Trevor Short
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Trevor Short
OR:
Trevor Short on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Trevor Andrew Short is a fictional character from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
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'', played by
Phil McDermott Phil McDermott is a British actor. Before turning to acting he was a trainee priest, a scrap metal worker, a weighbridge operator and a carpenter. He is most famous for playing a regular character in the BBC soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap ...
from 1 June 1989 to 1 March 1990. Trevor is the inseparable
sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
of
Paul Priestly Paul Priestly is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by Mark Thrippleton, from 20 April 1989 to 1 March 1990. Paul, a builder, came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. H ...
( Mark Thrippleton). He is a well-meaning individual but he is not blessed with much
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
and he manages to mess up almost every job he is given. He has several crushes on the younger women of
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 ...
, but despite his best efforts he never manages to find a girlfriend.


Storylines

Trevor arrives in June 1989 in search of his friend, the builder
Paul Priestly Paul Priestly is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by Mark Thrippleton, from 20 April 1989 to 1 March 1990. Paul, a builder, came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. H ...
( Mark Thrippleton), who had roomed with him briefly at a
youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...
. Paul is not pleased to see Trevor initially, but he nevertheless finds him a job working on a construction site with him. A dim-witted individual "two biscuits short of a box" is how they describe him in
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 wa ...
. His life has been hard. Rejected by his parents, he spent his youth in and out of children's homes and never really felt that he belonged anywhere as a result. Trevor manages to hit it off with the pensioner
Mo Butcher Mo Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She is introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's ( Mike Reid) elderly mother. She is portraye ...
(
Edna Doré Edna Lillian Doré (née Gorring; 31 May 1921 – 11 April 2014) was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in '' EastEnders'' from 1988 to 1990. Career Doré began her c ...
) after he kindly mends a broken washing machine at the launderette. Mo decides to take Trevor under her wing, and ropes him into helping with the renovation of the community centre. However, foolish Trevor steals the supplies from the construction site he is working at, and when Mo forces him to return them, he is caught and loses his job. An array of odd jobs follow for Trevor, all equally unsuccessful. He has a brief spell as the potman at The Vic but he proves a liability. Landlord
Frank Butcher Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mike Reid (actor), Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintr ...
( Mike Reid) gives him a job at his car lot, which only lasts a few days before his ineptitude becomes too much for Frank to bear.
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 ...
) hires him to remove a partition in his café, but this goes awry when Trevor resurrects the partition after he'd just demolished it. Despite all these blunders, Paul still persists in helping his friend out, and allows him to assist him with the renovation of Julie Cooper's ( Louise Plowright) salon and the decorating of
Karim's Karim's Hotel or Karim's is a restaurant located near Jama Masjid, Delhi, Jama Masjid, Gali Kababian, Old Delhi, Delhi, India. Established in 1913, the restaurant has been described as "synonymous with this area" (Old Delhi) and "arguably the c ...
( Aftab Sachak) new property. True to form, Trevor even manages to make a mess of these jobs when he strikes a water main — flooding the market — and causing the Karim's ceiling to collapse. In July 1989 Trevor begins lodging with Mo, who he often refers to as "Mrs. Mo". He finds work tending a stall on the market, but has most of the contents stolen by thieves and is the victim of many practical jokes from hooligans such as
Junior Roberts 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) girlfr ...
(Aaron Carrington) and his girlfriend Melody (Lyanne Compton). He later works on
Pete Beale Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Peter Dean (actor), Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holl ...
's ( Peter Dean) fruit and veg stall. Trevor develops a crush on Paul's casual girlfriend,
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 19 ...
(
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 ...
), which is not reciprocated. He sides with Diane when Paul jilts her in favour of Julie Cooper. He lends her his support and even invites her out one night, which Diane agrees to, but only to make Paul jealous. Trevor is overjoyed and thinks that a relationship will be possible. His dreams, however are shattered when Paul dumps Julie and immediately reconciles with Diane. More bad luck follows for Trevor when he becomes the prime suspect for a series of thefts at The Queen Vic. Trevor is not guilty and is just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. After receiving a tirade of abuse from Frank and being barred from The Vic, Trevor does some investigating for himself and discovers that the real culprit is Frank's daughter, Janine (Rebecca Michael). After confronting her, she runs away from home in fear. Trevor is beside himself with worry, hysterically blaming himself for the whole ordeal. Janine is eventually found inside a derelict van with the stolen items on her, and Trevor is exonerated. During the latter part of 1989, Trevor manages to get himself into trouble with the
Department of Social Security The Department of Social Security (DSS) was a governmental agency in the United Kingdom from 1988 to 2001. The old abbreviation is still often used informally. Advertisements for rented accommodation used to describe prospective tenants who wou ...
for benefit fraud. It is revealed that Trevor has been signing on for
unemployment benefit Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...
while being employed at Pete's stall. For a while it looks as if Trevor will face
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
or a heavy fine, and he reacts with typical hysteria at the prospect of going to
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
. In the end, he manages to avoid this by signing off of 'the dole' and promising to never fraudulently claim benefits again. In December 1989, Trevor is heartbroken when Paul decides he'd had enough of living in London, and moves away from Walford. Trevor mopes around feeling sorry for himself for a while but manages to take his mind off things by developing a new crush, this time on
Shireen Karim The Karims are a fictional family that appear in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' between July 1987 and June 1990. Creation and development The Muslim Karim family are introduced as the owners of the soap's grocery store, the First til Last, f ...
(Nisha Kapur). Shireen is polite enough to let him think his attention is appreciated and even agrees to go on a date with him. Trevor spends a lot of time preparing for the date, seeking advice from almost everyone on the Square, and it ends up being a success. However, after the date, Shireen tells Trevor that it can only be a one off occurrence, as she is already
betrothed An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
. Trevor is outraged and makes several attempts to point out the unfairness of arranged marriages to Shireen's father, all of which have no effect whatsoever. In February 1990, Paul returns to Walford briefly to give Frank Butcher information on his missing daughter, Diane, who has run away from home. Trevor is overjoyed to see him again, but his happiness is fleeting as Paul soon announces that he is leaving once again, and this time for good. Seeing how upset Trevor is over this, Paul decides to ask him to join him in his home town of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
. As Trevor has made such a great success of gardening the local allotments, Paul is sure that he can make a career of it up north. Trevor is overjoyed, and leaves with Paul in March 1990.


