1.
Gavin Richards
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Gavin Richards is an English actor, writer and director. He is best known for adapting, directing and starring in the West End production of Dario Fos Accidental Death of an Anarchist. He also played Captain Alberto Bertorelli in the BBC sitcom Allo Allo. from 1987 to 1989, Gavin was born in Tufnell Park, Islington, north London. His mother was Margaret Richards, who worked for years as an assistant to Hugh Binkie Beaumont. She went on to become secretary to Roy Strong at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Gavin attended the Burleigh Road School in Tufnell Park and later the Quintin Grammar School in St Johns Wood. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1964–66 and he began his professional career with five years in repertory theatres in Leicester, Manchester, Bolton and Liverpool. Richards has worked as an actor, director and writer in theatre, television and he is most familiar for his portrayal of Terry Raymond in the BBC TV series EastEnders, appearing in over 300 episodes. He also played Captain Alberto Bertorelli in the TV comedy hit Allo Allo. in which he appears in thirty episodes. His television credits include roles in Coronation Street, Hi-de-Hi. The Bill, Lovejoy, Minder, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, Between the Lines and he co starred with Robert Powell in Hannay, with Leigh Lawson in Kinsey, Michael Kitchen in The Reporters and with Rowan Atkinson in Full Throttle. He also starred in the series Annies Bar, Driving Ambition, Hardwicke House, Mike & Angelo and many other programmes. He has appeared in films, amongst others, with Robin Williams in Being Human, with Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson in Michael Apteds Triple Echo and he also starred in the production for Channel 4 TV in the UK. Gavin played Face in Griff Rhys Joness production of The Alchemist at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and he worked as a guest artist on the BBC/SPP TV co production of Kidnapped, and the TVNZ production of The Lost Children, both shot entirely in New Zealand. Gavin has performed at the London Palladium in the production of Allo Allo. He directed Shane Connaughtons first play, Jenny at the Roundhouse, London, belt & Braces also produced Brechts Mother Courage. In 1989 he played Brian in the British Gas Public Information Film about the dangers of a gas leak, the production was then remounted in the UK at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. The production also played in Blenheim, Invercargill, Whangarei, Tauranga, Theatre South is the only professional theatre company in Malrborough. Past productions include a workshop production, The Hole in the Sky
2.
Louise Raymond
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Louise Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Carol Harrison from May 1998 to April 1999. Louise is the mother of the characters Tiffany and Simon Raymond. She is featured most prominently in a storyline about adultery. The plot is the catalyst for the death of Tiffany. Harison left the role in 1999, scriptwriters allegedly felt that the character had left to go following Tiffanys departure. Louise arrives in Albert Square in May 1998, just in time to halt the proceedings of her husband Terry s marriage to Irene Hills. Although their marriage had ended in many years ago, Terry is still legally married to Louise and had refused to grant her a divorce in order to get out of paying the settlement. Louise had left both her children, in their teens, in the custody of their drunken and abusive father, both Tiffany and Simon find it difficult to cope with their mothers sudden reemergence, but Louise manages to win them round. After reuniting with her children, Louise decides to move to Walford, mainly to support Tiffany, Louise seems to dislike Grant initially, she tries to convince Tiffany not to go back to him. Grant is desperate to save his marriage in order to close to his daughter, Courtney. Over subsequent meetings, it becomes evident that Grant and Louise are attracted to each other, Louise initially denies her feelings, embarking on a fling with Gianni di Marco to put Grant off. However, on the night of her 40th birthday, the inevitable happens and Grant, the next day, Louise is wracked with guilt, which is compounded by the fact that Tiffany has decided that she wants to reunite with Grant. In order to spare her daughters feelings, Louise keeps the affair secret, Louise is attacked in November of that year and it is Grant who comes to her rescue, which nearly leads to them having sex a second time, stopped only by Simons unexpected appearance. Panicking, Grant declines to tell Tiffany about Louises attack, fearing that Louise will be likely to confess their affair in her emotional state. When Louise finds out that Grant has attempted to keep her away from her, she goes round to The Queen Victoria public house to confront him. However, a distraught Tiffany hears their conversation over the baby monitor. Upon realising that her mother has betrayed her with her husband, moments before she is about to depart, Grant accosts her and an argument culminates in Tiffany falling down the stairs and being hospitalised. After Tiffany recovers, she refuses to have anything more to do with Louise, after setting Grant up as the perpetrator of her accidental fall, she tries to leave Walford again but is run-over and killed by Frank Butcher on New Years Eve 1998 before she can leave
3.
Irene Raymond
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Irene Constance Ethel Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Roberta Taylor. Introduced in 1997 as the matriarch of the Hills family, Irene remained in the serial until 2000 and her departure storyline was filmed on-location in Spain, where she ends her marriage to Terry. Irene is the ex-wife of Ted Hills and the mother of Sarah and Tony Hills. She comes to stay with her children after she was fleeced out of her divorce settlement by a conman and her children are initially hostile to her for being absent for so many years, as is her sister-in-law Kathy, who resents her for her treatment of her brother. The ceremony takes place in 1998, but just as Terry is about to say I do, his first wife, Louise, halts the proceedings by announcing that she and Terry are still married. Irene is furious and humiliated, but Terry manages to win her round, despite this hitch, Irene goes on to marry Terry, secretly at a registry office, after his divorce from Louise has been finalised. Together, Terry and Irene run the grocery store, The First Til Last. Things reach a low when Irene starts going through menopause in 1999. She often gets severely emotional, depressed, and irritated, particularly with Terry, Terry is incapable of doing anything right in Irenes eyes at this time. Irenes restless nature means that she begins to tire of married life with Terry and in 1999, after continual chasing. Troy is considerably younger than Irene, and although he makes her special and desirable, Troy is only playing the field. Irene refuses to believe Rosa however and the affair continues, things reach a head on Christmas Day in 1999. Terry discovers a watch that Irene had got engraved for Troy, Terry is hurt, but his angst is directed at Troy and not Irene. After sending Irene on an errand, he confronts Troy and evicts him without his wife knowing, when Irene returns she is devastated to learn that Troy has gone. Terry forgives Irene, but the marriage is strained and Irene is never fully content or happy with her life after Troys departure. Irene is over the moon but her joy soon turns to rage when she discovers that Terry has invited fellow Walford residents Frank and Peggy Butcher, as well as Roy and Pat Evans. Whilst on holiday, Terry begins to despair over Irenes obvious unhappiness with their marriage and her complaints about her dull life in Walford. In an attempt to call her bluff he sets Irene up with a car, gives her a wad of money and suggests that she leave there and then
4.
Simon Raymond
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Simon Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Andrew Lynford. Simon is introduced in 1996 as the brother of Tiffany Mitchell. His relationship with the bisexual character Tony Hills featured a gay kiss that caused controversy in the UK, Simon remained in the serial until 1999, at which time it was mutually agreed between Lynford and executive producer Matthew Robinson, that the character had run its course. The character was given an ending, reuniting with his former boyfriend Tony to travel Europe. Simon arrives in Walford in 1996 when he comes in search of his sister Tiffany, after his relationship with his partner, Howard. Their father Terry is an alcoholic, while their mother Louise had abandoned them when they were young. Simon becomes close to Tiffanys boyfriend Tony Hills, who had earlier been secretly confused about his sexuality, however, while on a trip to Blackpool, Tony is unable to control his urges any longer and kisses Simon. Simon eventually gets to the point where he has had enough of Tonys denials and unpleasantness and that night, after having packed his bags earlier in the day, Simon tells Tony of his intentions, and in response Tony begs him to stay. Simon demands to be given a good reason why he should do so. Then follows a torturous discussion during which Tony eventually admits his homosexuality and his love for Simon, after which they cuddle, Tiffany comes home, discovers them in the act of kissing, and flees the house hysterically with Tony and Simon running after her. Tiffany finds it difficult to forgive her brother but they reconcile when Tiffany settles down with Grant Mitchell. Simon and Tony stay together for a while, and Simon even reconciles with his father and mother, Simon initially works on Sanjay Kapoor s market stall selling clothes, then later for his sisters best friend Bianca Jackson. Simons idyll is shattered, however, when he finds out that Tony had sex with the female singer Frankie Pierre, as well as his work colleague, angry and devastated, Simon ends the relationship. An old friend from Manchester, Jonathan, gets in touch when he is helping another friend, Chris, although Simon initially thinks they are a couple, it becomes clear that Chris is taking a shine to Simon, with some not so subtle flirting. After breaking up with Tony, Simon immediately starts seeing Chris, even though Chris wants and it is while he and Chris are on holiday with Tony and some other Walford residents, that Simon and Tony realise that they still have feelings for each other. The main reason for the holiday is for Simon and Chris to sort out their relationship and they do, Simon ends it as he doesnt love Chris. When Tiffany is killed in a car accident on New Years Eve 1998, Simon has a nervous breakdown and blames Tiffanys husband Grant for her death. This culminates in Simon abducting his sisters baby, Courtney, and taking her to Peacehaven, after much abusive ranting, Grant and Tony persuade Simon to hand Courtney back and Simon is taken home to recover
5.
