had to be a young, single mother, and as punk music was prominent in British culture at the time, they decided to use a punk image for the character. Holland and Smith decided to cast an unknown actress in the role. They chose

, who was the right age and had been brought up in northern England and therefore had an accent that would befit the character's background. However, actress

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 ...

revealed in 2016 that the part was originally offered to her, saying, "I was asked to play Mary Smith in the show right in the beginning when it started in 1985, but I was very young and it wasn't the right fit for me then". Mary was one of the most striking of the original characters: a lone mother with a small baby, who hid herself under punk makeup, was unable to read or write and was a northerner alone in a southern city. One of the most controversial storylines the character was involved in was her dalliance with

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

in 1987, although it did earn the programme a considerable amount of negative press at the time and was accused of promoting a negative association between single mothers and prostitution. The character of Mary lasted in the show for three years, and was eventually written out of the series when Linda Davidson decided to leave in order pursue other acting roles. On-screen, Mary leaves Walford the way she arrives, running away from her parents. Linda_Davidson

Mary and Lofty's return was confirmed by the BBC on 18 December. The characters return for the funeral of original character

(

Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (''né'' Finestein; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was a British actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Dr. Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard Finestein Mary appears in one episode broadcast in 2019. Executive consultant John Yorke invited Davidson to reprise the role and described Mary as a "huge iconic characters, and a central part of the show's DNA". He added that he was excited to have the characters return for one episode where they play "small but incredibly important roles". Davidson expressed her delight at reprising the role and said she was "so thrilled, and very proud" to return to the soap. She commented, "''EastEnders'' was my first proper family. It gave me stability and a fantastic foundation from which to build an incredible life."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mary EastEnders characters Fictional prostitutes Television characters introduced in 1985 Female characters in television Fictional erotic dancers