Colin Russell

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EastEnders character

Colin Russell
Portrayed by	Michael Cashman
Duration	1986–1989
Marital status	Single
Occupation	Graphic Designer
Family	Bill

Colin Russell was a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He was played by Michael Cashman.

Colin the middle-class yuppie was an aimiable chap with a kind heart and he often ended up getting used by the less considerate locals. He was Walford's first on-screen gay resident and when his sexuality was eventually revealed it caused shockwaves around the Square.

1 Background
2 Colin and Barry
3 Multiple Sclerosis
4 Trivia
5 Family
6 External links

[edit] Background

Colin was a graphic designer and he arrived in Albert Square in August 1986 when he purchased one of the flats that Tony Carpenter was selling. In the beginning Colin spent most of his time with the other yuppies in Walford, James Wilmott-Brown and Debbie Wilkins. He later had close friendship with Pat Butcher, Carmel Jackson and Cindy Williams. Colin and Dot Cotton had their differences, but they later became close friends, and even arranged a holiday together when Charlie Cotton abandoned Dot for her sister.

Although Colin was a homosexual, he didn't reveal this to the other residents of Walford for fear that they would discriminate against him. In fact he pretended that he was straight and referred to past lovers as "she" rather than "he" to keep up the pretence. He fooled most people, but the astute landlady, Angie Watts, wasn't fooled for a second and after divulging that she knew he was gay she promised to keep his secret safe.

Debbie, who was still grieving over the loss of her boyfriend, Andy O'Brien, began to rely on Colin more and more for emotional support. Debbie confused Colin's compassion for sexual attraction and after he gave her a supportive hug she moved in to kiss him and was deeply hurt when he pulled away.

[edit] Colin and Barry

In November of that year Colin's boyfriend Barry Clark arrived on the Square and it wasn't long before he'd demanded to move in with him. Barry was a cockney barrowboy and was considerably younger than Colin. Initially Colin told people that he and Barry were just flatmates, but when Dot Cotton, who was working as Colin's cleaner, figured out that they were sharing a bed, she was mortified and proceeded to tell everyone about his sexual orientation. Dot's extreme homophobia came to the fore and she began to spread malicious rumours that Colin had AIDS. Many of the bigoted members of the community then began to shun Colin, refusing to speak to him or have anything to do with him.

Colin and Dot.

Not only did Colin have to contend with having his personal life spread around the Square, he was also regularly troubled by the antics of his selfish boyfriend. Barry was an old friend of Nick Cotton and upon Nick's return to the Square the two started hanging about together and getting into trouble. They stole a car and then crashed it into Ali Osman's and Colin was forced to pay for the damage. Colin eventually managed to frighten Nick off when he divulged that he was sleeping with Barry. Over the coming months Barry managed to ruin Colin's attempts at getting work and continuously tried to make him jealous, even kissing a woman in front of him. His game worked to his detriment as Colin became so jealous that he wanted to know where Barry was at all times.

In November 1987 Colin was called up to do jury service. It turned out that the plaintiff was a member of the gangster organisation known as The Firm. Den Watts, who was working in league with The Firm, tried to persuade Colin to give the plaintiff a verdict of not guilty, by threatening to tell Barry's reprobate family that he was gay. This worried Colin, as he knew it would ruin their relationship, but he stood by his morals and refused to cede. Later that month Brad Williams, a dodgy member of The Firm, continued to put pressure on Colin by breaking into his flat and trashing it.

Colin then decided to bring in the police, but they were far more concerned about Colin's sexuality than catching the vandals. They started questioning him about how long he and Barry had been co-habiting and they eventually asked Barry's age, leading a nervous Colin to lie that Barry was 22. When the police went to question Barry they asked him to confim his age. Unaware that Colin had lied Barry gave his true age, 21, and so the police deciphered that Barry was only 20 when he started living with Colin. This meant that Barry had been under the legal age of consent for a homosexual when they began cohabiting, and so the police felt it was their duty to inform his parents about his sexuality and also threatened to prosecute Colin (in 1987 the legal age of sexual consent for homosexuals was 21, not 16 as it is today). Barry was petrified of his homophobic father and after he was informed Barry decided to end his relationship with Colin.