Tiffany Mitchell
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Tiffany Dawn Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Martine McCutcheon from 1995 until 1998. The character was created by the writer, Tony Jordan and she was introduced as a school friend of Bianca Jackson and became a prominent and popular character during her tenure due to a combustible relationship with the soaps landlord, Grant Mitchell. McCutcheon quit the role in 1998 in order to pursue a musical career, producers made the controversial decision to kill the character off, an act that McCutcheon publicly criticised as she had hoped to return at some stage. A book released in 1998, documenting Tiffanys time in the soap, was a number one bestseller, Tiffany is the only daughter of Terry and Louise Raymond. Louise abandoned Tiffany and her older brother Simon when they were children, Tiffany attended school with Bianca Jackson and Natalie Price where she was a popular student. As a teenager, Tiffany had an affair with her teacher and became pregnant by him, Tiffany arrives in Walford in January 1995 to visit Bianca. After finding work as a barmaid at The Queen Victoria public house and she clashes with landlord Grant Mitchell, and one night their disagreement leads to passion. A few months later, she reveals to Grant her father caused her to miscarry, he comforts her, when sober, they both agree not to repeat this and Tiffany begins dating Tony Hills. They move in together and the relationship blossoms until Tiffany discovers she is pregnant, although she knows there is a possibility her child is Grants, she decides to claim her baby is Tonys. It is not until Tiffany discovers Tony kissing her brother, Simon, devastated, Tiffany tells Grant he is her babys father. Determined to raise the child, Grant whisks Tiffany away to Paris in November 1996 for a quick wedding, Tony refuses to believe Grant is the father and subsequent fights ensue, with Tiffany staunchly denying Tony has claim to her unborn baby. Living with Grant proves difficult for Tiffany, Grant refuses to allow Tiffany to socialise or drink alcohol, fearing that it may harm his unborn child. After Grant witnesses Tiffany having a cocktail, he is incensed, Tiffany threatens to leave him and Grant almost attacks her but is stopped by Lorraine Wicks. Lorraine consoles a distraught Tiffany, who breaks down and admits that Grant may not be her babys father, Lorraine tries to convince Tiffany to tell Grant the truth, but Tiffany decides against it and continues to keep up the pretence. Meanwhile, Lorraine begins to make her real intentions towards Grant clear, on Christmas Eve 1996 she and Grant kiss and on New Years Eve, Lorraine informs Grant there is a possibility Tiffanys baby is not his. Grant reacts by throwing a pregnant Tiffany out and their separation allows Grant to embark on a relationship with Lorraine, destroying Tiffany. Tiffany gives birth to baby Courtney by Caesarean section in March 1997, however it does not last and he is soon denouncing that the child is his. Tiffany is forced to get a paternity test, which reveals Grant is Courtneys father, Tiffany is allowed to stay at the Vic so Grant can keep his daughter close
6.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
7.
Soap opera
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A soap opera, soap, or soapie, is a serial drama on television or radio that examines the lives of many characters, usually focusing on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama. The term soap opera originated from such dramas being typically sponsored by soap manufacturers in the past, the first serial considered to be a soap opera was Painted Dreams, which debuted on October 20,1930 on Chicago radio station WGN. The first nationally broadcast radio soap opera was Clara, Lu, and Em, a crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the features that makes a television program a soap opera. While Spanish language telenovelas are sometimes called soap operas, telenovelas have conflicts that get resolved, but with soap operas each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode. You spend more time even with the characters, the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous. Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments, each episode may feature some of the shows current storylines, but not always all of them. Soap operas rarely bring all the current storylines to a conclusion at the same time, when one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development. Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliffhanger, evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode, and to represent all current storylines in each episode. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger, the article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, the storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. These elements may be found across the gamut of soap operas, Due to the prominence of English-language television, most soap-operas are completely English. In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working class environments. Many of the soaps produced in two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare, UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting reality or purport to have a realistic style. Romance, secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines, in US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and the most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels. Crimes such as kidnapping, rape, and even murder may go unpunished if the perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story, Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the romantic quality of criminal and/or oligarch life, in soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and twins of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate the set of relationships examined by the series
8.
EastEnders
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EastEnders is a long running British soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since 1985. Set in the East End of London in the fictional Bough of Walford the programme follows the stories of local residents, the series was initially screened as two 30-minute episodes per week however since 2001, episodes have been broadcast every day apart from Wednesdays and weekends. Same-day repeats and omnibus editions of the series were previously shown on BBC Three however as of 2016 these are broadcast on UK-based TV channel W. They gave the job of creating this new soap to script writer Tony Holland and producer Julia Smith and they created twenty-four original characters for the show, based upon Hollands own family, and people they remembered from their own experiences in the East End. Granada Television gave Smith unrestricted access to the Coronation Street production for a month so that she could get a sense how a continuing drama was produced and they cast actors for their characters, and began to film the show at BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. Julia Smith thought Eastenders looked ugly written down, and capitalised the second e, the central focus of EastEnders is the fictional Victorian square Albert Square in the fictional London Borough of Walford. In the shows narrative, Albert Square is a 19th-century street, named after Prince Albert, thus, central to Albert Square is The Queen Victoria Public House. Fans have tried to establish the location Walford would have within London if it were real, Walford has the postal district of E20. The postcode district was selected as if it were part of the actual E postcode area covers much of east London although the next unused postcode district in the area was. In 1917 the current postal districts in London were assigned according to the name of the main sorting office for each district. If Walford had been assigned in this scheme it would have been given E17, in March 2011, Royal Mail allocated the E20 postal district to the 2012 Olympic Park. The postal district in EastEnders was entirely fictional up to that point, the shows creators opted for E20 instead of E19 as it was thought to sound better. In September 2011 the postal code for Albert Square was revealed in an episode as E20 6PQ, there is also a market close to Fassett Square at Ridley Road. The postcode for the area, E8, was one of the titles for the series. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where Tony Holland lived and a blend of Walthamstow and Stratford—the areas of Greater London where the creators were born, other parts of the Square and set interiors are based on other locations. The fictional local newspaper, the Walford Gazette, in local news events such as the arrests or murders of characters appear. EastEnders is built around the idea of relationships and strong families and this theme encompasses the whole Square, making the entire community a family of sorts, prey to upsets and conflict, but pulling together in times of trouble. Co-creator Tony Holland was from a large East End family, Pauline and Petes mother was the domineering Lou Beale, who lived with Pauline and her family
9.
Walford
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Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders in the equally fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End. The squares design was based on Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after Prince Albert, the public house, The Queen Victoria, was also given its name due to this. One of the key characteristics of the pub is the window twitching by any of the occupants throughout the years and they are often known to look out of the windows, giving a view of the whole Square. This is especially common in dramatic storylines, central to the Square is the garden. The garden is home to Arthur Fowlers bench, which was placed there in memory of him, the bench is also known as the Bench of Tears, as it is often the place where characters will go and cry. The square is the centre of all of the drama in all of Walfords residents lives. Although a major place on the show, there are places which are used in the show. The Queen Victoria public house, known to residents as the Queen Vic or simply The Vic, stands south of the square at number 45 Albert Square, where it joins with Bridge Street. East of the pub is a building with 2 flats and west of these in the southwest corner leads off to a walkway through to Turpin Way, on which the Walford Community Centre and Playground are found. To the west of the Queen Vic, across the junction with Bridge Street, is the Beale house,45 Albert Square, next to that is 43 Albert Square. In the southwest corner of the square is number 41, between numbers 41 and 43 is Daisy Lane, a pathway connecting Albert Square to Victoria Square. On the west edge of The Square there are two houses 18 and 20 Albert Square, which have been knocked through as a single property and it was previously Walfords B&B, Kims Palace. North of the old B&B is the rear of 55 Victoria Road, a row of five terraced houses line the north edge of Albert Square. The westernmost house is number 31, the property next door is split into two flats. Number 25 is the home of Dot Cotton, the easternmost property in the terrace is number 23, which was destroyed in September 2014 by a fire. On the northeast edge of Albert Square is a car lot, the northernmost house is number 5. A road leaves to the north at the northeast edge of the square, the middle house is 3 Albert Square. Most southerly of this terrace is number 1, originally flats with the surgery on the ground floor
10.
Estate agent
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An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland or other countries around the world. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent, Estate agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents. In Scotland, however, many solicitors also act as estate agents and it is customary in the United Kingdom and in Ireland to refer to real estate or real property simply as property. The estate agent remains the current title for the responsible for the management of one group of privately owned, all or mostly tenanted. Alternative titles are Factor, Steward or Bailiff depending on the era, the region, the term originally referred to a person responsible for managing a landed estate, while those engaged in the buying and selling of homes were House Agents, and those selling land were Land Agents. However, in the 20th century, Estate Agent started to be used as a generic term, Estate agent is roughly synonymous with the United States term real estate broker. Estate agents need to be familiar with their area, including factors that could increase or decrease property prices. E. g. if a new road or airport is to be built this can blight houses nearby, equally, the closing of a quarry or improvement of an area can enhance prices. In advising clients on a price, the agent must be aware of recent sale prices for comparable properties. The full legal term and definition of an agent within the UK can be found on the Office of Fair Trading website. Enforcement of these regulations is also the responsibility of the OFT, in September 2012 CPRs was introduced which now regulates the residential sales process. For residential property, there are also a few trade associations for estate agents, INEA The Independent Network of Estate Agents, NAEA members can be disciplined for breaches of their code of conduct. Their disciplinary process includes everything from cautions and warnings right through to more severe penalties of up to £5,000 for each rule breached. Some estate agents are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme, which obtained OFT approval for the Code of Practice for Residential Sales in and, as of November 2006 claims to have 2,532 member agencies. There is a requirement to belong to either organisation to trade as an estate agent. Agents can be fined if they are not a member of a redress scheme, the redress scheme was brought in alongside and to govern agents in reference to the HIP. A handful of national residential estate agents chains exist, with the majority being locally or regionally specialised companies, several multi-national commercial agencies exist, typically Anglo-American, pan-European or global. These firms all seek to provide the range of property advisory services
11.
