EastEnders - Characters

Characters

EastEnders is built around the ideas of relationships and strong families, with each character having a place in the community. 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 himself from a large East End family, and such families have typified EastEnders. The first central family was the Beale and Fowler clan consisting of Pauline Fowler, her husband Arthur, and teenage children Mark and Michelle. Living nearby was Pauline's twin brother Pete Beale, his wife Kathy and their son Ian. Pauline and Pete's mother was the domineering Lou, who resided with Pauline and her family. Holland drew on the names of his own family for the characters.

The Watts and Mitchell families have been central to many notable EastEnders storylines, the show having been dominated by the Watts in the 1980s, with the 1990s focusing on the Mitchells. The early 2000s saw a shift in attention towards the newly-introduced female Slater clan, before a renewal of emphasis upon the restored Watts family beginning in 2003. Since 2006, EastEnders has largely been dominated by the Mitchell and Branning families, and there has also been a focus on the Moon family since 2010. The Beales are the show's longest running family, having been in EastEnders since it began in 1985. Key people involved in the production of EastEnders have stressed how important the idea of strong families is to the programme. Peggy Mitchell, in particular, is notorious for her ceaseless repetition of such statements as "You're a Mitchell!" and "It's all about family!" More recently, Derek Branning regularly expresses the importance of a strong family unit. As the eldest sibling, he is constantly asserting his position as head of the Branning clan and reminding everyone to pull together in times of trouble. Additionally, Derek commonly refers to himself, Max Branning and Jack Branning as "the Branning brothers."

Some families feature a stereotypical East End matriarch. Indeed, the matriarchal role is one that has been seen in various reincarnations since the programme's inception, often depicted as the centre of the family unit. The original matriarch was Lou Beale, though later examples include Pauline Fowler, Mo Butcher, Mo Harris, Pat Butcher, Peggy Mitchell, Zainab Masood and Cora Cross. These characters are seen as being loud and interfering but most importantly, responsible for the well-being of the family and usually stressing the importance of family, reflecting on the past.

As is traditional in British soaps, female characters in general are central to the programme. These characters include strong, brassy, long-suffering women who exhibit diva-like behaviour and stoically battle through an array of tragedy and misfortune. Such characters include Angie Watts, Kathy Mitchell, Sharon Watts, Pat Butcher, Denise Fox, Tanya Branning and Ronnie Mitchell. Conversely there are female characters who handle tragedy less well, depicted as eternal victims and endless sufferers, who include Sue Osman, Little Mo Mitchell, Laura Beale and Lisa Fowler. The 'tart with a heart' is another recurring character, often popular with viewers. Often their promiscuity masks a hidden vulnerability and a desire to be loved. Such characters have included Pat, Tiffany Mitchell, Kat Moon, Stacey Branning and Roxy Mitchell .

A gender balance in the show is maintained via the inclusion of various 'macho' male personalities such as Phil Mitchell, Grant Mitchell and Jack Branning, 'bad boys' such as Den Watts and Michael Moon, and 'heartthrobs' such as Simon Wicks, Jamie Mitchell and Dennis Rickman. Another recurring male character type is the smartly dressed businessman, often involved in gang culture and crime and seen as a local authority figure. Examples include Derek Branning, Steve Owen, Jack Dalton, Andy Hunter and Johnny Allen. Following criticism aimed at the show's over-emphasis on 'gangsters' in 2005, such characters have been significantly reduced. Another recurring male character seen in EastEnders is the 'loser' or 'soft touch', males often comically under the thumb of their female counterparts, which have included Arthur Fowler, Ricky Butcher, Lofty Holloway and Billy Mitchell. Other recurring character types that have appeared throughout the serial are "lost girls" such as Mary Smith, Donna Ludlow and Zsa Zsa Carter, delinquents such as Mandy Salter, Stacey Branning, Jay Mitchell and Lola Pearce, "villains" such as Nick Cotton, George Peters, Trevor Morgan and Yusef Khan, "bitches" such as Cindy Beale, Janine Butcher and Lucy Beale and cockney "wide boys" or "wheeler dealers" such as Frank Butcher, Alfie Moon, Kevin Wicks and Arthur Chubb.

Over the years EastEnders has typically featured a number of elderly residents, who are used to show vulnerability, nostalgia, stalwart-like attributes and are sometimes used for comedic purposes. The original elderly residents included Lou Beale, Ethel Skinner and Dot Cotton. Over the years they have been joined by the likes of Mo Butcher, Jules Tavernier, Marge Green, Nellie Ellis, Jim Branning, Patrick Trueman, Cora Cross and Rose Cotton. Focus on elderly characters has decreased since the show's inception. The programme has more recently included a higher number of teenagers and successful young adults in a bid to capture the younger television audience. This has spurred criticism, most notably from the actress Anna Wing, who played Lou Beale in the show. She commented "I don't want to be disloyal, but I think you need a few mature people in a soap because they give it backbone and body... if all the main people are young it gets a bit thin and inexperienced. It gets too lightweight."

