Christine Hewitt

Christine Hewitt (often credited as "Mrs. Hewitt") was a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Elizabeth Power.

Christine was a lonely divorcée who became besotted with Arthur Fowler while he tended her garden. Arthur couldn't resist her persistent advances and there was hell to pay when his wife Pauline found out.

[edit] History

Christine was first seen in February 1992. Arthur was hiring himself out as a gardener and Christine was one of his clients. After Arthur's son gave up working as his assistant, he advertised for a new one and was shocked when Christine arrived in Walford, enquiring about the job. She wanted it for her son Jonathan, but when he proved lazy and unreliable, an embrrassed Mrs Hewitt took his place as Arthur's assistant.

In May 1992, a phonecall from New Zealand brought news that Kenny Beale had been in a car crash, so Pauline decided to go there to tend to her crippled brother. While Pauline was away, Christine became a regular visitor to Albert Square, causing a certain amount of gossip, and it was clear that she was becoming very fond of Arthur. Arthur was oblivious, but Pete Beale was more astute and he tried to remind Christine that Arthur was a married man — and married to his sister, to boot! However, Christine managed to win him round and he even found himself taking her out for a while instead. In August, things came to a head when Christine actually made a pass at Arthur. He turned her down and she disappeared, sending him a letter and a photo conveying her feelings. Arthur knew that he had to face her one last time and visited her at her house. There he told her that he felt something for her too, but was married and loved his wife. They said goodbye and the matter seemed over.

Christine and Arthur.

When Pauline came home, however, she learnt all about Christine from gossips such as Dot Cotton. She initially believed Arthur when he feigned innocence, but all that changed when she discovered Christine's letter and photo. A furious Pauline then went to visit Christine to discover the truth, and found her to be a sad, lonely figure who drank too much of an afternoon. Pauline was then persuaded to forgive and forget, but Arthur couldn't resist one last rendez-vous with Mrs Hewitt himself, which gave her renewed hope. Over the next few weeks, Arthur kept finding excuses to drop in on Christine, until she told him not to come unless he meant business. On Christmas Eve, Arthur sneaked away from home to be with Christine and finally the inevitable happened and they ended the night in bed together.

The affair continued during 1993 with Arthur continuously running between Christine and Pauline. Christine became more needy and manipulative, cooking up absurd lies and a fake burglary to lure Arthur round, then hitting the bottle if he refused to come. Kathy Beale's decision to open the café in the evenings as a bistro gave Christine an opportunity to see more of Arthur — she applied to be the cook and got the job. However, working in Walford was not enough for Christine, and she began to make greater demands on Arthur, asking him to choose between her and Pauline. Arthur managed to put her off and began having second thoughts about their affair, after which Christine's behaviour became more erratic. She began stalking Arthur around the Square, drunkenly declaring her love, buying inappropriate gifts for his son Martin and threatening to tell Pauline unless he told her first.

In September, under severe pressure, Arthur finally told Pauline the truth, and tried to tell her that he wanted her and not Christine. Hurt, embarrassed and angry, Pauline refused to listen and threw him out, but not before hitting him on the head with a frying pan. This spelt the end for Christine, as Arthur then decided he wanted nothing more to do with her, and in October she disappeared to face a lonely future, divorced by her husband Greg, and ditched by her lover.