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
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Grant Anthony Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. Grant first appeared in 1990, introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show, Kemp remained until 25 October 1999 when he opted to leave. He returned to the show on 24 October 2005 and then left the series on 9 June 2006, Kemp was persuaded to return to the role for brief stints during a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders. The return proved to be a ratings success, Kemp reprised the role of Grant for brief stints from 13 May to 9 September 2016. A popular character, prominent in the series, Grant is portrayed as a persona, known for his fiery temper. Family is important to him, particularly his relationship with his brother, Grant and Phil known as the Mitchell brothers have become household names in the United Kingdom. They have been parodied even in adverts where their gruff, tough talking, one of EastEnders most popular and highly rated storylines was Sharongate, where Grant discovers that his wife Sharon has been having an affair with his brother. Grant arrives in Albert Square with his brother Phil Mitchell, as the owners of the local garage, Grant had returned from being a paratrooper in the Army involved in the Falklands War. After a brief fling with Julie Cooper and getting involved in various deals, Grant starts wooing the local barmaid. Sharon is attracted to his machismo, and soon their flirting progresses into a relationship, fiercely protective of his girlfriend, most of Grants initial problems in the Square revolve around his over-possessive nature and jealousy. In the wake of this, Grant decides to re-enlist in the army, Grant marries Sharon and together they run The Queen Victoria. Their marriage is stormy and punctuated with violent rows and fights, Grant is desperate for a child, and when he discovers Sharon is still taking contraception, he smashes up the pub and then disappears. In his absence, Sharon is comforted by Phil and they begin an affair, although this comes to an end when Grant returns. He cannot live up to his promises however, and on Sharons birthday and he does not check to see if Sharon is out of the way, and she and her dog Roly nearly die in the blaze. The insurance money is insufficient, and Sharon reacts with fury when she discovers what Grant has done. She leaves Grant for a while, and when she attempts to seize control of the Vic, Grant turns violent, assaults Sharon. While he is in prison, Sharon and Phil rekindle their affair, but neither can confess to Grant, and it ends when he is released from prison. Sharon and Grant patch up their relationship, however, Grant discovers a tape on which Sharon talks about her affair with Phil, Grant batters Phil in revenge, leaving him with a ruptured spleen, and bullies Sharon until she fled to America
12.
Ross Kemp
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Ross Kemp is an English actor, author and BAFTA award-winning investigative journalist. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, since 2004, Kemp has received international recognition as an investigative journalist for his critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary series. After training at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Kemp received his Equity card when appearing alongside John Thaw and Richard Wilson at the Palace Theatre and he went on to feature in training films for the Ministry of Defence and the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm as Graham Lodsworth. Guest appearances in Londons Burning and Birds of a Feather followed, kemps best-known role to date is that of hardman Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Kemp announced in April 1999 that he would be leaving the later that year after nearly a decade. His exit was aired in October 1999 when his character moved to Brazil after surviving a car crash, Kemp refused to rule out an eventual return to EastEnders, and various media reports over the next few years speculated that he would be returning to the series at some stage. In early 2005, the BBC confirmed that Kemp would be returning to EastEnders later that year after six years away and it was co-star Barbara Windsor who convinced him to go back for a brief period. His first comeback lasted just a few weeks from the autumn of 2005. Kemp has won awards for his portrayal of Grant. In January 2016 it was confirmed that Kemp would make a return to the show for the death of Grants on-screen mother, Peggy Mitchell. He later filmed a further three weeks and returned again for brief stints from 4 July to 9 September 2016, following his initial departure from EastEnders, Kemp moved from the BBC to ITV for a reported £1.2 million two-year deal. Kemps first role for ITV was in Hero of the Hour, during its filming, on 27 October 1999, Kemp required hospital treatment after being shot in the face when a stunt went wrong. He suffered cuts to his chest and face after safety glass shattered and he was treated at the scene by paramedics, but made a full recovery. He also starred as the lead in ITVs Christmas edition of A Christmas Carol and he continued to appear in this role until 2006. He also gained the role of Cirra in the 2004 TV film, Kemp appeared in the 4th episode of Series 14 of BBCs motoring show Top Gear. He was the Man in Boot of a Renault Twingo Sport being tested by Jeremy Clarkson, the test ended with Clarkson driving the car off the quayside of Belfast Harbour, after which Clarkson joked that Kemp was killed. Initially focusing on tie-ins to his various TV documentaries,2011 saw the publication of his first fictional story, a novel, Moving Target, was released in summer 2012. Kemp was succeeded by Greg Hemphill, in 2011, he wrote an article in The Sun outlining his opposition to the alternative vote in the 2011 referendum on the subject
13.
Tony Hills
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Tony Hills is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Mark Homer from 7 September 1995 to 15 April 1999. Tony arrives in Walford from Norfolk on 7 September 1995 with his sister and he is unsympathetic and sells ecstasy with a friend, Dan Zappieri. Eventually, he quits dealing after Dan gives Sarah ecstasy without her knowledge, Tony begins a relationship with Tiffany Raymond and lives with her for a while. She becomes pregnant and the baby is assumed to be Tonys, however, Tiffany catches him kissing her brother Simon, with whom he then starts a relationship, and the baby is revealed to be Grant Mitchells. Tony still believes the baby may be his until, after it is born, Tony and Simon have a turbulent relationship, and Tony has affairs with Frankie Pierre, a singer, and Polly Becker, a journalist at the Walford Gazette, where Tony is a trainee. Simon discovers the affairs and the split up. Tonys experiments with ecstasy and general pro-drug attitudes cause him to once say no-one ever died from taking E and he has a relationship with Teresa di Marco, but after Tiffany dies and Simon nearly burns to death in a house fire, Tony reconciles with Simon. Simon has trouble accepting that Tony is bisexual rather than gay, a letter sent to Tonys family reveals the couple have settled in Amsterdam. Homers departure from EastEnders was announced in late 1998, along with that of his co-star Andrew Lynford and their departures left only one gay character in the UKs mainstream soap operas, that of Zoe Tate in Emmerdale. Gay campaigning group Stonewalls spokesman Matt Aston commented on this, saying, Gay characters did seem to be on the rise for a while, but now theyve got a bit of a low profile. Wed like to see a few more positive role models in the media, especially to young people who are coming to terms with their sexuality, as well as their friends. However, Aston praised the way Tonys sexuality was handled, saying and it was a positive portrayal of how people can be confused about their sexuality. And as with any kind of exposure of these issues, people are more aware of them. People also link them with us and get in touch to talk about it, eastEnderss first gay kiss attracted criticism, but it was noted that by the time Tony and Simon had their first kiss, fewer feathers were left to be ruffled. Author Margaret Llewellyn-Jones has suggested that Simon and Tony were two of the gay boys in London. The two gay characters are signified within codes of recognition that are available to the central reader, List of fictional journalists List of LGBT characters in television and radio
14.
Divorce
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Divorce should not be confused with annulment, which declares the marriage null and void, with legal separation or de jure separation or with de facto separation. Reasons for divorce vary, from sexual incompatibility or lack of independence for one or both spouses to a personality clash, the only countries that do not allow divorce are the Philippines, the Vatican City and the British Crown Dependency of Sark. The Vatican City is a state, which has no procedure for divorce. Countries that have relatively recently legalized divorce are Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Andorra, Ireland, Chile, grounds for divorce vary widely from country to country. Marriage may be seen as a contract, a status, or a combination of these, where it is seen as a contract, the refusal or inability of one spouse to perform the obligations stipulated in the contract may constitute a ground for divorce for the other spouse. In contrast, in countries, divorce is purely no fault. Many jurisdictions offer both the option of a no fault divorce as well as an at fault divorce and this is the case, for example, in many US states. Though divorce laws vary between jurisdictions, there are two approaches to divorce, fault based and no-fault based. In some jurisdictions one spouse may be forced to pay the fees of another spouse. Laws vary as to the period before a divorce is effective. However, issues of division of property are determined by the law of the jurisdiction in which the property is located. In Europe, divorce laws differ from country to country, reflecting differing legal and cultural traditions, in some countries, particularly in some former communist countries, divorce can be obtained only on one single general ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Yet, what such a breakdown of the marriage is interpreted very differently from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Separation constitutes a ground of divorce in some European countries. g. in the laws of Latvia. Divorce laws are not static, they often change reflecting evolving social norms of societies, some countries have completely overhauled their divorce laws, such as Spain in 2005, and Portugal in 2008. A new divorce law also came into force in September 2007 in Belgium, bulgaria also modified its divorce regulations in 2009. e. The negotiations with the participation of an advocate or agreement made before the registrar of Public Registry Office, Austria, instead, is a European country where the divorce law still remains conservative. The liberalization of laws is not without opposition, particularly in the United States
15.
