Shirley Benson
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| EastEnders character | |
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| Shirley Benson | |
| Portrayed by | Robyn Moore |
| Created by | Louise Berridge |
| Duration | 2003–2004 |
| First appearance | 5 May 2003 |
| Last appearance | 17 February 2004 |
| Status | Divorced |
| Home | New Zealand |
| Occupation | Betting shop clerk |
Shirley Benson was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Robyn Moore.
Shirley lived on George Street with her beloved pet cat, Boots. She had problems with a neighbour from hell and dated not just one, but two of the Ferreiras.
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[edit] Introduction to Walford
Shirley first arrived in Albert Square in May 2003. Shirley was a divorcée and she had three grown up sons; two were in the army and the other lived in New Zealand. She worked at the Walford Bookies and she lived with her tabby cat, Boots, at 89a George Street.
Shirley soon caught the eye of new Walford arrival Dan Ferreira. Dan needed a date for an upcoming wedding, so he asked Shirley and she agreed. However, Dan told Shirley that his wife, Pushpa, was dead, when in actual fact they were just separated following Pushpa's infidelity. The day of the wedding came and everyone was enjoying the day, until Pushpa showed up and introduced herself to Shirley. Upon finding out that Dan had lied about his wife being dead, Shirley was mortified. Her ex-husband was a liar and she was not prepared to put up with lying again. Shirley told Dan that she wanted nothing more to do with him.
[edit] Trouble with Gavin
In August of that year Shirley started to go through some problems at home when a new neighbour, Gavin Sharp, moved into the flat above hers. Gavin played extremely loud music at all hours, leaving Shirley exhausted from lack of sleep. Shirley made several attempts to reason with Gavin, but he laughed at her complaints and only played his music louder. Eventually, Shirley decided to complain to the council, but this only maddened Gavin and he threatened to make her life a misery as payback. Days later, Shirley's cat, was nowhere to be found and Shirley feared that Gavin had something to do with her disappearance. After several weeks, Shirley found her cat on her doorstep — dead in a plastic bin bag. Shirley turned to the Ferreiras for help, and Dan confronted Gavin. Gavin denied killing Boots and said that he found her lying dead in the road and left her on Shirley's doorstep in an act of kindness so she could bury her. Shirley, however, was not convinced.
Gavin's taunting of Shirley only continued when Gavin placed her telephone number on a call card, which advertised her as a prostitute, and then distributed it across Walford. Later, while she was at work, Gavin broke into her flat and tipped rotten rubbish all over her floor. Shirley was at her wits end, and seeing her angst, Ash Ferreira decided to lend a helping hand. Ash decided to play Gavin at his own game and borrowed his brother's loud amplifier and speakers and then played dance music extremely loudly. He then broke into Gavin's flat and let a rat loose. Gavin was petrified of rats and when he discovered it he agreed to call a truce if they removed it.
The saga brought Ash and Shirley closer together and it wasn't long before they'd embarked on a secret relationship. Ash wanted to keep their relationship a secret because he knew his father would be furious if he ever discovered them together. Shirley began to get irritated with Ash's inability to come clean to Dan, particularly when Dan started to try to woo Shirley for a second time. Ash explained that he was once a compulsive gambler, and he had managed to whittle away his house, ruining his marriage in the process, and Dan had bailed him out. He owed his father everything and he was not willing to hurt him. Things came to a head when Dan tried to kiss Shirley later that month, forcing her to confess that she was seeing his son. This revelation caused huge rows at the Ferreiras' and although Ash loved Shirley, he felt he had no choice but to finish with her to keep the peace.
[edit] Departure
In February 2004, Andy Hunter took over ownership of the bookies where Shirley worked. Shirley didn't like the way Andy ran things and after she made several complaints about his conduct, Andy fired her. Shirley decided to demonstrate about her unfair dismissal with a placard outside the bookies. Eventually, Andy grew tired of her and offered her a large sum of money to leave. Shirley was thrilled with the pay-off and she decided to go to New Zealand to visit her son and has not been seen since.
