EastEnders

Noteworthy Characters

• Pauline Fowler (née Beale) played by Wendy Richard - Pauline is one of the original cast members, appearing since the first episode in 1985. Pauline works in the launderette with her friend Dot. She was married to the now-deceased Arthur Fowler, with whom she had her children Mark, Michelle and Martin. Pauline also had a twin brother called Pete. Her character is known to be cynical, strong-willed and argumentative.
• Ian Beale played by Adam Woodyatt - Another original cast member, Ian is Walford's business tycoon. He is the son of Pete and Kathy Beale, grandon of Lou Beale, nephew of Pauline Fowler, cousin of Mark, Michelle, and Martin Fowler, father of Peter, Lucy, and Bobby Beale, and possible half-brother of David and Simon Wicks! As a young man, weedy Ian stunned everybody by marrying the gorgeous Cindy Williams after she fell pregnant with what he believed was his child (it was actually the reult of a dalliance she had before dating Ian. The true father was Simon Wicks). Simon and Cindy began an affair and ran off together with their son, Steven, but within a year, he had dumped them and she and Ian reconciled. Their marriage was on/off for a few years but Cindy gave birth to twins Peter and Lucy, and things started to look up. She ended up having a steamy fling with Simon's (and maybe Ian's) brother, David, and they decided to have Ian killed and flee the country. Ian survived the shooting and Cindy managed to collect Peter and Steven as she fled. At the airport, David backed out and stayed put. Ian and the Mitchell brothers tracked Cindy down in Italy so they re-abducted the kids, and Cindy, now pregnant with her boyfriend Nick Holland's baby, was arrested and sent to prison. Nick ditched her. She died during childbirth to her daughter, who was named Cindy after her. Her mother and sister raised the child in Devon. Ian built up his businesses and bagged another trophy girlfriend, Melanie Healy. After it became possible that his daughter Lucy had cancer, he heard Mel admit that she didn't love Ian and would only wed him if Lucy was ill. He lied and said she had cancer and they married, but at their reception she discovered the truth and walked out on him. He then started dating his nanny, Laura Dunn. They got hitched in 2001. She craved a child of her own, although Ian didn't, so he had a secret vasectomy. Ian was gobsmacked when Laura fell pregnant, and the doctor confirmed that the operation was a success, so he kicked her out on Christmas Day after she revealed that she remembered zipping up Garry Hobbs's trousers one drunken night. Laura wanted half of everything Ian had during their divorce, but he had signed everything over to his aunt, Pauline, and Laura brought up baby Bobby in a shabby old bedsit, scraping for cash. After they divorced, Pauline signed the businesses back over to Ian. In the midst of all this, Steven (who was raised by Ian as his own, despite being Cindy's child) found out that his real father was Simon Wicks, so he went to live with him in New Zealand. Garry's marriage to Lynne also broke up, and he and Laura gave their relationship a try for their son's sake, despite the fact at birth Laura had discovered that the child was not Garry's, but Ian's after all (he had had sex with Laura within six weeks after the vasectomy which made it still possible to have babies, and after this, the operation had worked). Garry soon drifted back to Lynne and she fell pregnant. Laura fell down the stairs and died, and Garry was heart-broken after Bobby's birth certificate revealed that Ian was the biological father. He was shocked most of all, but took responsibility for his new-found son, while Garry's new daughter, Viv, died shortly after birth. Ian is now dating widow Jane Collins.