Honeymoon
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A honeymoon is the traditional holiday taken by newlyweds to celebrate their marriage in intimacy and seclusion. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic and this is the period when newly wed couples take a break to share some private and intimate moments that helps establish love in their relationship. This privacy in turn is believed to ease the comfort zone towards a physical relationship, the earliest term for this in English was hony moone, which was recorded as early as 1546. In Western culture, the custom of a couple going on a holiday together originated in early 19th century Great Britain. Upper-class couples would take a tour, sometimes accompanied by friends or family. The practice soon spread to the European continent and was known as voyage à la façon anglaise in France from the 1820s onwards, honeymoons in the modern sense became widespread during the Belle Époque, as one of the first instances of modern mass tourism. This came about in spite of initial disapproval by contemporary medical opinion, the most popular honeymoon destinations at the time were the French Riviera and Italy, particularly its seaside resorts and romantic cities such as Rome, Verona or Venice. Typically honeymoons would start on the night they were married, with the couple leaving midway through the reception to catch a train or ship. In Jewish traditions, honeymoons are often put off seven days to allow for the seven nights of feasting if the visits to friends, the Oxford English Dictionary offers no etymology, but gives examples dating back to the 16th century. The Merriam-Webster dictionary reports the etymology as from the idea that the first month of marriage is the sweetest. In ancient times honeymoon referred to the time of year when bee honey was ripe and this was usually around the Summer solstice by end June. A honeymoon can also be the first, sweetest moments a newly-wed couple spend together and this, the first known literary reference to the honeymoon, was penned in 1552, in Richard Huloets Abecedarium Anglico Latinum. It was believed that by faithfully drinking mead for that first month, the woman would “bear fruit”, there are many words of similar meaning in other languages. The Sinhalese form translates as Madhu Samaya, the French form translates as moon of honey, as do the Spanish, Romanian, Nepali Portuguese and Italian equivalents. The Welsh word for honeymoon is mis mêl, which means honey month, the Persian word is ماه عسل māh-e asal which means both honey moon and honey month. The same applies to the word ay in the Turkish equivalent, in Hungarian language it is called honey weeks
16.
Christmas
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In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family. Although the month and date of Jesus birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar and this is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Although it is not known why December 25 became a date of celebration, December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. Jesus was identified with the Sun based on an Old Testament verse, the date is exactly nine months following Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated. Finally, the Romans had a series of pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. Christmas is a form of Christs mass. It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, crīst is from Greek Khrīstos, a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ, Messiah, meaning anointed, and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form Christenmas was also used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal, it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. In addition to Christmas, the holiday has been known by other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, or, more rarely, Nativity, meaning birth, is from Latin nātīvitās. In Old English, Gēola referred to the corresponding to December and January. Noel entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis, the canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census and it says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels, the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century, the feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day
17.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
18.
Janine Butcher
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Janine Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, introduced in 1989 and portrayed by Charlie Brooks from 1999 to 2014. Rebecca Michael originally portrayed the character from 1989 until 1993, when Alexia Demetriou, Brooks took on the role in 1999, remaining as a permanent character until 2004. After a three episode guest stint on 2 April 2008 which saw the character reappear for her father Franks funeral, Brooks agreed to reprise her role full-time, Janines storylines typically involve her in an antagonistic role, the character has been described as a super-bitch and a classic villainess. In February 2012, Brooks announced that she would take a break from the show later in the year. Brooks returned to filming on 21 February 2013 and returned on screen on 18 April 2013. On 28 October 2013, it was announced that Brooks had decided to leave the show for a time but to allow for Brooks to return again. Following Janines arrest on Christmas Day, she returned to screens on 24 February 2014 when Kat Moon and Stacey Branning visited her in prison, altogether Brooks has portrayed Janine for 11 years. Janines storylines included prostitution, drug addiction, financial worries, becoming an agoraphobe, the character is the widow of Barry Evans, David and Michael Moon and is divorced from Ryan Malloy. During June 2012 Janine prematurely gave birth to a daughter, Scarlett, the pair later separate and become embroiled in a custody battle over Scarlett, which leads to Janine murdering Michael in October 2013, facilitating her third departure from the show. Janines mother, June, died of cancer when Janine was three and she moved in with her sister Clare and her father Frank moved to Walford with her older siblings Ricky and Diane and married Pat Wicks. Clare moved to Manchester in 1989, leaving Janine with Pat, a troublesome child, Janine throws tantrums, runs away, is a bed-wetter, a sleepwalker, a thief, a compulsive liar and self-harmer and hates Pat. Unable to discipline her, Pat forces Frank to take Janine to family therapy, when Frank has a breakdown and disappears in 1994, Janine stays with Pat but finds her fathers absence upsetting. She is overjoyed when Frank returns and they move to Manchester in 1996, however, Frank returns to Walford in 1998, leaving Janine with Clare. Janine returns in 1999 to live with Frank and his new wife and she sets about coming between them, constantly trying to antagonise Frank with rebellious behaviour. She sleeps with Jamie Mitchell to infuriate her father then humiliates Jamie by spreading rumours about his prowess in bed. Frank abandons Janine in 2000 after the breakdown of his marriage to Peggy, homeless, Janine is taken in by Terry Raymond, they start a business together as estate agents. Terry sees Janine as a daughter but her constant manipulation tests his patience. Janine uses him for money, deliberately dresses like his late daughter Tiffany Mitchell, ruins his relationships with women, Janine also has a relationship with Billy Mitchell until he runs out of money
19.
Charlie Brooks
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Charlene Emma Charlie Brooks is a British actress, known for playing Janine Butcher in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Brooks portrayal of Janine has awarded Brooks with numerous awards, since her first appearance in 1999, with storylines involving cocaine addiction, prostitution and murder. Brooks has appeared in British television shows, The Bill, Wired and Bleak House, Brooks was born in 1981, in Ware, Hertfordshire, England, but moved to Barmouth, Wales, when she was a child. Christened as Charlene, Brooks moved to Barmouth with her mother, Rowena Roe, brother Ben, Brooks attended Tower House School, in Barmouth, and relocated to London to attend Ravenscourt Theatre School. Ben, her brother, also got a place, and they lived with another family and we were little Welsh children and didnt know anything outside the mountains. I was homesick and the family we boarded with werent very nice and they liked Ben, but not me. Soon after we arrived the woman said, Hell work and she wont and it was incredibly tough and made me grow up quickly. Roe, a restaurant manager, and Beth soon followed, relocating to London. Due to Brooks acting ambition, her father, Danny, an owner of a company, stayed in Wales. Brooks said of this, It was something they had to do because they werent happy, theyre still good friends and we all get on well together. Dad comes to stay with us and its much better now and theyre both happy. At the age of 16, Brooks attended Arts Educational to prepare for her A-levels, whilst studying, she got the role of Janine Butcher in EastEnders. She said of this in 2006, I stupidly dropped my studies, I regret that so much I am going to work hard and sit them. I hope to do a degree in English, in television, Brooks has appeared in episodes of The Bill, Londons Burning, Jonathan Creek and The Demon Headmaster. When executive producer Matthew Robinson re-introduced Janine in 1999, after Alexia Demetriou left, then I joined EastEnders and I felt like a lost little girl. I remember the casting director taking me to meet Patsy Palmer on my first day there and, because Id been watching EastEnders since I was little, I actually felt sick. Due to EastEnders, Brooks has won awards, and has proved her acting abilities with a variety of testing storylines. She reflected on her departure, Leaving EastEnders was a massive decision, I was very lucky with Janine
20.
Frank Butcher
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Francis Aloysius Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, Reid took a long hiatus from EastEnders in 1994. Frank returns as a character from December 1995 to January 1998, and eventually becomes a regular once again from May 1998 to November 2000. Frank makes three brief reappearances after that, the one in December 2005. Given the widespread identification of Mike Reid as Frank, Reids death in July 2007 led to BBC bosses deciding that it would not be possible for the character to return in the future. In November 2007, it was announced that the character would die off-screen and in April 2008 his funeral was screened as part of a set of episodes. Frank is a wheeler-dealer who likes to think of himself as a big player in the business world, but in reality he is little more than a wily conman. He is a smooth-talker and full of charm, but his actions are often thoughtless and he tends to run instead of facing up to his responsibilities, leaving his loved ones to pick up the pieces. His love affair with Pat Harris stems back to his teens, and he can never let her go, always breaking her heart, disappearing. Frank started out as a used-car salesman and he met Pat Harris at Butlins in Clacton in 1958 and despite being on holiday with his girlfriend June he was attracted to Pat. They had an affair but June became pregnant, so he married her, Frank and Pat met up from time to time and on each occasion the affair was rekindled, but Frank wouldnt leave June and Pat eventually married and had children of her own. Frank and June had four children, Clare in 1959, Ricky in 1973, Diane in 1974, June died of cancer in 1987, leaving Frank bereft and his children motherless. In September 1987, Frank contacts Pat and they meet in Greenwich, Frank wants to reignite their romance and asks her to be the mother of his children but she refuses. Frank propositions Pat again in January 1988, Pat is still resistant but when Frank reappears in March, he finally convinces her to reunite. They take over tenancy at The Queen Victoria public house soon afterwards, Frank and Pat marry in June 1989 in true cockney style with Pat becoming stepmother to Ricky, Diane, and 5-year-old Janine, who hates her. Troubled by family upsets, Frank is devastated in 1990 when his mother Mo develops dementia. In a lucid moment, she writes Frank a letter asking him not to let her end up like her grandmother, Frank is torn, but attempts to adhere to his mothers wish by almost smothering her with a pillow while she sleeps. However, he go through with it and instead sends Mo to live with his sister Joan Garwood in Colchester
21.