Barry then decided that he was not gay after all and proceeded to date girls, which distressed Colin. To make matters worse Barry still regularly pestered Colin for money, which Colin always gave in a vain attempt to remain close to him. Realising that Barry was just using him, Colin began to get extremely depressed. After drinking heavily in The Queen Vic one night, Colin got chatting to two friendly men. After bidding them farewell at the end of the night Colin made his way home, happy that someone was willing to engage in conversation with him for once. However, before he could get home, the two men attacked him and after dragging him into an alley they beat him and then mugged him. After this a shaken Colin lay low for a while. More heartache was around the corner for Colin as Barry decided to leave Walford for a job on a cruise ship in July that year. Colin was deeply sorry to see him go.

[edit] Multiple Sclerosis

Colin started to go through some poor health in 1988 when his eyesight started to give him trouble and he would often get unexplained dizzy spells. A subsequent trip to Dr. Legg left him none the wiser and he was forced to go for blood tests. Meanwhile Colin's ex-boyfriend, Richard, showed up on the Square to cheer his old friend up. He invited him to a party, but as Colin attempted to get up, he found that he couldn't move his legs. His mobility returned the next day, but Colin was petrified and feared that he had AIDS. To make matters worse he was told that the blood tests were inconclusive and he would have to undergo a nuerological examination to see if they could pinpoint the problem.

After many weeks of worrying the results of the tests finally returned, but Dr. Legg seemed hesitant to tell Colin what the results were. Dr. Legg had received news that Colin was suffering with multiple sclerosis and he decided that telling Colin would be to his detriment, as the worry could bring on another attack prematurely. Dr. Legg knew that Colin may not have another attack for 20 years or so, so he decided to tell Colin that he was just overworked and anaemic, much to Colin's relief.

Thinking that he was in perfect health Colin started to enjoy a social life again. At a party he met a new business contact, Guido Smith, who also turned out to be a romantic interest. After several drinks discussing work together, Colin eventually plucked up the courage to make a pass at him, only to be told that he was already in a relationship. Colin understood, but was secretly heartbroken. Colin then changed tact and decided to play it cool with Guido in the hope that he would come running. The plan worked and in December that year Guido split up with his partner and announced that he wanted to move in with Colin. Colin accepted, but couldn't shake the feeling that he was being used by Guido, and his paranoia often evoked heated arguments. Eventually Colin admitted that his erratic, argumentative behaviour was due to the fact that his health was depleting again and he feared that something was seriously wrong.

In January 1989 Colin's health showed no signs of improving, and after much coaxing from Guido, he decided to go back to see Dr. Legg, who finally revealed that he had MS. Colin was furious that he had kept this information from him and shunned all his feeble attempts to explain his reasons for doing so. He threatened to report Dr. Legg to the authorities and was mortified at how unethical he had been. Although Dr. Legg was sorry, he stood by his decision to lie, feeling that Colin benefitted from not knowing - when in actual fact, the opposite was true. Colin spent many weeks coming to terms with this news. He feared that Guido would leave him, but Guido reassured him that he was there for the long haul and so Colin eventually began to accept his condition.

In February 1989 Colin began to get involved in the plight of the heroin addict, Donna Ludlow. Colin desperately tried to show Donna that if she continued down her path of destruction she would end up dead. His attempts to get her into rehab failed however and she repaid him by spreading a rumour that he had AIDS. He and Guido then began to start arguing over Colin's tendency to worry more for others than himself. His opinions brought to the fore how little they shared in common. Colin believed that Guido was only staying with him out of pity and so that same month he decided to leave Walford to stay with his brother in Bristol. He decided not to tell Guido he was going, but a surprise visit from Barry stalled his departure and Guido arrived home to see Colin packed and ready to leave. Colin said that he needed some space and he asked Guido to look after his flat while he sorted his head out. He then left Walford whilst his many friends waved him goodbye. Despite claiming that he would return, he never did, and Guido moved out soon after.

[edit] Trivia

In 1987 a small peck on the forehead given by Colin to Barry received a record number of complaints to the BBC, by angry viewers. The British tabloids started a smear campaign and even nicknamed the show "EastBenders". It was the first gay kiss to be screened on a UK soap opera.