Character creation and development

1989 was a year of big change for ''EastEnders'', both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer, Keith Harris, left the show, and co-creators,
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, both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coincided with the exit of one of ''EastEnders'' most successful characters,
Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house fr ...
( Leslie Grantham). A new producer,
Mike Gibbon John Michael Gibbon (born 27 January 1942) is an English television producer and director. He directed and produced the BBC televised soap opera, ''EastEnders''. He began directing the programme in 1985 and began producing the programme in 1988 ...
, was given the arduous task of taking over the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale. The departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and
Angie Watts Angie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out. Angie is well known for her ...
(
Anita Dobson Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Si ...
), had left a massive void in the programme which needed to be filled. In addition, several other long running characters left the show that year, including two original cast members, Sue and
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 ...
(
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 ...
and
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' ...
) and their family;
Donna Ludlow Donna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Matilda Ziegler. She appears between episodes 265 and 437 of ''EastEnders'', originally appearing on screen from 27 August 1987 to 13 April 1989. Donna was s ...
(
Matilda Ziegler Matilda Ziegler (born 23 July 1964) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Donna Ludlow in ''EastEnders'', Irma Gobb in '' Mr. Bean'', and Pearl Pratt in ''Lark Rise to Candleford''. Television and film career Ziegler's first screen ...
); Carmel Jackson (
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.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. ...
). So, it was decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford. ''EastEnders'' script-writer,
Colin Brake Colin Brake (born 1962) is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programmes such as '' Bugs'' and '' EastEnders''. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series '' Doctor Who''. He lives and w ...
, has suggested that "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start". At the time the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing, arguably a reputation that it has never been able to shake. The programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989, there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in
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 ...
. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted. Such characters included Trevor Short, the "nearest thing to a village idiot that Walford had seen in many years", and his friend, northern heartbreaker
Paul Priestly Paul Priestly is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by Mark Thrippleton, from 20 April 1989 to 1 March 1990. Paul, a builder, came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. H ...
( Mark Thrippleton); Julie Cooper ( Louise Plowright), the man-mad
hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
;
Marge Green Marge Green (credited as Brown Owl in her first appearance) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Pat Coombs.
— a batty older lady played by veteran comedy actress,
Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...
; wheeler-dealer
Vince Johnson The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1989, by order of first appearance. Maxine Roberts Maxine Roberts, played by Ella Wilder, is the selfish sister of Carmel Roberts (Judith Ja ...
( Hepburn Graham) and
Laurie Bates Laurie Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by Gary Powell. Laurie was introduced by producer Mike Gibbon in September 1989 as a rival to the long-established character Pete Beale ( Peter Dean) – he o ...
( Gary Powell, who became
Pete Beale Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Peter Dean (actor), Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holl ...
's ( Peter Dean) sparring partner. Trevor Short was a dim-witted odd job man, who drifted into
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 ...
in search of his friend and a new home. He was a well-intentioned but lonely misfit that rarely got anything right; a role that had been largely absent since the departure of
Lofty 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 ...
in 1988 — although Trevor would prove to be a substantially less successful character in comparison. The writers' original intention had been for Trevor to be a tall
Scot The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
. The actor Phil McDermott
audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
ed for the role even though he was a short
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
er of
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
descent. Despite McDermott's obvious differences to the original character conception, he managed to get the job by crying for five minutes on cue during his audition. Humour was an important element in the storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. Trevor's character in particular was regularly used for comic effect, with emphasis placed on his inferior intelligence and ability to turn any small task into a disaster. As well as playing sidekick to Paul, Trevor was also featured heavily with the hardened battleaxe
Mo Butcher Mo Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She is introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's ( Mike Reid) elderly mother. She is portraye ...
(
Edna Doré Edna Lillian Doré (née Gorring; 31 May 1921 – 11 April 2014) was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in '' EastEnders'' from 1988 to 1990. Career Doré began her c ...
); docile Trevor being the perfect foil for taking the brunt of Mo's bossy and dominant personality, which he did willingly. 1989's changes were a brave experiment and while some found this period of ''EastEnders'' entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat. Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence, drugs,
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
, the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge". By the end of the year ''EastEnders'' had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson, who had previously been a successful producer on ITV's ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...
''. Ultimately, Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, two hugely successful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year. Among them was Trevor, as well as every other "comedic" character that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Several of the actors were upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Trevor EastEnders characters Television characters introduced in 1989 Fictional fraudsters Male characters in television