Mike Reid (actor)
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He was noted for his gravelly voice and strong Cockney accent. In 1958, he married his first wife, they had a daughter and they divorced in 1967, after which he married his longtime live-in partner Shirley in 1971, they had two sons, Michael and Mark Edward. Reid moved to a villa in Marbella, Spain so he could close to a golf course which would enable him to pursue his passion of playing golf three to four times each week. Reid was known to be opposed to plans to introduce blasphemy laws, for the effect this would have on satire, comedy and free speech. Reid was good friends with actor and stand up comedian Freddie Starr, together they introduced their sometime-bodyguard. McLean went on to star in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Reids first work in entertainment was as a stand-up comedian in clubs and aboard cruise liners in the early 1960s. He then became an extra playing uncredited roles in series such as Doctor Who. He was fired from working as Roger Moores underwater stunt double in The Saint after drawing attention to Moores thinning hair and he also worked as a stuntman for films such as Casino Royale and The Dirty Dozen. Being the only obviously London comic in a made up predominately of Northern English and Northern Irish comedians. As a comedian, Reids well-known catchphrases included Terrific, Turn It In and he capitalised on his initial success with a one-off hit record, a novelty version of The Ugly Duckling recorded on PYE records. In 1975 it reached number 10 in the BBC Top 50 Singles Chart, in 1975 he also became the host of the ITV childrens TV quiz show Runaround, fondly remembered for its incomprehensible rules and the incongruity of Reid as presenter. In 1987 he joined the cast of the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders as Frank Butcher, the part of Butcher earned Reid the public persona of being pessimistic that he enjoyed acting against, for instance in television adverts for the soft drink Oasis. In 1994 he provided a voiceover for one of the cows in the Anchor butter adverts, the advert was called Anchor, Never Seen Anything Like It. His return to EastEnders was aired on Christmas Day 1995 and he was initially reintroduced as a recurring character and after several brief stints on the show, he returned as a full-time character in May 1998. His character was part of big storylines over the next two years and in May 2000 he announced that he would be leaving the soap for good due to exhaustion from the long filming schedules. He was persuaded to stay on the show for a five months to give his character a dramatic exit. His departure was aired on 2 November 2000 when he departed after his affair with ex-wife Pat Evans was discovered by his current wife Peggy Mitchell. That same year he appeared in the popular British gangster film Snatch playing mob boss Doug The Head Denovitz
22.
Margaret Walker (EastEnders)
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The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 2001, by order of appearance. Many were introduced by the executive producer, John Yorke. Detective Chief Inspector Jill Marsden is played by Sophie Stanton and she makes her first appearance on 5 March 2001, when she investigates who shot Phil Mitchell which is part of the whodunit storyline, Who Shot Phil. She returns in 2002 and 2003, and returns again in 2009 for another storyline, Who Killed Archie. and returns again on 5 January 2012 for her third whodunnit storyline. Ritchie Stringer, played by Gareth Hunt, is a boss who knows Phil Mitchell. Phil contacts him in April 2001 to call in a few favours, Ritchie and Phil have a mutual acquaintance, Dan Sullivan. Phil asks Ritchie to help him frame Dan, Dan had worked for Ritchie in the past, and so he does not suspect anything untoward when Ritchie provides him with a gun to do a raid on Phil. However it is all part of Phils plan, and Dan is caught by the police in the middle of the armed robbery and it transpires that the gun Ritchie had given Dan is the same gun that Lisa Shaw had used to shoot Phil earlier that year. Dan is blamed for the shooting, Ritchie Stringer was 10/3 at Ladbrokes bookmakers as the culprit in the Who Shot Phil. Storyline, despite not being one of the named suspects, when the BBC announced that actor Gareth Hunt was appearing in EastEnders, there was a massive betting flurry on Ritchie being the culprit. Bookmakers William Hill even closed the book, William Hill decided to reopen the book later in the week after information from unofficial BBC sources had convinced them that character not the killer. Paul Trueman, played by Gary Beadle, appears between 2001 and 2004, Paul is introduced as part of the already established Trueman family. He is portrayed as a bad boy, Beadle left the role in 2004, following a suspension, reportedly for failing to learn his lines. In his exit storyline, Paul becomes a dealer, and Beadle has been critical of the storyline, suggesting it played into black. It is implied that Paul is killed upon his exit, though his death is not screened, Donna Andrews, played by Allison Senior and Paula Jennings, is the mistress of Trevor Morgan, who first appears on 24 April when Billy Mitchell spots them entering Donnas house. A few days later, after much agonising over whether to tell Little Mo Morgan, Trevors wife, on 28 August, Little Mos sisters, Kat Slater and Lynne Hobbs, reveal that Donna is pregnant with Trevors baby. Little Mo visits Donna several days later, and is urged by her not to let Trevor hurt her any more, the following summer, Donna appears at Little Mos trial for assaulting Trevor with an iron and gives evidence against Trevor. Donna next appears in October, when Trevor forces his way into her home in Swindon, attacks her and kidnaps their son, Donna makes her last appearance on 8 November, a week after Trevors death
23.
Susan George (actress)
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Susan Melody George is an English film and television actress, film producer, and Arabian horse breeder. She has recalled many holidays at the park in Font-y-Gary in South Wales as a child. She trained at the Stage School, Corona Theatre School and has acted since the age of four and she is perhaps best known for such films as Straw Dogs with Dustin Hoffman, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry with Peter Fonda and Mandingo with Ken Norton. Dustin was an actor to work with, who could be intense at times, but had a great personality. Making the film was an experience and one that I cherish to this day. In the early 1970s, George came to be associated with rather provocative, sometimes controversial roles, cinema writer Leslie Halliwells rather terse summary of her career was, British leading lady, former child actress, usually typed as sexpot. Her lighter side was apparent in some of her TV appearances, such as in an episode of The Persuaders with Roger Moore, in 1988, George marked her film-producing debut with Stealing Heaven. Susan George was married to British actor Simon MacCorkindale from 5 October 1984 until his death from cancer on 14 October 2010, prior to her marriage, her name was linked with several celebrities, including George Best and Prince Charles. She had a relationship with Jack Jones, and later spent another four years as the partner of a casino manager
24.
BBC Online
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BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBCs online service. The website has gone through several branding changes since it was launched, originally named BBC Online, it was then rebranded as BBCi before being named bbc. co. uk. It was then renamed BBC Online again in 2008, however the service uses the branding BBC, the web-based service of the BBC is one of the most visited websites and the worlds largest news website. As of 2007, it contained two million pages. On 2 March 2010, the BBC reported that it cut its website spending by 25% and close BBC6 Music. On 24 January 2011, the cuts of 25% were announced leaving a £34 million shortfall. This resulted in the closure of several sites, including BBC Switch, BBC Blast, 6-0-6, and this led to the official launch of BBC Online at the www. bbc. co. uk address in December 1997. Later, BBC Online launched licence fee funded web sites for Top of the Pops and Top Gear, Beeb. com was later refocussed as an online shopping guide, and was closed in 2002. Beeb. com now redirects to the BBC Shop website, run by BBC Worldwide. In 1999, the BBC bought the www. bbc. com domain name for $375,000, previously owned by Boston Business Computing, as of 2005, www. bbcnc. org. uk no longer exists. In 2001, BBC Online was rebranded as BBCi. the website launched on 7 November 2001, the BBCi name was conceived as an umbrella brand for all the BBCs digital interactive services across web, digital teletext, interactive TV and on mobile platforms. The navbar was designed to offer a similar system to the i-bar on BBCi interactive television. Interactive TV services continued under the BBCi brand until it was dropped completely in 2008, the BBCs online video player, the iPlayer has, however, retained an i-prefix in its branding. The widget-based design was inspired by such as Facebook and iGoogle. The new homepage also incorporated the design used in the 1970s on the BBCs television service into the large header. The new BBC homepage left beta on Wednesday,27 February 2008 to serve as the new BBC Homepage under the same URL as the previous version. On 30 January 2010, a new design became available as a beta version. This homepage expanded on the idea and the customisation theme
25.
Kathy Beale
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Katherine Kathy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Taylforth between 1985 and 2000, and from 2015 onwards. Kathy is one of the original characters, appearing in the first episode of EastEnders on 19 February 1985. One of the original characters, Kathy remained in a prominent role, covering issues such as rape and domestic violence until April 1998. Kathy appears in the November 2014 special, The Ghosts of Ian Beale, part of that years Children in Need broadcast, after an absence spanning over 15 years, Taylforth made a shock return as Kathy on 19 February 2015 during a live segment of the 30th anniversary episode. The BBC confirmed that she would reprise the role of Kathy permanently and, after another guest appearance on 19 May, she returned on 17 August. Kathys storylines since her return have included her marriage to Gavin Sullivan, reuniting with Ian and Ben, plus her affair with Buster Briggs, Kathy and her husband Pete Beale are financially stable. Kathy works as a barmaid in The Queen Victoria pub with her best friend, Angie Watts, whilst helping Pete on their fruit, Kathy feels she has put her troubled past behind her but Nick Cotton breaks into Dr Harold Leggs surgery and steals Kathys medical records. He discovers that she gave a child, Donna Ludlow, the product of rape when Kathy was 14, Nick uses this to blackmail her, which eventually forces her to tell Pete her secret and he reacts badly. She later starts a knitting business, Mehmet Osman asks Kathy to knit a batch of jumpers for him. Kathy finds out from Ali Osman that she was conned when Mehmet disappears with the jumpers, Kathy learns that Donna, now an adult, wants to meet her but she refuses. Undeterred, Donna moves to Walford, keeping her identity secret, to get closer to Kathy, Donna calls her workplace at The Samaritans and grows close to Kathys son Ian Beale, who becomes attracted to his half-sister. When Kathy tells Donna to stay away from Ian, Donna reveals that she is her daughter, Donna thinks Kathy will be pleased but Kathy is horrified and demands she leave Walford. Donna stays and causes problems for Kathy. Finally Kathy tells Donna that she is actually the product of rape, Kathy gave her up at birth, Donna spends the rest of the year in a downward spiral. James Willmott-Brown employs Kathy at The Dagmar wine bar, angering Pete, after work, James invites Kathy upstairs to his flat, but when he attempts to seduce her, Kathy tries to leave. James refuses to let her leave and his attempted seduction becomes rape, James is arrested and formally charged with rape. In the aftermath, Kathy becomes depressed and isolated from Pete, James stands trial but tries bribing Kathy to withdraw her statement. Kathy pretends to take his money but tells the police so a listening DI tapes the conversation
26.
