Julie Cooper (EastEnders)

Julie was a bubbly, big haired Salford girl, who had a hungry appetite for men. Born in Walford, Julie returned in 1989 to open a trendy salon, but she soon found there wasn't much profit to be made in perming Ethel Skinner's wigs or giving Dot Cotton shampoos and sets. The business went bankrupt and she went back up north in 1990.

1 Character creation and development
2 Storylines
3 References

[edit] Character creation and development

1989 was a year of big change for EastEnders, both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer, Keith Harris, left the show, and co-creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coinciding with the exit of one of EastEnders most successful characters, Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).^[1] A new producer, Mike Gibbon, was given the arduous task of taking over the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale.^[1]

The departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), had left a massive void in the programme, which needed to be filled.^[1] In addition several other long running characters left the show that year including two original cast members, Sue and Ali Osman (Sandy Ratcliff and Nejdet Salih) and their family; Donna Ludlow (Matilda Ziegler); Carmel Jackson (Judith Jacob) and her family and one of the show's more controversial characters, Colin Russell (Michael Cashman). So, it was decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford. EastEnders script-writer, Colin Brake, has suggested that "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start".^[1]

At the time the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing; arguably a reputation that it has never been able to shake.^[1] The programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in Albert Square. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted.^[1] Such characters included Julie Cooper; Marge Green — a batty older lady played by veteran comedy actress, Pat Coombs; Trevor Short (Phil McDermott), the "village idiot", and his friend, northern heartbreaker Paul Priestly (Mark Thrippleton); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham) and Laurie Bates (Gary Powell), who became Pete Beale's (Peter Dean) sparring partner.

Julie Cooper was a man-mad insatiable flirt, bubbly with a comic but shrewd persona. She was scripted to be sassy but streetwise and she brought a touch of northern culture to the programme.^[2] The relatively unknown Lancashire actress Louise Plowright was eventually cast in the role. The casting director was initially dubious about giving her the role, as Plowright, then thirty-three, didn't look "old enough or tough enough to play this serious man eater". In an interview given in Hilary Kingsley's EastEnders Handbook, Plowright comments: "I really played up the Bette Midler act...That did it."^[2]

Humour was an important element in the storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. 1989's changes were a brave experiment and while some found this period of EastEnders entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat.^[1] Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence, drugs, rape and racism, the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".^[1]

By the end of the year EastEnders had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson, who had previously been a successful producer on ITV's The Bill. Ultimately, Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality, and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year.^[1] A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp), two hugely successful characters, who would go on to dominate the soap there after. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year.^[1] Among them was Julie, as well as every other "comedic" character that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Several of the actors were upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief".^[1]

[edit] Storylines

Julie was born in Walford then moved to Salford with her mum (who was a prostitute) as a small girl. In June 1989 Julie returned to sell the house (number 55 Victoria Road) left to her by her deceased grandmother, Eileen Robinson.^[2] Ashraf Karim, who intended to purchase the property, was forced to up his bid on the house in order to get Julie to agree to the sale.

Julie was brassy, up for a good time and full of attitude. She was incredibly proud of her huge mane of curly blonde hair and relished the attention she managed to get from men, often leading them on with suggestive banter. Although at first glance Julie may have seemed like a bimbo, she was nobody's fool and never allowed herself to be pushed around. She also knew exactly how to maipulate men into doing her bidding. Her steely determination was a result of a failed marriage to a man named Billy. Billy had two-timed her and she'd subsequently vowed that no man would ever hurt her again. A further sadness involved her inability to have children, something Billy failed to be supportive about. Julie decided that she needed a new start, so she looked into opening her own business in Walford.

Julie leased a vacant property and employed handyman Paul Priestly and his friend Trevor Short to renovate it, leaving many locals wondering what sort of business Julie was intending to open. Nosey neighbour Dot Cotton jumped to the wrong conclusion when she spotted a flier advertising Julie's "personal services" and assumed she was opening a brothel. She petitioned against the opening of Julie's "brothel", but was embarrassed when Ethel Skinner — who discovered that she'd known Julie's mother years ago — did some investigating and declared Julie was a hairdresser and beautician and intended to open a new salon. The salon, named Julie's, was situated at 11 Turpin Road. Michelle Fowler was hired as the salon receptionist and a young trainee named Marie Davies was also employed, although she regularly clashed with Julie, so her job didn't last long.

