Clare Bates
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| EastEnders character | ||||||||||||
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| Clare Bates | ||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Gemma Bissix | |||||||||||
| Introduced by | Leonard Lewis (1993) Diederick Santer (2008) |
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| Duration | 1993–1998, 2008 | |||||||||||
| First appearance | 6 July 1993 | |||||||||||
| Profile | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1985 | |||||||||||
| Status | Single | |||||||||||
| Home | 25 Albert Square | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Receptionist at Booty | |||||||||||
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Clare Bates (née Tyler) is a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. Gemma Bissix originally played the character from 1993 to 1998. After a ten year hiatus, Bissix returned to the role on 1 February 2008.[1] On 23 May 2008 is was revealed that Bissix will once again leave EastEnders at the end of her current contract.[2]
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[edit] Character creation and development
Clare Tyler (later Bates) was introduced by the executive producer of EastEnders, Leonard Lewis.[3] Gemma Bissix — aged nine at the time — was cast in the role. It was her first acting job and she had received no former training.[4] The character made her first appearance in July 1993 as the daughter of Debbie Tyler (played by Nicola Duffett), a love interest for an EastEnders regular, Nigel Bates (played by Paul Bradley).
Clare’s introductory storyline focused upon domestic violence—her father Liam's physical abuse of her mother—and being caught between her feuding parents. Later storylines involved the death of her mother, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in 1995, and a subsequent custody battle between her father and stepfather, which ultimately led to Nigel being given custody of Clare. After six years in the serial, the character was written out in 1998 as a result of Paul Bradley's decision to leave, reportedly for fear of being typecast in the role of Nigel the "nerd".[5] The writers of EastEnders wanted to give Nigel a happy ending, so a character named Julie Haye (Karen Henthorn) was invented to be a love interest for Nigel, whilst her son, Josh Saunders (Jon Lee), was invented to be a love interest for Clare.[6] In the storyline, Nigel fell for Julie, Clare’s teacher, as they tried to sort out Clare’s problematic behaviour at school. Simultaneously, Clare fell for Julie’s son Josh, and when the storyline reached its climax in April 1998, the Bates family relocated to Scotland to begin a new life with Julie and Josh.[5] Since her initial departure, actress Gemma Bissix has commented on her character’s exit from the soap: “it was the right time for the character to go. Besides, when you get to 15 and haven't been able to cut your hair for six years, you want a change.”[7]
[edit] Reintroduction
| "Prepare for the return of an old face, as Gemma Bissix returns to Walford in the New Year to reprise her role as Clare Bates…Drama always followed Clare when she was in Walford, and her return promises no change. Clare comes back to stay with Dot, who is thrilled to see her. But why does Clare behave so strangely when she's asked about Nigel?" bbc.co.uk, 19 September 2007[8] |
In September 2007, an official BBC press report announced that actress Gemma Bissix had agreed to reprise the role of Clare, ten years after her initial departure.[8] Bissix was approached about returning by the executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer, following her successful stint as soap villain Clare Devine in Channel 4's Hollyoaks.
Commenting on her reintroduction, Bissix has said, "To be able to reprise the role of Clare, who I played when I was a child, is such a great compliment. It’s fantastic to grab something that once was and try and develop it into something different. I’m loving every minute."[9] Clare Bates made her reappearance on-screen on 1 February 2008 — in her first scene she was thrown out of the back of a car by her lover, the CEO of a big company.[10]
[edit] Characterisation and personality change
Unlike the "cute, sweet" character she appeared to be during the 1990s, Clare was transformed into a "soap bitch" upon her reintroduction in 2008; a gold digger, chasing after wealthy men for their money.[10] Bissix has said, "Myself, Diederick [Santer] and [story producer] Dominic [Treadwell-Collins] had a characterisation session and we discussed what Clare's been doing and how she's got to where she is now. Her back story has played a big part in how I'm developing the character."[11]
Explaining the reasons for her character's personality change, Bissix said "I think it’s just the fact that she’s lonely. When she was in Scotland Nigel and Julie were getting on with their own thing. Through no fault of Nigel’s she just got pushed out of the family. She’s not his real child, her mum’s dead and her dad was in prison and is a bit of a wrong un. She went to university and was mistreated by a few men. Now she uses her looks to her advantage. Now she’s using the men and treating them badly...she's never felt settled. Her mother died, her father was abusive and she doesn't even know him. She's never felt like she's fitted in. Clare's 'mystery' is brought about by her looking for that father figure and needing that kind of attention, which then leads her into preying on the men of Walford. That's how she makes her money. Her forté is finding men with money and using her assets to entice them and rip them off..."[9][11]
[edit] Storylines
[edit] Early history
Clare, the daughter of Debbie Tyler, arrived in Walford in 1993 when her mother moved in with her new love interest Nigel Bates. Her father, Liam was abusive towards Debbie, which had led to them separating. Liam followed them to Walford and tried everything possible to break Nigel and Debbie apart. Despite problems, Debbie went on to marry Nigel in 1994 and Clare was happy with them; however, her happiness was cut short when her mother died in a hit-and-run accident in 1995. Nigel fell apart, and it was left to Clare to look after him. After Debbie's death, Liam returned, wanting to gain custody of Clare, but Clare doted on Nigel and did not want to leave her stepfather. A custody battle ensued, but Nigel fought hard to keep Clare. He was successful, Liam withdrew the case after his girlfriend admitted in court that Liam had also been violent towards her.