Sharon Watts
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Sharon Anne Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of EastEnders original characters, appearing in the first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985, the character was conceptualised by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, the creators of EastEnders. Sharon was a teenager when the programme began, the daughter of Den. Sharon remained a prominent character into the 1990s due to romantic pairings with brothers Grant, in a long-running storyline dubbed Sharongate, Sharon, married to Grant, has an affair with Phil. Grants discovery of the affair remains one of EastEnders highest viewed episodes, Dean quit the role in 1995 after ten years, with Sharon departing following the breakdown of her marriage. In 2001, Sharon was reintroduced by producer John Yorke, Dean departed amidst reports that she was taking a break, however, she did not return until 2012, when executive producer Bryan Kirkwood announced that he was reintroducing Sharon. In early 2017, Dean took a break from EastEnders along with co-star Steve McFadden who plays Phil and their characters left Walford in January to go on a break whilst Phil recovered from his liver transplant. Her voice was heard in the episode broadcast on 14 March, Sharon has topped numerous viewer polls suggesting she is one of EastEnders most favoured characters. Critics have praised the characters progression from teenager to adult, referencing the investment that viewers hold in Sharon. While Sharons returns to EastEnders have been welcomed by some critics, Letitia Dean has defended the decision to reintroduce Sharon, suggesting that long-running dramas such as EastEnders need old blood. Adopted at the age of three by Den and Angie Watts, Sharon is raised at The Queen Victoria public house in Albert Square, Walford, Sharon and her best friend, Michelle Fowler compete for the affections of Kelvin Carpenter. This leads to Sharon wanting to go on the pill, which shocks Angie, however, after Angie gets advice from Pauline Fowler and Dr Legg, Sharon and Angie talk about it and Sharon decides to wait. Her teenage romance with Ian Beale in 1986 ends when Sharon realises she prefers a more experienced man, Simon Wicks, in 1987, she seeks refuge from her turbulent home life with church curate, Duncan Boyd. They plan to marry but Duncan bores Sharon and she ends the engagement, Sharon is torn between her conflicting parents until their marriage deteriorates and, in 1988, Angie emigrates. When Den gets involved in crime, he is shot. Shortly after Dens death, Michelle confesses to Sharon that Vicki Fowler is her sister and Sharon is angry, soon after, Sharon discovers Dens signet ring on a market stall. With Dens body missing, Sharon convinces the police to drag a nearby canal in April 1990 and is devastated when a body is found and identified as Dens. Sharon resumes a relationship with Simon, whom she hopes to settle down with, hurt and missing her parents, Sharon tracks down her birth mother, Carol Hanley
27.
Ian Beale
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Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the character and the only remaining original character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 19 February 1985. The character appeared in his 2000th episode in the show on 26 March 2007 and he is currently one of four original main characters in EastEnders, the others being Ians mother Kathy Beale, his cousin Michelle Fowler as well as his close friend Sharon Mitchell. Woodyatt filmed his 3000th episode on 27 May 2016, Ian is the most-married character in EastEnders history, with five marriages to four women and two aborted engagements to Mandy Salter and Denise Fox. He has fathered three children, raised his first wifes son Steven Beale and is the guardian of his first wifes youngest daughter, Cindy Williams. As of 2017, Ian is also the current owner of 45 Albert Square, traditionally represented within the series as the home of the Beale. As a teenager, Ian argues with his father Pete Beale over his desire to become a caterer and he starts several businesses and buys a local café soon after graduating from catering college. Ian has several failed romances, including with his friend, Sharon Watts, with whom Ian remains close, fellow student, Tina Hopkins and his cousin. Ian gets engaged to Cindy Williams in 1989, however, a stand with her former lover Simon Wicks leaves her pregnant. Cindy marries Ian and claims that the baby she is expecting, Steven Beale, is his and he recovers and causes Simon to have a car accident in revenge so Simon, Cindy and Steven leave Walford together. Ian immerses himself in his business but his exploitative working practices alienate his friends, employees. He and Cindy later reconcile and Ian is overjoyed to become a father to twins, Peter Beale and Lucy Beale. After opening a fish and chip shop, Ian becomes so obsessed with building his business empire that he neglects Cindy, Ian wins custody of their children, and makes Cindy so miserable that she hires John Valecue, a hitman to kill him. Ian is shot but is only clipped by the bullet and recovers, Cindy leaves the country with Steven and Peter and spends a year in Italy before Ian traces them and retrieves the boys. Cindy returns to Walford and wins custody of the children but is implicated in Ians shooting. She is jailed on remand and dies several months later in prison during childbirth, Ian has a serious romance with Melanie Healy, the manager of his bric-a-brac shop. She proposes to him but later cheats on him with Steve Owen, suspecting that she is planning to leave him, Ian manipulates her by falsely claiming that Lucy is dying from lymphoma. They marry in 1999, but she leaves him during their wedding reception after discovering that Lucy is fine, Ian then pursues a new business venture, development of high-market flats
28.
Dot Cotton
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Dorothy Dot Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of criminal Nick Cotton, the character has worked as a launderette assistant for most of that time along with original character Pauline Fowler. Dot moved away with her son and his family in 1993, in reality, Brown left the show in 1993, unhappy with the axing of her co star Peter Dean, who played Pete Beale from the shows first episode to early 1993. Brown returned to the role in 1997, and Dot was shown moving back to Albert Square, Dot is the second longest-serving character currently appearing in EastEnders, surpassed only by original character Ian Beale. In a special episode entitled EastEnders, Dots Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks, in April 2012, Brown took a six-month break from the show to write her memoirs. Dot temporarily departed on 18 May 2012 and she returned on 14 January 2013. In February 2015, Dot began appearing less frequently due to Brown gradually losing her eyesight, in January 2016, it was announced that Brown had renewed her contract with the BBC until March 2017. In January 2017 it was reported that the BBC were offering Brown £300,000 for a one-year contract, a tragicomic character, Dot is known for her devout Christian faith, gossiping, chain smoking, hypochondria, and motherly attitude to those in need. A recurring storyline in the serial has been Dots continuous forgiveness of her sons villainous crimes, Initially married at the start of the series to conman Charlie Cotton, Dot married again in 2002 to pensioner Jim Branning and the union proved to be popular with fans. Brown and Bardon won awards for their screen partnership, on 31 January 2008, Dot became the first character ever to appear in a monologue episode, Pretty Baby. of a British soap. The acclaimed episode saw Dot reminiscing about her years of loss, Dot has been used to explore topical and controversial issues such as euthanasia, cancer, immigration and homophobia. Dot has been well received by critics, she has been referred to as a cultural archetype. However, aspects of the such as her smoking and her religious beliefs have been criticised. The character has made an impact on popular culture, she has been spoofed, most notably by Alistair McGowan. Dots backstory states that she was born in Walford, the setting for EastEnders. Aged 18, Dot married Charlie Cotton, the following year, he forced her to have an abortion, threatening to leave her if she did not, but left anyway because it was a bigamous marriage. While Dot was giving birth to their son, Nick, Charlie was having an affair with her sister, Rose and she raised Nick alone, but was not an affectionate mother. Dot is introduced to EastEnders soon after its launch as the gossiping, chain smoking, Christian friend of Ethel Skinner and she has a difficult life with a criminal husband, Charlie, and their son Nick, who appeared in the first episode
29.
Martin Fowler (EastEnders)
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Martin Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The character was played by Jon Peyton-Price from the characters introduction 1985 until 1996, the role was recast to James Bye, who brought Martin back to the screen on 5 December 2014. Since his return in 2014, Martin has divorced Sonia, married Stacey Branning, Martin is the younger son of Pauline Fowler and Arthur Fowler. His considerably older brother is Mark Fowler and his sister is Michelle Fowler. As Martin ages he becomes surly and increasingly troublesome, Martin is ten years old when his father dies, and he becomes more difficult after this. He befriends a small gang of criminals from his local school. Martin has a relationship with Nicky di Marco, but she refuses to have sex. Martin turns to Sonia Jackson after Nicky dumps him, Sonia is feeling vulnerable, and after getting drunk, they sleep together and she becomes pregnant. This leads to a hearing where Sonia asks that baby Chloe be returned to her and she will raise her with her boyfriend, Jamie Mitchell. However, the rules that the adoption should go ahead when Martin admits that he does not want to be a father. Martins deviancy continues when he takes drugs provided by Nick Cotton, Martin receives a six-month prison sentence after driving the car that hit Jamie, and causes his death. However, he serves two months, being let out early for good behaviour. Once released, Martin resumes his criminal lifestyle by robbing a shop, blackmailing Kareena Ferreira and growing cannabis in his fathers shed, assisted by his best friend. This leads to family friend Derek Harkinson taking the blame when the find out, as Martin cannot risk trouble with the law. It is not until Martin is confronted and forgiven by a bereaved Sonia that he begins to feel remorse for his actions. After a few relationships, including a one-night stand with Kelly Taylor, Martin begins growing close to Sonia. After Sonia helps him come to terms with the death of his brother, amidst constant interference from Pauline, Martin and Sonia decide to elope. The newlyweds move in with Pauline but she puts constant strain on their marriage with her meddling, several months later, Martin unwittingly puts his marriage in jeopardy when he encounters Sarah Cairns
30.
