Hattie Tavernier

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EastEnders character

Hattie Tavernier
Portrayed by	Michelle Gayle
Duration	1990–1993
Date of birth	12 April 1975
Marital status	Single
Occupation	PA
Family	Celestine, Etta, Lloyd, Clyde, Jules, Kofi

Hattie Tavernier was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Michelle Gayle.

Hattie was an intelligent girl who liked to think she was an independent strong woman. However, Hattie was forced to grow up too fast, and it turned out that she wasn't as emotionally mature as she thought.

1 Hattie's arrival
2 Hattie's heartbreak
3 Family
4 External link

[edit] Hattie's arrival

Hattie arrived in Albert Square in the summer of 1990 along with the rest of the Tavernier family - father Celestine, mother Etta, her twin brother Lloyd, older brother Clyde, grandfather Jules and nephew Kofi (who was Clyde's son).

The head of the Tavernier household, Celestine, was a very strict and religious man, and despite having a strong personality, Hattie was often made to obey his disciplinarian rules.

During her first year on the Square, Hattie became friendly with local girl Samantha Mitchell, but while Sam was a bit of a wild child, concentrating on boys and her 'modelling' career, Hattie preferred to knuckle down with her school work. Hattie particularly disapproved of Sam's friendship with Mandy Salter, and upon her arrival in 1992 the two grew distant from each other.

Hattie's family had a turbulent time in Albert Square, and Hattie was often forced to act older than her years in order to cope with their problems. She was one of the few people to stand by her brother Clyde when he was falsely accused and imprisoned for the murder of Eddie Royle. She was also one of the few members of her family that stood up to her volatile father, who had become increasingly opposed to her mother Etta's successful career as acting head of Walford Primary School. Hattie once urged her mother to leave her father, but Etta's religious beliefs would not allow her to do this. Hattie was also the voice of reason to her twin brother Lloyd, whose behaviour had become increasingly erratic since he was diagnosed as suffering from the degenerative disease, sickle-cell anaemia. Hattie even let her own school work suffer to help her not so bright brother.

Hattie's hard work at school paid off and she received excellent grades in her final year exams, so it was an even bigger surprise to her parents when a 16-year-old Hattie announced that she didn't want to continue with her education and instead wanted to build a career in the catering business. Despite huge rows and opposition from her parents, Hattie left school and got a job working as a waitress for Ian Beale's catering company, 'The Meal Machine'.

It wasn't long before bright spark Hattie was promoted to Ian's Personal Assistant. Hattie excelled in her work but Ian confused her keen attitude towards her job as a 'come-on' and used his position to sexually harass her. Hattie soon put a stop to this, swiftly kneeing him in the groin when he tried to kiss her. Irrespective of this setback, Hattie remained working with Ian, despite Ian's wife Cindy (who saw her as a threat) doing everything in her power to get her sacked.

[edit] Hattie's heartbreak

Hattie and Steve

Hattie began a relationship with her old school pal Steve Elliot, who had got a job as chef at the Meal Machine in 1992. Hattie felt the relationship had a future, so when her parents decided to leave Walford that same year, she stayed behind with her Grandfather Jules and older brother Clyde.

Hattie was in love, but Steve never took the relationship as seriously, and so she was often let down by his thoughtless behaviour. The relationship altered when Hattie fell pregnant in 1993. Despite the fact that the pregnancy was unplanned, Hattie wanted to keep the baby and so she asked Steve to marry her (although she never divulged to Steve that she was pregnant as she wanted to be sure that he was marrying her out of love, and not out of an obligation to their baby). A shocked Steve accpeted the proposal, but after much stirring from Hattie's arch-nemesis, Mandy, he panicked and decided that he didn't want to be tied down. Days later he took a job as a chef on an ocean liner without informing Hattie he was going.

Upon realising that Steve had 'done a runner', Hattie became frantic. She coaxed Phil Mitchell into driving her to Southampton, where Steve was due to depart from. When she finally caught up with him an emotional scene resulted in the pair ending up in bed together again. Hattie thought that she'd managed to change Steve's mind about going, but he thought the night of passion was just a final 'bon voyage' and he left a devastated Hattie to return to Walford alone. When she returned things were made instantly worse for her due to the sudden reappearance of her father, who was furious to learn that Hattie had gotten herself pregnant. Celestine agreed not to divulge her pregnancy to her mother if she got an abortion, which Hattie agreed to. Hattie booked an appointment, but at the last minute she changed her mind and decided that she wanted to keep the baby after all. However, in a cruel twist of fate, Hattie suffered a miscarriage the very next day. Left nursing a broken heart and a miscarriage, Hattie decided that she wanted out of Walford and went to Norwich to stay with her parents for a while.

She returned later in the year, but Cindy Beale's bitching and jealousy finally got too much for her, so she quit her job at 'The Meal Machine', telling Ian where to go in the process. With nothing left for her in Walford, Hattie decided to make a fresh start living with her parents in Norwich and she departed in December 1993.

Steve returned to Walford in 1994, with the hope of reuniting with Hattie, but after he made a trip to Norwich to win her back, he discovered that she'd moved on with her life and was dating another man.