Clare was friendly with the other young girls in Walford, Janine Butcher and Sonia Jackson. They caused trouble for the barber Felix Kawalski in November 1995, when they spread rumours that he was a pervert who had murdered his wife, and kept her mutilated body in his barbershop cellar. Clare broke into Felix's barber shop one evening to uncover the body, but she tripped on the cellar stairs and was knocked unconscious. The adults of Walford feared Clare had been abducted by Felix; they went to confront him, but found Clare safe and sound. Felix had only been hiding a collection of butterflies.
In 1997, Clare started socialising with a bad crowd at school, and subsequently began bullying her good friend Sonia. This led to her teacher, Julie Haye, reprimanding her. Nigel took her back to his old school to show her the pain that bullies inflict upon their victims, which made her see the error of her ways. She made peace with Sonia and then fell for Josh Saunders, a pupil at her school. They started dating — despite objections from Nigel — though their romance hit a brief setback when Clare discovered that his mother was also her teacher, Julie Haye. Despite her initial upset, Clare came round and she was happy when Nigel and Julie began dating. When Julie got a job in Scotland, Nigel and Clare decided to join her and Josh. They left Walford for Scotland in April 1998.
[edit] Return to Walford
On 1 February 2008, Clare returned to Albert Square; she was thrown from the back seat of a car. Nigel's former landlady, Dot Branning, persuaded her to remain in Walford. Clare moved in with Dot, and found employment as a receptionist at Tanya Branning's beauty parlour, Booty. With money as her motive, Clare tried to attract the attention of the wealthy male residents of Albert Square. Jack Branning and his brother Max showed no interest; however, Ian Beale proved more susceptible to Clare's attempts at seduction, even though he was already married to Jane. Clare led Ian on by flirting, wearing revealing clothing and talking suggestively, but it was all just a game; she had no intention of taking things further, and acted shocked when Ian suggested that she did. She then blackmailed Ian, threatening to inform Jane of his dishonourable intentions unless he gave her money. Clare then set her sights on Bradley Branning upon learning that he had landed a lucrative property development job. She grew closer to him as they both lived with Dot and gradually attempted to seduce him. After months of trying it on with Bradley, Clare finally kissed him in April, but Bradley pulled away and told her that he was not over his estranged wife Stacey Branning. Clare accepted defeat for the time being, but instead changed her tactics by trying to help Bradley move on from Stacey.
On 6 May, Clare was left stunned when her former lover Arnold turned up at Booty hoping to reconcile with her. Fearing that her past was catching up with her, she insisted that they met in secret at the cafė. Once there it was revealed that Arnold was married to a woman named Miriam, who had discovered their affair due to the fact that Arnold's credit card bills were sky-high as he was spending all of his money buying Clare presents so she put a stop to Arnold's constant buying of gifts for Clare by keeping all of his credit cards. This resulted in Clare walking out of her affair with Arnold in November 2007 after three months together, but she neglected to tell Arnold of her departure. When Arnold asked her to come back to him, confessing his love for her, Clare informed him that she would rekindle their affair only if he proved his love for her by buying her an expensive gift. When Arnold was unable to do this, Clare then told him that their relationship was over and she returned to the Branning household, where she dressed up in a seductive Princess Leia outfit in order to entice Bradley as they prepared to watch the Star Wars trilogy. However Clare then confessed to a frustrated Bradley that she wasn't ready to have sex with him yet after he informed her that he was now ready to commit to a relationship with her.
Clare then convinced Bradley to rob Arnold's house with her, by lying that he had treated her badly during their relationship and had taken all of her late mother's jewellery from her possession when he threw her out of his home. The robbery went off without a hitch, but Arnold spotted Clare and Bradley leaving the scene of the crime and travelled back to Albert Square in order to confront his former lover. After sending Bradley away, a cruel Clare confessed that she never loved Arnold and had only been using him for his money. When he threatened to phone the police over the robbery, Clare reminded him that his wife would certainly be involved and their marriage would be over for good. Arnold relented and in order for his silence, a reluctant Clare agreed to give him a diamond ring that she had stolen from him earlier. However just as she was about to do so Bradley walked in and Clare immediately told him that Arnold had been verbally abusing her and making her give her mother's jewellery back. Bradley threw Arnold out whilst a contented Clare got to keep all of the jewellery. Later when she and Bradley were getting closer, a devious Clare informed him that he was way out of her league and she could never get a man like him, leaving Bradley more frustrated.
[edit] Reception
According to a May 2008 article by Martin Smith, television critic for the Coventry Telegraph, the character of Clare Bates is one of only two reasons to watch EastEnders. He commented, "She's sassy, stylish, sexy and supremely manipulative - and far foxier than either of the Mitchell [sisters]." Though he continued that the character had been underused, saying "Unfortunately, for 'Enders, she's sidelined more often than Harry Kewell in a Champions League final. At least Hollyoaks knew her worth."[12]
[edit] References
- ^ "Ex-'Hollyoaks' actress returns to 'EastEnders'", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 2007-09-22.
- ^ "Gemma Bissix to leave 'EastEnders'", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 2008-05-23.
- ^ Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2.
- ^ "This Morning". This Morning. ITV. ITV1. 2008-02-01.
- ^ a b "LOVE AT LAST FOR NIGEL THE NERD", The Mirror, 1997-11-16. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
- ^ "Interview with Karen Henthorn", Walford Gazette. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
- ^ "SAGGY, BAGGY, OLD & ALONE", The People, 2008-02-24. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b "Gemma Bissix Returns", BBC, 2007-09-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b "Gemma Bissix Interview", BBC, 2008-02-21. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b "Clare's back and she's no cutie, says Gemma Bissix", What's on TV, 2008-01-29. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b Kris Green. "Gemma Bissix: "I'm back home", Digital Spy, 2008-02-01. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ "The only two reasons to watch EastEnders....", Coventry Telegraph, 2008-05-14. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