• Sharon Rickman (née Watts; previously Mitchell) AKA Sharon Watts played by Letitia Dean - The only other remaining original cast member, Sharon is the adopted daughter of 'Dirty' Den and Angie Watts. She shares a close relationship with Michelle Fowler and her family. Sharon is famous for the storyline known as Sharongate. In this storyline, Sharon had an affair with her husband Grant's brother Phil, which was revealed to the occupants of the Queen Victoria on video. Sharon left the series in 1995 but returned in 2001. After tracking down her long-lost half-brother Dennis Rickman (her adoptive father Den was his biological father, thus they are not blood related), it became clear that feelings were growing between the pair. This was halted when their father, Den Watts (who was believed to be dead) returned. Eventually they outed and their relationship went public, but Den manipulated Dennis (who had never had a loving childhood) and taunted him about the beatings he suffered by his mother's lovers. Dennis broke down and dumped Sharon so he could secure a family. They began an affair during his relationship with Zoe Slater and planned to run away together, but Den told Zoe to fake a pregnancy to keep Dennis. This worked and Sharon fled to the States to recover with her adoptive half-sister, Vicki. Den and Zoe slept together (resulting in a pregnancy) and Dennis discovered the truth, so he went searching for Sharon. Zoe aborted Den's child and his wife, Chrissie, discovered the truth and made him confess while Sharon was secretly lurking in the darkness, listening to how her father was confessing that he enjoyed splitting her and Dennis up. She cut her ties with him and left, and just minutes later Chrissie killed Den in a fight, and buried his body in the pub. Dennis and Sharon returned to Walford together, in search of their father. They married, and as they headed to their reception Den's body was discovered, leaving Sharon devastated.
• Dot Branning (previously Cotton) played by June Brown - OAP Dot is one of the most popular characters. She is a religious chainsmoker who is known to recite from memory passages from the Bible. She was married to the cruel Charlie Cotton and had her equally evil son Nick by him. She has since remarried to Jim Branning. She was recently diagnosed with cancer, but has now recovered.
• Arthur Fowler played by Bill Treacher - Pauline's husband Arthur was an original cast member. He had a difficult life, having served time in jail and suffering a dramatic nervous breakdown. He died in 1996 and has had a bench named after him.
• Dennis ('Den') Watts AKA 'Dirty Den played by Leslie Grantham - Known as 'Dirty' Den, he was the father of Dennis Rickman and Vicki Fowler, the adoptive father of Sharon Rickman and landlord of the Queen Victoria pub. He earned his nickname for getting his daughter Sharon's 16-year old best friend Michelle Fowler pregnant. He was a serial womaniser and had a long affair with the unknown Jan Hammond (which his wife, Angie, knew about). When Angie realised that Den was planning to divorce her, marry Jan and install her in their pub, she told him she was dying. He over-heard her confess to a barman on holiday in Venice that it was all a lie to save her marriage. Den issued her with divorce papaers on Christmas Day 1986, pulling 30 million viewers, the highest EastEnders has ever seen. Angie emigrated to Spain, and her love rival Jan moved in, but Den's posh mistress proved unpopular with the punters and she hated Den's flirtatious lifestyle so she packed up and left Walford. Den fell in with the gangsters known as The Firm. He burned down The Dagmar pub after its owner raped his best friend's wife and he was sent to prison. After a fall out with The Firm, they feared that Den would grass them up to the didgy dealings they had been doing. While on bail, Den was by the canal after meeting Michelle and Vicki, unlucky Den was shot and killed by a worker of The Firm after he hid the gun in a bunch of daffodils he was holding. His body fell into the canal and was found at a later stage. 14 years later, while the son Den never knew he had, Dennis Rickman, held a gun to The Firm boss Jack Dalton's head after it was revealed he had ordered Den's death, he confessed that Den had actually survived the shooting and the man that shot him was killed for not doing the job properly and his body was placed in the canal to look like Den's. Dennis still killed Dalton, but his half-sister, Vicki, tracked Den down and he returned to Walford after 14 years of exile in Spain. At this point, his biological son ,Dennis, and adoptive daughter, Sharon, had given in to their feelings for each other and had sex, but any chances of a relationship were out of the window and they decided to act as though it never happened so they