During her stay in Walford Julie lived in one of the flats at 43 Albert Square.

[edit] Man trouble

Julie was attracted to fellow northerner, Paul Priestly, from the start and even though he was seeing Diane Butcher she seduced him and they ended up sleeping together. Their affair continued for several weeks, much to Diane's annoyance, but it ended when Paul began to suspect that Julie was only using him to get a cheap deal on the work he was doing on the salon. Paul then returned to Diane, but Diane could not forgive Julie and played various vengeful tricks on her as payback, such as sabotaging the opening day of her salon and sending her a male escort to make her look desperate. Julie responded by flirting with Paul to infuriate Diane, and their feud culminated in a showdown in The Queen Vic one night, which left Diane looking the fool.

Meanwhile Julie turned her attentions to the new market trader, Laurie Bates, but he soon showed he was more interested in Kathy Beale. Julie wasn't perturbed by Kathy and Laurie's blossoming romance, and flirted outrageously with him at every opportunity. Laurie's relationship with Kathy was not progressing the way he had hoped, as unbeknown to him, she was still recovering from being raped. Julie used this to her advantage and let Laurie know that she was prepared to satisfy him in ways Kathy wouldn't. In October 1989, at the Vic's Hallowe'en party, a seductively dressed Julie finally managed to snare Laurie. She took him back to her place at the end of the night as Kathy woefully watched on. Julie assumed that Laurie then wanted a relationship with her, but after receiving Kathy's scorn, he realised it was her he wanted after all. He dumped Julie, telling her their night together was a silly mistake. Julie tried to persuade him against Kathy by informing him of her rape, but this only made him more sympathetic towards Kathy and they grew closer as a result.

By 1990 Julie began to realise that owning her own business was more trouble than it was worth. Her upmarket establishment never really took off in Walford and the money she made was not enough to pay the bills. By March 1990 Julie's debts had become so bad that her bank instructed her to pay or face bankruptcy and the repossession of her salon.

[edit] Dalliance with the Mitchell brothers

While Julie pondered over how to solve her monetary problems, she began to receive a certain amount of attention from the latest eligible bachelors to enter Walford, the brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell. Both Phil and Grant approached Julie at different times — unaware that they were both trying to chat up the same woman — and Julie led them both on with her typical flirtatious banter. Phil managed to secure the first date with her, but on the night they were meant to meet, Phil opted to follow up on a business deal instead, and stood her up. When Grant discovered that it was Julie who Phil was supposed to meet, he immediately went to her flat in his brother's stead. Grant managed to persuade a pessimistic Julie that he was a better choice than his good for nothing brother, and was eventually invited into her flat, where they shared a bottle of wine together. Their date went well and Julie was so impressed that she shamelessly invited Grant to spend the night with her.

The following day Phil met up with Grant and told him about his business meeting from the night before. A gangster associate of his wanted to take over Julie's salon lease and he wanted to buy it from her at a vastly reduced price. Phil had been instructed to scare Julie into selling it. However, Phil realised that Julie would not be so easily pushed around. Realising that he had blown his chances with her, he instead instructed his brother to talk her into accepting the deal. The coming weeks saw Grant and Julie's fling continue and eventually Julie decided to sell the lease, which was when Phil moved in with his offer. While Julie was waiting to meet Grant in The Vic one night, Phil attempted to persuade her into selling the lease to him. Julie immediately realised that the Mitchell brothers had been using her. She furiously threw a drink in Phil's face and threatened to castrate Grant the following day when he also tried to coax her into selling.

[edit] Revenge and exit

Despite her hostility towards the Mitchell brothers, Julie still had to sell her lease and was subsequently forced to do business with them, but in a bid for revenge, she refused to agree to their terms. She told Grant he could buy the lease from her, but for £1000 more than he'd originally offered, meaning Julie would actually profit from the sale. Grant was forced to accept the deal, but because of Julie's increased price the Mitchells had to forfeit their cut of the payment from their associate, meaning they had worked for nothing. After securing victory over the Mitchells, Julie closed her salon for the last time and left Walford to return to Salford.

Julie's last appearance was in March 1990.