List of minor EastEnders characters (1993)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EastEnders minor characters
1985	1986	1987	1988
1989	1990	1991	1992
1993	1994	1995	1996
1997	1998	1999	2000
2001	2002	2003	2004
2005	2006	2007	2008
Spin-off characters

The following is a list of minor characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1993, by order of first appearance.

[edit] Danny Taurus

EastEnders character
Danny Taurus
Portrayed by	Billy Boyle
Duration	1993
First appearance	5 January 1993
Last appearance	1 June 1993
Occupation	Singer

Danny Taurus (real name Danny Travis) was the stage name of an East End rock and roll singer, who had nearly been famous locally when Pete and Pauline Beale were teenagers.

He returned to Walford in 1993 to visit Pete and invite him to his gig. He was little more than a pathetic pub singer, who dreamed of making a comeback. Danny was stunned to meet Pauline again, as he had always fancied her when they were at school together. Pauline was flattered by the attention and she and Danny went on a few platonic dates — Pauline's motive being to see if Arthur might respond to a bit of competition — but Danny took it seriously and asked Pauline to go away with him. Pauline was tempted, but she eventually turned Danny down and he went off in search of his big break.

[edit] Rose Chapman

EastEnders character
Rose Chapman
Portrayed by	Petra Markham
Duration	1993
First appearance	7 January 1993
Last appearance	13 May 1993
Date of death	9 December 1993
Status	Deceased
Family Husbands Alfie Chapman

In January 1993, Pete Beale and his sister Pauline were invited to see the ageing rock and roll singer, Danny Taurus, play a gig. While there Pauline spotted Rose Chapman (née Hickey), an old friend of hers from her school days. Pete and Rose got on well, particularly when Rose revealed that she'd had a crush on him while they were at school together.

Over the following weeks a romance developed. Despite professing to be very happy with Pete, Rose frequently let him down, standing him up on dates and disappearing for days without word. Eventually Pete confronted her and she revealed that not only was she married, but she was married to a local gangster, Alfie Chapman, who had a reputation for extreme violence. Although Alfie was locked away in prison, his family were not and they made it quite clear that they did not approve of Rose seeing Pete. Pete mulled over what to do but eventually decided to brave the Chapmans and remain with Rose. Alfie's sister Annie warned Rose to finish with Pete, or face severe repercussions from his two brothers. Rose remained defiant and went to visit Alfie in prison, demanding a divorce. This was curtailed when she discovered that Alfie was suffering with terminal cancer and after a period of contemplation she decided to stop seeing Pete so she could nurse Alfie through his remaining months.^[1]

Rose couldn't manage to keep away from Pete however, and in May 1993 she re-entered his life, telling him that she missed him. When Alfie's brothers discovered she was seeing Pete again, they beat her so badly that she was hospitalised. Pete went to visit Rose in hospital and they made plans to go into hiding in order to escape the wrath of the Chapmans. The following day Pete smuggled Rose out of hospital with Frank Butcher's help and they then made their get away to start a new life in destinations unknown.

In December 1993, news of Alfie Chapman's death reached Walford. Pauline placed an advert in a newspaper, pleading for Pete and Rose's return. They replied, and the residents of Walford planned a party to celebrate their homecoming. However on the day they were due back, Pauline was contacted by the police with the news that Pete and Rose had been killed by a hit and run driver. The motor accident had almost certainly been arranged by the Chapman family.^[2]

[edit] Snip Gibbons

EastEnders character
Snip Gibbons
Portrayed by	Steve Sweeney
Duration	1993
First appearance	23 February 1993
Last appearance	16 March 1993
Occupation	Car dealer

Clive "Snip" Gibbons was a friend of Phil and Grant Mitchell. He began frequenting The Queen Vic pub at the invitation of the Mitchells in February 1993, along with several of their other friends. Nigel Bates showed obvious dislike for Snip, mainly because he was frequently teased and tormented by him. Bar manager, Clyde Tavernier, also had several run-ins with him. Snip would order him around, act in a rowdy manner and antagonise him. Clyde got so annoyed that he threw Snip and his friends out of The Vic one night, much to the anger of Phil and Grant, who were trying to secure a business deal with Snip.

When Snip and his friends refused to vacate the pub after closing time one evening, Clyde threatened to quit his job unless they left. They didn't, so Clyde quit but he contacted his boss, Sharon Mitchell, who was holidaying in America. Sharon returned to find that many of her regulars were refusing to drink at The Vic, mainly because of Snip. She took control and barred Grant's friends, causing him much humiliation, and he ended up hitting her.