could focus on getting to know Den again. He built a strong relationship with all of his children. Dennis and Sharon started a secret relationship and they went public (by initially snogging each other's face off in a crowded Vic!). Den was disgusted and intervened, without caring what serious damage he was causing. He manipulated Dennis into thinking about how he has just gained a family and he is chucking it away, after all his mum beat him and he was abused by her lovers and that he never wants him anyway. Dennis dumped Sharon to save the family life he's craved since birth. Another shock came when Den's secret wife, Chrissie, turned up from Spain demanding the money he owed her after he sold their bar and ran off with the cash! Den's kids and Chrissie were stunned to find out about each other, and Den persuaded Chrissie to stay in Walford and give their marriage another try. He was soon cheating on her with her work colleague, Kate Mitchell, and when Chrissie found out, she gave Kate the hair cut from hell! Den still wromed his way back into Chrissie's affections somehow, but promised that it was his final chance. Dennis ended up dating Zoe Slater, but, on Christmas Day, after Den had just bought the pub from Sam Hunter, he and Sharon announced that they were having an affair, in love, and nothing would break them up, and they planned to leave Walford together. Den told Zoe to fake a pregnancy so that Den would stay with her. She did so, and Dennis unwillingly sacrificed Sharon for his 'baby'. Sharon left for the States, and when Vicki over-heard him admit he had no feelings for her, she fled with her. In order to keep up the pretence of a fake baby, Den offered to sleep with Zoe to make her pregnant and pretend it was Dennis's. They did so and Dennis caught them in bed together, told Chrissie (who kept the news to herself), and went searching for Sharon in the USA. Zoe aborted Den's child, and Chrissie, Zoe, and Sam (who wanted revenge after Den conned her out of her pub) all confronted Den in The Vic late one night. As Den proudly confessed all of his evil deeds, Sharon appeared from the shadows, she'd been hiding and heard it all. She fled in disgust, and Den attacked Chrissie for taking away the one thing he truly loved. Zoe hit Den over the head with an iron doorstop belonging to Pauline Fowler, and as she and Sam went upstairs, Den grabbed Chrissie's leg. She picked up the doorstop and delivered the fatal blow to Den's head, secretly saw by Sam, and allowed Zoe to believe she had killed him from when she hit him. Chrissie buried Den's body in a hole in the cellar and this was cemented the next morning. Sam blackmailed Chrissie into either giving her the pub back, or she'd tell Zoe the truth. After months of bitching, Sam told all to Zoe, who punched Chrissie, told her mother Kat, and left for Spain. Chrissie still refused to hand over the pub, and ina drunken rage, Sam smashed up Den's grave, in the hope that Chrissie would finally be arrested for Den's murder, although all of the evidence pointed at her, and she is now in prison.
• Martin Fowler played by Jon Peyton Price & James Alexandrou - Martin is Arthur's and Pauline's son. She became pregnant with him in her forties, but refused to abort him. After the death of his father, Martin went through a period of rebellion, and has made Sonia Jackson pregnant (their daughter Chloe was given up for adoption and later re-named Rebecca) but since he accidently killed Sonia's fiancé Jamie Mitchell in a car accident he calmed down and, after gaining Sonia's forgiveness, he married her.
• Pat Evans (née Harris; formerly Beale, Wicks, Butcher) played by Pam St. Clement - Pete Beale's ex-wife arrived on the show in 1986 after escaping her abusive spouse, Brian. She had two children, David and Simon ('Wicksy') Wicks who were believed to be Pete's. It was suspected that Pete's brother Kenny could be the true father after they admitted an affair years ago, and also his best friend Den Watts after their fling shortly after Pete's and Pat's split was revealed. Simon turned out to be the son of her second husband, Brian Wicks. In more recent times, EastEnders storyliners have said that the storyline as to the paternity of Pat's children has been changed and messed about with so much that it's impossible to know the truth. They say that David is Pete's son and Simon possibly is. She was re-united with true love Frank Butcher and they married in the late 80s. They ran The Queen Vic together and after Frank's car lot faced bankruptcy, he fled Walford, leaving Pat with his debts. Pat moved on and married Roy Evans, but after Frank's return and wedding to Peggy Mitchell, they began an affair. The truth came out and Frank left, while Roy and Pat repaired their marriage. Roy suffered a heart attack and died in 2003.