Phil Mitchell
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Philip James Phil Mitchell is a long-standing fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden. Phil was introduced to the opera on 20 February 1990. Phil is one of the major introductions made by executive producer Michael Ferguson, Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media with Phil initially portrayed as the more level-headed of the two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap throughout the 1990s, with Phil becoming a popular and long-running male protagonist into the 2000s. McFadden temporarily left the series in late 2003 then returned in March 2005 for a short stint, McFadden took a short break from the series in early 2017 at the conclusion of Phils liver cirrhosis storyline. One of the most culturally significant storylines featuring the character aired in 2001 and was dubbed Who Shot Phil, the plot saw Phil shot in a whodunit mystery, with the assailant eventually revealed as his former girlfriend Lisa Fowler. The storyline captured viewer and media interest and the episode was watched by 22 million viewers. Phil and Grant arrive in Walford to open a repair shop. Phil later goes into partnership at The Queen Victoria public house with Grant and his wife Sharon Watts, Phil grows close to Sharon, who turns to him for comfort during Grants violent outbursts. Sharon and Phil have sex but she stays with Grant, who is unaware of their betrayal, Sharon and Grants reconciliation is brief, and amidst more rowing and physical violence, Grant is arrested and imprisoned. In his absence, Phil and Sharon continue their affair but when Grant is released, Sharon reconciles with him, leaving Phil heartbroken. On the rebound, Phil enters into a marriage of convenience with Nadia Borovac, Phil begins a romance with Kathy Beale, but Nadia returns, needing Phil to prove he is her husband to prevent deportation. She moves in with him while she is investigated, Nadia seduces and sleeps with a drunken Phil. He regrets it, denying it to Kathy so Grant threatens to kill her to make her leave, Kathy agrees to marry Phil in 1994 despite discovering that he torched Frank Butchers car lot in an insurance scam, accidentally killing a homeless boy trapped inside. Intent on winning him back, Sharon kisses Phil but he ends things there, during Phil and Kathys engagement party, Grant listens to a cassette of Sharon admitting to the affair and plays it at the party. Kathy is incensed, and Grant beats Phil so badly that he has to go to hospital, Phil undergoes surgery, which stirs remorse in Grant. He pressures Phil into blaming Sharon for their affair and Grant forces her to leave Walford, Phil and Grant make peace but things between them are not the same. Kathy and Phil eventually sort out their differences, marry, and have a son, Ben, making Phil feel neglected and depressed so he turns to alcohol and this makes him abusive and neglectful towards Kathy and Ben, so Kathy takes Ben and moves out
31.
Sonia Fowler
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Sonia Ann Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on 2 December 1993 and she departed on 2 February 2007 and she returned briefly in 2010 along with other members of the Jackson family, and re-appeared in the soap from 8 to 18 February 2010 and again in January 2011. Sonia returned as a permanent character on 14 January 2014, as part of a storyline saw her mother Carol develop breast cancer. Sonia is the first character in opera history to tackle the issue of the BRCA gene. Cassidy took maternity leave in 2016 and Sonia left on 20 September 2016 for her job in Kettering. Sonia made a guest appearance via computer on 25 December 2016, trumpet-playing Sonia Jackson arrives in Albert Square in 1993 with the rest of her family. The third of Carol Jacksons four children, Sonia was the result of her mothers one-night stand with Terry Cant, following a brief romance with an Italian exchange student, Enrico di Clemente, in 1999, Sonia sleeps with Martin Fowler in 2000 in a moment of vulnerability. She puts this behind her and begins dating Jamie Mitchell, Sonia is stunned to learn that she is in labour on 26 October 2000 and gives birth to Martins daughter, she puts down the weight gain to overeating rather than pregnancy. Baby Chloe is subsequently given up for adoption, despite protests from Martins mother Pauline, however, Sonia later becomes obsessed with her daughter and abducts her, locking herself in her house with the baby. Despite pleas from Rebeccas adoptive parents, it is Sonias step-grandmother, Dot, Sonia and Jamie get engaged, but due to Jamies fling with Zoe Slater and constant rowing, the relationship ends. Sonia begins dating Gus Smith, who plans to propose, Sonia helps him, nursing him through his injuries and they decide to marry but their happiness is short-lived as Martin Fowler accidentally knocks Jamie down in December 2002. Sonia keeps a vigil and is with Jamie when he dies on Christmas Day. Sonia finds it hard to let go of Jamie or her anger at Martin and they slowly grow closer and feelings develop into love, they elope in 2004. Sonia begins nursing training and she and Martin live with Pauline, only months into the marriage, Martin gets unwittingly involved with a stalker, Sarah Cairns, who tries to ruin it. This culminates in Sarah holding Sonia and Martin hostage and stabbing Martin, in 2005, Sonia and Martin face further upset when they discover that their daughters adoptive parents have died in a car crash. They visit Rebeccas guardian, Margaret Wilson, hiding their identity but when Margaret realises who they are. Pauline also interferes and visits Rebecca with Martin, Martin is heartbroken when his marriage ends and the situation is complicated further by Rebecca, who, on Margarets request, is spending more time at the Fowlers. Margaret decides to make the Fowlers Rebeccas legal guardians but does not include Sonia when she finds out about her lesbian fling, Margaret dies and Martin takes custody of Rebecca and Pauline tries to stop Sonia having any contact with Rebecca
32.
Robbie Jackson
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Robert Robbie Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Dean Gaffney. The character was introduced in 1993, but axed in 2003 by executive producer Louise Berridge and he made brief returns in 2004 and 2010 for two family weddings and again on 22 September 2015 to tie in with the exit of his on-screen mother, Carol Jackson. Robbie made his appearance on 2 October 2015. Robbie was the product of a romance between teenagers Gary Bolton and Carol Branning. Robbie and his half sister Bianca saw many surrogate father figures during their childhood, Carol later entered a relationship with the steady and reliable Alan Jackson in 1987. They became parents to Billie in 1988 and not long afterwards Alan became a figure to Robbie and his sisters. Robbie arrives in Albert Square in 1993 with the rest of the Jackson clan, initially a troublesome teen, Robbie has little success at school and is frequently in trouble for his behaviour, along with his friend Kevin. In November 1994, the find a dog which Robbie names Wellard. Robbie manages to persuade the owner to relinquish care to him, after he discovers that Wellard was being neglected. As he ages, Robbie becomes more responsible, but has little success in anything he chooses to do. He has several careers in Albert Square including radio control for the Evans mini cab company, waiter, a job as manager in the video rental store. Robbie is generally unsuccessful with women and he has a crush on Sarah Hills and is responsible for taking her virginity in 1997. Although Sarah initiated the intercourse, she is unable to cope with what has occurred and runs away, Ted assaults Robbie, he is hospitalised and has to undergo a spleenectomy, before Sarah returns to reveal the truth. Robbie forms a more serious relationship with Kerry Skinner in 2000 and they get engaged, however, when Robbie discovers that Kerry has cheated on him, the engagement ends. Robbie decides to track down his father, Gary Bolton in 2001. He finds him in Portsmouth, and discovers he has a half brother, the meeting ends up being a disappointment for Robbie, when he discovers Gary had left his own mother to be with his half-brothers mother. He leaves angrily, but Gary later traces Robbie to Walford and gives him a cheque which allows him to travel around India. When Robbie returns to Walford and meets young widow Nita Mistry, they begin a slow-burning relationship, despite Nitas initial reticence
33.