EastEnders has been known to feature a 'comedy double-act', originally demonstrated with the characters of Dot and Ethel, whose friendship was one of the serial's most enduring. Other examples include Paul Priestly and Trevor Short, Huw Edwards and Lenny Wallace, Shirley Carter and Heather Trott, Garry Hobbs and Minty Peterson, Denise Fox and Zainab Masood and Poppy Meadow and Jodie Gold. The majority of EastEnders' characters are working-class. Middle-class characters do occasionally become regulars, but have been less successful and rarely become long-term characters. In the main, middle-class characters exist as villains, such as James Wilmott-Brown, May Wright and Stella Crawford, or are used to promote positive liberal influences, such as Colin Russell or Rachel Kominski.

EastEnders has always featured a culturally diverse cast which has included black, Asian, Turkish and Polish characters. "The expansion of minority representation signals a move away from the traditional soap opera format, providing more opportunities for audience identification with the characters and hence a wider appeal". Despite this, the programme has been criticised by the Commission for Racial Equality, who argued in 2002 that EastEnders was not giving a realistic representation of the East End's "ethnic make-up". They suggested that the average proportion of visible minority faces on EastEnders was substantially lower than the actual ethnic minority population in East London boroughs, and it therefore reflected the East End in the 1960s, not the East End of the 2000s. Furthermore it was suggested that an element of "tokenism" and stereotyping surrounded many of these minority characters. The programme has since attempted to address these issues. A sari shop was opened and various characters of differing ethnicities were introduced throughout 2006 and 2007, including the Fox family, the Masoods, and various background artists. This was part of producer Diederick Santer's plan to "diversify", to make EastEnders "feel more 21st century". On 24 February 2009 for the first time in the soaps history, an entire episode was screened consisting entirely of Black actors. EastEnders have had varying success with ethnic minority characters. Possibly the least successful were the Indian Ferreira family, who were not well received by critics or viewers and were dismissed as unrealistic by the Asian community in the UK.

EastEnders has been praised for its portrayal of characters with disabilities, including Adam Best (spina bifida), Noah Chambers (deaf), Jean Slater and her daughter Stacey (bipolar disorder), Janet Mitchell and Craig Moon (Down's syndrome) and Jim Branning (stroke).

EastEnders has a high cast turnover and characters are regularly changed in order to facilitate storylines or refresh the format. The show has also become known for the return of characters after they have left the show. Sharon Rickman returned in August 2012 for her seventh stint on the show, and Den Watts returned 14 years after he was believed to have died. Speaking extras, including Tracey the barmaid (who has been in the show since the first episode in 1985), have made appearances throughout the show's duration, without being the focus of any major storylines. The character of Nick Cotton gained a reputation for making constant exits and returns since the programme's first episode.

As of 2012, Ian Beale is the only character to have been in EastEnders from the first episode in 1985 without officially leaving. Other long-running original characters include Pauline Fowler who appeared continuously until 2006, Mark Fowler who appeared until 2003, Kathy Beale who appeared for the first fifteen years and Ethel Skinner who appeared between 1985 and 1997, before departing in 2000. Other long-running characters include Dot Branning who joined in July 1985 but had a four-year break in the mid 1990s and a shorter break in 2012, Martin Fowler who appeared for the first 22 years, Pat Evans who appeared continuously from 1986 until 2012, Frank Butcher who appeared on and off between 1987 and 2005, Ricky Butcher, who first appeared in 1988 and departed in 2012, but with substantial breaks in between and Janine Butcher who has appeared for separate stints since 1989. Others include Sam Mitchell who has had several tenures on the show, most recently in 2010, Peggy Mitchell who first appeared in 1991 and then appeared for sixteen years until 2010 and Peter Beale who featured in the soap for seventeen years until 2010. Long running characters currently in EastEnders include Ian Beale, Sharon Rickman, who has appeared on and off since 1985, Phil Mitchell who has appeared since 1990, but had a two-year break from 2003 to 2005, Lucy Beale who appeared between 1993 and 2010 and returned in 2012, Billy Mitchell who made his debut in 1998, Mo Harris who has appeared since 2000 and Patrick Trueman who has appeared since 2001. Presently, Ian Beale and Sharon Rickman are the only original characters in EastEnders.