• Phil Mitchell played by Steve McFadden - Phil is a member of the infamous Mitchell family. He is a brutish hardman, like his brother Grant. Phil is deeply saddened by his loss of contact with his children Ben and Louise. He married a Romanian refugee so she could stay in the country, and later Kathy Beale. He was involved in the Sharongate affair, in which he slept with his sister-in-law (before his marriages). His other big storyline was the Who Shot Phil? saga, in which Phil was shot with a gun, but for some time the identity of his attacker was a mystery (it was his ex-girlfriend Lisa). Phil surprisingly forgave Lisa and framed his nemesis Dan Sullivan for his shooting. After Lisa married Mark Fowler, Phil found out that her daughter Louise was his. They started an affair, and moved in together. Lisa realised that Phil only wanted his daughter, and was slowly pushing her out of Louise's life, so she escaped to Portugal, Phil in hot persuit. Phil returned with his daughter, and Lisa's disappearance remained a mystery. He fell head over heels for Kate Tyler, but she was secretly a police officer investigating Lisa's disappearance. He confessed the whole truth about the events in Portugal, and revealed that he emotionally manipulated Lisa into giving Louise to him, and he left her by a cliff. Kate in turn admitted her true occupation, but quit for Phil. He forgave her and they married, and Lisa returned to Walford at the reception, catching the bouquet of flowers Kate threw. He planned a bank robbery with Den Watts, but Den set him up and the police arrested him at the scene. Kate was disgusted that Phil had reverted to his criminal ways, and after just three months of marriage, it was over, and she handed Louise over to Lisa, who left Walford. Phil escaped jail, and attacked Ian Beale, but he was caught and is now in prison.
• Sam Hunter (née Mitchell; previously Butcher) AKA Sam Mitchell played by Daniella Westbrook & Kim Medcalf - Sam is Phil and Grant's younger sister. She doesn't really fit in with her brothers and mother since she isn't quite as independant and strong-willed as Mitchells are expected to be. At a young age, she eloped with Ricky Butcher, but after a year of marriage, Sam was bored and left him and Walford for a modelling career. She to and fro'd to Walford and slept with David Wicks, Beppe di Marco and Steve Owen. After Phil was imprisoned, there was no family left in Walford for Sam, and she took charge of Phil's businesses, The Arches, Bridge Street Café and The Queen Vic. Her lawyer Marcus Christie said that Phil had escaped and needed her to sell everything so she could raise the cash to give to him. It was a lie, and Marcus fled with the cash. Her new husband, Andy Hunter, kicked her out of her own home when he discovered all the businesses were gone, and revealed he only married her for money. When Andy died she was devastated when she received nothing but his wedding ring in his will. Since witnessing Den's murder, she has refound her assertive side in order to blackmail his killer, Chrissie. This has now backfired on her as the killer Chrissie has framed Sam for Den's murder after Sam dug his body up in drunken madness.
• Peggy Mitchell (née Martin; previously Butcher) played by Barbara Windsor - Peggy is the matriarch of the Mitchell family. She was a leading character for some time, battling breast cancer and being cheated on by her husband Frank. After hearing that her son, Grant, had been injured in Brazil, she fled Walford to nurse him but stayed there full time. She came back for her daughter Sam's wedding to con man Andy Hunter. She has returned to Walford after two years absence in order to support daughter Sam as she faces murder charges against Den Watts (although she didn't kill him).
• Sonia Fowler (née Jackson) played by Natalie Cassidy - One of the most popular characters, Sonia joined the show in 1993. She is currently taking a nursing course and is married to Martin Fowler. At 15, she and Martin Fowler had sex, and nine months later she gave birth to their surprise daughter, Chloe (she didn't even know that she was pregnant). Her daughter was given up for adoption. A few years later she has a nervous breakdown and kidnapped her daughter, Chloe (now named Rebecca). She was engaged to Jamie Mitchell and they were love's young dream, surviving his betrayal with Zoe Slater and her obsession with Chloe. Her ex, Martin Fowler, knocked down Jamie and he subsequently died on Christmas Day. Sonia has since forgiven Martin and they are now married, although this has been tested by the arrival of stalker Sarah and finding Chloe/Rebecca after her adoptive parents' deaths.