Billy Mitchell (EastEnders)
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William Billy Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Perry Fenwick, who made his first appearance on 2 November 1998. Billy was introduced by producer Matthew Robinson as a guest character facilitating the introduction of Jamie Mitchell to the show, in the storyline, Billy is Jamies abusive uncle and guardian, and Jamie is taken away from Billy by his relative Phil Mitchell. Billy was brought back to the serial on 2 August 1999 and Fenwick was offered a longer-term contract, Billy has been described as a runt of a man whos a catalyst for trouble. However, during his time on EastEnders, he has developed from a bully and fiend into a kind, devoted, caring, frequently portrayed as a small-time criminal, Billy is a luckless character who often struggles financially. His most prominent storylines include two failed marriages and having a daughter born with Downs syndrome, Fenwick filmed his 1000th episode on 6 August 2010. Billy initially becomes involved in criminal scams with Phil and his brother Grant Mitchell, Billys relatives see him as little more than a lackey, and he is frequently told that he is an embarrassment to the Mitchell name. Billy finds an ally in Steve Owen, who uses Billy as a boy in numerous criminal activities including drug-dealing. Billy works at Steves club, E20, and is given a 1% share of the club for his services, Billy falls for Janine Butcher, but she is only interested in his money, and when that runs out, she leaves him. He proposes to Little Mo by spelling out MARRY ME on her plate with alphabet spaghetti, and they get engaged. When Trevor hears this, he kidnaps Little Mo and his baby son, Billy and Little Mo marry on Christmas Day, the same day that Jamie dies of severe injuries after being knocked down by a car. Eleven months later, Little Mo is raped by a man she thought was a friend, Little Mo later discovers she is pregnant as a result of the assault. Billy presses her to have an abortion, but Little Mo refuses and leaves Walford to clear her head, returning with baby Freddie, to see Graham convicted of rape. Billy and Little Mo reunite, but Billy confesses that he cannot love Freddie and thinks of Graham whenever he sees him, Billy confronts one of his abusers from the childrens home he was placed in as a child, Ernie Johnson, now a pensioner and living in Walford. Billy breaks into Ernies home to confront him over the abuse, Billy starts a relationship with newcomer Honey Edwards, whom he manages during her spell as a model. The relationship prospers, despite disapproval from Honeys father Jack. Honey falls pregnant and accepts Billys marriage proposal and their wedding is postponed when Honey is hospitalised, they reschedule but the second ceremony goes awry due to a practical joke played on Billy during his stag night. Billys aunt Peggy Mitchell then arranges a surprise wedding, Billy and Honey just complete their vows when Honey goes into labour. She delivers a girl, Janet Mitchell, but the Mitchells are devastated to discover she has Downs syndrome, Honey rejects her baby, she goes into depression, contemplating infanticide and demands Janet be put up for adoption
34.
Mo Harris
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Maureen Big Mo Harris is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who has been in the series since 18 September 2000, played by Laila Morse. Mo is also played by Lorraine Stanley in a soap bubble Pat and Mo, delving into her past with Pat Evans, Mo provides a background of light entertainment. Morses contract was not renewed in July 2012, but she was not immediately out of the series. Mo, who lived in Walford, returns there after almost forty years away, with her son-in-law, Charlie Slater and granddaughters, Lynne Hobbs, Kat Slater, Little Mo Morgan. Mos rivalry with her former best friend Pat Butcher arises, but they reconcile at Mos former husband and Pats brother, much of Mos time is spent selling poor quality stolen goods and she trades with Fat Elvis. She is assisted by Mickey and Darren Miller and for a while sets up a sex chatline and she also works with Charlies great-niece, Stacey, on her market stall, selling clothes. She has a relationship with Bert Atkinson, but ends it because Bert is also seeing her friend. They reconcile, but break up again when Berts ex-wife, Evie, arrives in Walford, Mo begins selling cigarettes that she bought in Spain and two of her customers turn out to be Revenue and Customs officers. She is sentenced to 100 hours of community service, for tax evasion, after Stacey marries Bradley Branning, Mo tries to sell their wedding gifts. Mo sees Charlies partner, Brenda Boyle, embracing another man at the tube station, Brenda reveals to Mo that she is moving to Madeira with her family and Mo convinces Charlie not to let her go. However, Brenda and Charlie leave together, leaving Mo devastated and she begins drinking heavily and protests against the sale of Charlies taxi. Charlie returns to Walford with a woman called Orlenda, but Mo does not trust her, Orlenda leaves, after admitting she was scamming Charlie, but returns his money. Mo takes charge of a nativity play, but fails to keep the children under control. In a raffle, she wins Max Brannings car, but sells it, when Archie Mitchell is murdered, Mo starts a betting circle on who killed him. She runs when she sees a police officer, but later, another officer appears behind her and she goes on holiday to Spain with Fat Elvis and when she returns, she is surprised to discover that Bradley is dead. Mo attempts to sell Lucas Johnsons bibles to the public, as souvenirs of the killer. Her insensitivity gets her out of The Queen Victoria public house. Mo receives a call from Kat, who wants Zoes birth certificate
35.
Kat Slater
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Kathleen Kat Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jessie Wallace. She was also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001, Kat is the daughter of Viv Slater and Charlie Slater, and arrived with her sisters Lynne Hobbs and Little Mo. Her daughter Zoe Slater is initially believed to be her sister as well until Kat reveals she was raped by her uncle Harry Slater as a child and it is later revealed that Kat also gave birth to a son, Zoes twin brother. She appeared in the show from September 2000 to November 2004 and she left on 25 December 2005, and returned on 17 September 2010, to leave again in January 2012 and return on 7 June 2012. Wallace, alongside Richie, decided to take another break from the show, Kat is described as a bit of a floozy, a bitch and very lazy. Richie revealed in an interview with This Morning that Kat and Alfie would be involved in an ongoing storyline, which he said is going to be the biggest soap story in probably the history of soaps. At the end of 2010, Kat and Ronnie both give birth on the day, but Ronnies baby, James, dies and while Kat is in hospital and her baby, Tommy, is unattended. The storyline received over 6,000 complaints, making it the second most complained about EastEnders storyline and it was then decided to end the storyline earlier than originally planned. Wallace has won awards for her portrayal of Kat. At the National Television Awards, she was named Most Popular Newcomer in 2001, Wallace was additionally nominated for the Best Actress, Best Dramatic Performance and Hero of the Year awards in 2002, and Zoes maternity was nominated Best Storyline. She was again nominated Best Actress from 2003 to 2006 consecutively and she won the Television and Radio Industries Club Award for TV Soap Personality in March 2011. Kat arrives in Walford on 18 September 2000, along with her family, father Charlie, sisters Lynne, Little Mo and Zoe, Kat embarks on a brief fling with Steve Owen, much to the annoyance of his girlfriend Melanie Healy. She finds work in The Queen Victoria public house as a barmaid, fiercely defensive of her sisters, Kat is the archrival of Little Mos abusive husband Trevor Morgan, though has a fling with Lynnes boyfriend Garry Hobbs. Much to Zoes frustration, Kat is often over-protective of her, when Zoe announces her decision move to Spain with their uncle Harry, Kat refuses to allow her to go. She reveals that she is Zoes mother, having been abused by Harry aged thirteen. Zoe flees Walford, and Kat attempts suicide by cutting her wrists and she recovers, is romanced by local doctor Anthony Trueman, and later finds Zoe and brings her home. Their relationship improves, but after Kat breaks up with Anthony, he, Zoe disowns Kat for disapproving of their relationship, and later runs away when Anthony reveals that he is still in love with Kat. Anthony and Kats relationship resumes, but she fails to impress his colleagues, Kat discovers she is pregnant by him and decides to have an abortion
36.
Patrick Trueman
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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, on 7 December 2015, Walker filmed his 1, 000th episode as Patrick. Trinidadian Patrick arrives in Walford for his former wife Audrey Truemans funeral and it transpires that Paul is the son of Patricks best friend Milton Hibbert. Despite the upset, Patrick and Paul maintain a father-son relationship, Patrick becomes close friends with pensioner Jim Branning, who helps him woo Yolande Duke with love letters after Patrick has a holiday romance with her in Trinidad. As a result, Yolande moves to Walford, leaving her strict Christian husband Victor, Patrick and Yolande marry and briefly foster a young girl named Katie in 2004, though they find it difficult when she is returned to her mother. Paul starts dealing drugs for Andy Hunter, ultimately leading to his death when he tries to double-cross Andy, Patrick is devastated to lose his son and begins a vendetta against Andy. Patrick rents the car-lot, hiring Pat Evans to do bookkeeping, Patrick and Pat begin a casual affair, which Yolande discovers when Stacey Slater informs her, Yolande slaps Pat, who retaliates. Yolande threatens to leave, but Patrick persuades her to rebuild their marriage, Yolande remains resentful and almost strays with Aubrey Valentine, a member of Patricks former band, The Five Hectors, Aubrey tries to destroy Patrick but fails and the Truemans remain together. Denise Fox discovers that a member of Patricks band is her father although she is unsure which member, Patrick takes a DNA test and it is revealed that he is not Denises father, but he pretends he is as he has grown attached to her. The truth comes out while Patrick and Denise holiday together, despite initial upset, Denise, Patrick sees Denise as the daughter he never had and acts as grandfather to her two daughters Chelsea and Libby. After purchasing the Minute Mart grocery store, Patrick and Yolande run it together, Patrick becomes fearful of leaving his house, but eventually overcomes this with support from his wife and friends. After Yolande impresses a Minute Mart official, she is offered a management position in Birmingham, Yolande accepts and prepares to move, however Patrick is less keen. Yolande leaves for Birmingham in October 2008, leaving Patrick behind to sell their house under the premise he will join her later, however, Yolande ultimately decides she is happier without Patrick and ends their marriage, leaving Patrick devastated, they divorce in 2009. The Fox family move in with Patrick, including Denises lover Lucas Johnson, when Patrick discovers Lucas is withholding information about a tryst he has had with his ex-wife Trina, Patrick orders him to confess. Lucas responds by blackmailing Patrick, threatening to tell Denise about his criminal past during the 1958 Notting Hill race riots when Patrick was convicted of assault, Patricks past was revealed anyway, by Chelseas boyfriend Theo Kelly, who is in league with Tommy Clifford. Tommy claims to be writing a book about culture, but it is eventually revealed that he is the man who killed Patricks fiancée, Ruth. Patrick is furious, but eventually relents to Tommys dying wish, after attending an over-50s dance, Patrick starts a relationship with Liz Turner, Denises former mother-in-law. However, Patrick tires of her quickly and Liz moves away when it is revealed that Lucas is a killer who has murdered her son
