Tom Banks (EastEnders)

Tom was a Merchant Marine who had been friends with Sharon Watts when they were children, but left the Marines in 2002 and was first seen at the funeral of Sharon's mother Angie. He got a job as a firefighter and got together with her, but his psychotic ex-wife Sadie tried her hardest to split them up. She used his stepdaughter, Charlotte as an excuse to get back into Tom's life and convinced Sharon that they were having an affair behind her back, but they weren't. Sadie attempted suicide but Sharon and Tom convinced her to get psychological help, and she was out of their lives for good.

Sharon proposes to Tom (2002).

Then things took a turn for the worse, Tom discovered that he had a brain tumour, but didn't tell Sharon. Sharon proposed to him when they swapped roles for a day, and, realising that he and Sharon could never have a full, long life together, he broke up with her, claiming it had all just been a 'bit of fun'. But Sharon refused to give up and could see that there was something else effecting Tom. He eventually told her about his illness and that he wanted Sharon as a girlfriend - not a nurse. As Tom crumbled, Sharon promised him that she'd be there for him till the end. They planned to go around the world but Tom decided he wanted to spend his last days in Walford and proposed to Sharon using her father's signet ring.

When Trevor Morgan started a fire at 23 Albert Square, Tom ran in to rescue Trevor's hostages Little Mo and his son Sean. He took them to safety, and then went back to rescue Trevor, when Trevor's petrol can exploded. They both died instantly. Tom's mother then arrived at the funeral before returning to Ireland with a grieving Sharon.