• Jim Branning played by John Bardon - Another popular character, Jim is Sonia's grandfather and Dot's second husband. After months of chasing after her, he proposed for a second time to which she accepted. He used to be racist, and was therefore disgusted when his daughter Carol married an African-European. He also likes to gamble, and spends a lot of time in the pub with his friend, Patrick Trueman.
• Billy Mitchell and Maureen ('Little Mo') Mitchell (née Slater; previously Morgan) played by Perry Fenwick and Kacey Ainsworth - Billy is second cousin once removed to Phil, Grant and Sam Mitchell and Little Mo is the second youngest daughter of the infamous Slater family. Billy was originally a mean-spirited character, abusing his nephew Jamie. Over time, he has grown into a more mellow person, especially after Jamie's tragic death. Little Mo is known as the 'little mouse' married to the abusive Trevor Morgan, who she once beat almost to death with an iron in self-defence. Billy and Little Mo eventually got together after a long time of being just good friends. They had a happy married life prior to Little Mo's rape by Graham. She became pregnant by her rapist but didn't want an abortion, which Billy couldn't accept. After trying to work things out with Mo and her son, Freddie, things got worse and they are now separated, but remain very good friends, despite hopes of a reconciliation one day. Little Mo and her brother-in-law, Alfie Moon (estranged husband of Mo's sister, Kat) fell in love but have never got together due to Kat's return and Alfie being torn with which girl he wants to be with. He evntually chose Kat, leaving Mo heartbroken yet again.
• Alfie and Kat Moon (née Slater) played by Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie - Kat is one of the Slaters' most famous girls, fitting the description of a tart with a heart. She was raped by her uncle, Harry Slater, when she was a teenager and became pregnant with Zoe, who was brought up by Kat's parents. The truth came out eventually and Kat and Zoe are now very close. Alfie was from 2002-2004 the landlord of the Queen Victoria pub, a job which he obtained through a mistaken identity. Kat and Alfie married, but their marriage was destroyed by Kat's ex-fiancé Andy Hunter, a dodgy crook whom she jilted at the altar for Alfie. Alfie owed Andy a lot of money, and the gangster threatened to kill Alfie unless he payed back the debt or Kat slept with him. Kat chose the latter option, and Alfie found out. They broke up and Kat left Walford. She returned in 2005 and sorted her differences with daughter Zoe. Kat wanted to re-unite with Alfie and they secretly got back together but it came out that he and her timid sister, Little Mo, were on the verge of becoming an item.
• Andy Hunter played by Michael Higgs - Andy was introduced as a heavy of gangster Jack Dalton. After his death, Andy took his place and inherited his club, Imperial Rooms, as well as buying the bookies. Andy fell head over heels in love with Kat Slater, admiring her up-front attitude and courage against men of his status. After wooing her and a whirlwind romance, he proposed to her in New York, but on their wedding day, Kat's boss, Alfie Moon, burst in and admitted his love for Kat, who confessed that she felt the same way, and jilted Andy to be with Alfie. This proved a downfall for Andy and he was battered by a rival gang, and was nursed by none other than Alfie and Kat! He still wanted revenge, and after Alfie took out a loan from him, Andy started demanding his money back. Alfie had no way of paying, and was beat up, and Andy still expected his money back. He told Kat that he would cancel the debt if she slept with him. She did so, and Andy videotaped it and sent a copy to Alfie. He and Kat struggled from then on to keep what they once had, and after Kat went off the rails, Alfie kicked her out. Andy was delighted to see the people who had ruined him destroyed. He prayed on Sam Mitchell and wed her. After she sold all her businesses and was conned out of the cash by her lawyer, Andy kicked her out, and told her he was only after her cash, which she no longer has. Andy continued to play boss and treat the locals of Walford like dirt, but was shook up when notorious gang leader, Johnny Allen, turned up. Annoyed by Allen ordering him about in what he thought of as his own territory, Andy ripped off Johnny to the excess of £250,000 and planned to escape. Johnny caught up with him en route and threw him off a bridge.