[edit] Audrey Whittingham

EastEnders character
Audrey Whittingham
Portrayed by	Shirley Dixon
Duration	1993
First appearance	4 March 1993
Last appearance	18 March 1993
Status	Widowed
Family Sons Michael Whittingham John Whittingham

Audrey Whittingham kidnapped Vicki Fowler while she waited to be collected outside Walford Primary School. A massive police investigation was launched. Prime suspect was Jack Woodman, who was infatuated with Vicki's mother Michelle, however Audrey and Vicki were identified by the shopkeeper of a toy store several days later. Audrey had used a cheque to pay for Vicki's toys and the police were able to trace her to her home. Vicki was returned to her mother unharmed and Audrey was arrested.

Michelle became very emotional and protective over Vicki for a while after, refusing to let her outside or attend school. She thought she saw glimpses of Audrey everywhere she went, which everyone told her was impossible, as Audrey was locked away in prison. However, Michelle wasn't being paranoid as Audrey turned up on her doorstep shortly after hoping to explain her actions. She had endured a series of tragedies, starting with the death of her baby daughter many years earlier, and later in life the death of one of her sons and her husband. Her other son lived abroad and she had become lonely and desperate. She began to wonder what her daughter would have turned out like and when she saw Vicki alone she decided to take her, although she claimed that she intended to bring her back eventually. Michelle was furious and could not forgive Audrey for the trauma she'd put her and Vicki through.

[edit] Sharmilla Kapoor

EastEnders character
Sharmilla Kapoor
Portrayed by	Priya Bilkhu
Duration	1993-1997, 1998
First appearance	18 March 1993
Last appearance	24 September 1998
Date of birth	20 March 1993
Family Father Sanjay Kapoor Mother Gita Kapoor Half brothers Arjun Kapoor Grandmothers Neelam Kapoor Aunts Meena McKenzie

Sharmilla Kapoor was the daughter of Sanjay and Gita Kapoor, born a month after they arrived in Walford.

In October 1997, she left with her mother after the breakdown of her parents' marriage. They were due to return in January 1998, but Sanjay was late to collect them from the station. When he arrived Gita was nowhere to be seen. Days went by and still there was no sign of Gita or Sharmilla, so Sanjay was forced to contact the police. Months passed but still no word from Gita and coincidental evidence had led the police to think that Sanjay may have been responsible for her disappearance. He was even arrested and accused of her murder, although he was later released without charge. Everyone came to assume that Gita and Sharmilla were dead.

However, in July that year, Sanjay tracked Gita down in Birmingham, with a new baby, Arjun, conceived during a one-night-stand. He took his family home, vowing to raise Arjun as his own. Sanjay and Gita were happy for a short while, until a local reporter, Polly Becker, discovered their recent scandal and got it published in the Walford Gazette. Suddenly the whole of Walford knew what had transpired in Gita's absence. From then on both Sanjay and Gita were hounded by reporters and Sharmilla began to get bullied at school. The Kapoors then decided that the only option was to leave Walford to start again somewhere else. Their last appearance was in September 1998.

[edit] Sylvia Weng-Chung

EastEnders character
Sylvia Weng-Chung
Portrayed by	Rachel Hiew
Duration	1993
First appearance	1 April 1993
Last appearance	30 November 1993
Occupation	Waitress

Sylvia Weng-Chung worked for Kathy Mitchell in her café. When Ian Beale's catering business was closed down his wife Cindy turned to Kathy for help. Kathy employed Ian to work in her café, but as a result she became overstaffed and was forced to fire Sylvia in November 1993. Sylvia was extremely angry and said several unpleasant things about Kathy and her café before departing.

Sylvia's surname was never mentioned on screen, and was only discovered when seen on her official cast card.

[edit] Gidea Thompson

EastEnders character
Gidea Thompson
Portrayed by	Sian Martin
Duration	1993
First appearance	18 May 1993
Last appearance	22 July 1993
Status	Single
Home	Trinidad
Family Grandfathers Jules Tavernier Uncles Celestine Tavernier Cousins Clyde Tavernier Hattie Tavernier Lloyd Tavernier First cousins  once removed Kofi Tavernier

Gidea Thompson first arrived in Walford in May 1993 when she came from Trinidad to visit her grandfather, Jules Tavernier. Gidea's mother was the result of an affair Jules had in his early 20s and Jules had previously been unaware of her existence. Jules was apprehensive about pursuing a relationship with Gidea at first and Gidea's arrival upset the 'status quo' in the Tavernier family, so Gidea decided to leave Walford the same month.

However, her cousin Clyde Tavernier had already grown close to Gidea, so he set about searching London to track her down. The following month he managed to find her, and after much persuading, Gidea decided to return to Walford so she could get to know her family.

Over the following month, Gidea and Clyde began to grow a lot closer, and even though they were half-cousins, they embarked on a relationship. Jules was opposed to their relationship and tried to put a stop to it, but Gidea and Clyde ignored his protests and they eventually decided to leave Walford for a new life together in Trinidad with Clyde's son Kofi. They left in July 1993.

[edit] Zoe Newton

EastEnders character
Zoe Newton
Portrayed by	Elizabeth Chadwick (1993) Tara Ellis (2000-2001)
Duration	1993, 2000, 2001
First appearance	27 July 1993
Last appearance	21 June 2001
Status	Divorced
Family Husbands Nick Cotton (1984-?) Brothers Eddie Newton Sons Ashley Cotton

Zoe Newton (previously Cotton) was played by Elizabeth Chadwick in 1993 and then by Tara Ellis in 2000 and 2001.^[3] Zoe arrived in Walford as the secret wife of Nick Cotton in July 1993 along with their son Ashley. She was married to Nick in 1984 but had not appeared previously in Walford and had never met Nick's mother Dot until she arrived. She was keen that Dot had got a chance to meet her grandson and Dot and Ashley eventually grew close after a few meetings. She and Nick were planning to move away to Gravesend and Zoe wanted Dot to come and live with them. Dot was reluctant at first but later agreed to move away and left Walford with them in August 1993.

When Dot returned to Walford in 1997 she revealed that off-screen Zoe and Ashley had moved away after Zoe grew tired of Nick's criminal activities and he had been arrested for drugs possession.

In a special spin-off episode entitled The Return of Nick Cotton which aired on 1 October 2000, Nick was released from prison and reunited with Ashley and Zoe after Zoe's brother Eddie told Nick about her whereabouts. Zoe wasn't happy to see him back and offered him money to leave for good. Some thugs then came after him. After trying to escape from the thugs, he and Ashley stole a car to escape them. Zoe didn't want Ashley to go with Nick knowing how much of a bad influence he was but she couldn't stop him and he drove off with Nick back to Walford.

When Nick and Ashley returned to Walford in November 2000, Nick got into a feud with his old enemy Mark Fowler leading to Nick becoming disabled after an accidental fall off a bridge in January 2001. Nick blamed Mark for the accident and vowed revenge. After a few months in a spinal unit, he returned in May 2001, he tried to get his revenge by cutting the brakes on Mark's motorbike. Tragically, his son Ashley stole the bike and died after crashing into a shop window. Zoe was devastated when she returned for his funeral and attacked Nick, blaming him for Ashley's death. She knew that Nick would never be a good father to Ashley and Ashley should have never come with Nick to Walford. After the funeral, she left Walford and has not been seen or heard from since.

[edit] Kevin

EastEnders character
Kevin
Portrayed by	John Pickard
Duration	1993-1996
First appearance	16 December 1993
Last appearance	15 February 1996
Status	Single

Kevin was a semi-regular character. He was the friend of Robbie Jackson, who first appeared along with Robbie in December 1993. He and Robbie would frequently get into trouble doing such things as stealing alcohol from the Queen Vic and joyriding Frank Butcher's car, crashing it into Michelle Fowler's wall on Albert Square in April 1994. Robbie was left unconscious in the wrekage, while Kevin fled home, fearing the repercussions. Robbie wasn't seriously harmed, and managed to avoid trouble from the police because he was a minor. Kevin eventually paid for the damage in July 1994, after inheriting money from his recently deceased grandmother.

Kevin was with Robbie in October 1994, when they found Wellard the dog, who became Robbie's inseparable sidekick. Kevin also attended the Jacksons' house party in January 1995, where he got extremely drunk and tried unsuccessfully to seduce all of Bianca Jackson's friends. He was forced to help clear the mess the following day after a riot broke out at the party and the police were called in. Later in the year Robbie was fired from his paper round, for dumping all the newspapers without delivering them. Kevin went behind his back and took the job, then proceeded to call on Robbie's old customers for a Christmas bonus.

Kevin and Robbie tried another money making scheme in December 1995, when they went carol singing under the guise that they were collecting money for the widow of a deceased scoutmaster. Robbie's sister Bianca found out about the scam and blackmailed them into giving her a cut of their proceeds. This eventually led to further scamming, when they attended a pensioners bingo night at an old people's home. However, they were caught out when one of the residents turned out to be the widow of the deceased scoutmaster and they were forced to hand over all their profits to her.

Kevin last appeared in February 1996, when he and Robbie got a free haircut from a trainee hairdresser. Robbie was given highlights, which turned out disastrously, much to Kevin's amusement.

[edit] References