This is a comprehensive list of characters from the soap opera Family Affairs in alphabetical order by the characters' surnames.
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Caleb Andrews was played by Steve Toussaint in 2004. He was an old friend of Les Boulter and an old flame of his wife Denise. It was later revealed that he was the father of Brendan, Denise's son. Caleb tried to reignite his affair with Denise, but in the end Denise returned to Les. Caleb also shared a kiss with Eileen Callan, whose husband Pete was held on remand for murder. Caleb left Charnham after Eileen's daughter, Lucy Day witnessed the kiss.
Gavin Arnold was played by Neil Roberts during 2001.
Tanya Ayuba was a medical doctor played by Laila Rouass between 2000 and 2001.
DC Cheryl Barker was played by Cathy Murphy between 2003 and 2004. She engaged in a live-in relationship with Dave Matthews, which sometimes caused tensions given his propensity to sometimes operate outside the law.
Madge Bennet played by Heather Chasen appeared for 5 episodes in 2005.
Brendan Boulter was played by Steven Burrell between 2003 and 2004.
Denise, along with her husband Les and children Brendan and Kelly moved into Stanley Street in December 2003 shortly after the death of Roy Farmer in the cybercafe fire. Denise and her husband purchased the corner cafe and number 16 Stanley Street from Roy's widow Nikki Warrington. They started a restaurant on the site of the cafe and the family moved in to number 16. Les's old friend Caleb Andrews (Steve Toussaint) was employed to work in the restaurant as a cook.
Denise initially tried to keep secret the truth about a long-ago affair with Caleb, and the fact that Brendan was actually Caleb's son. Denise and Caleb resumed their affair, but quickly ended it when Denise realised she loved Les, however Les found out about it soon after.
During her time on Stanley Street, Denise built up strong friendships with Cat MacKenzie, Chrissy Costello, Eileen Callan and Cheryl Barker. The five of them formed a pub darts team.
While walking home one night in December 2004, Denise was raped by an unidentified assailant. Les immediately suspected Christian Habgood, Denise's tutor at Charnham College. However when entering the car of local taxi driver Graham Harker (Lee Warburton) Denise suspected him of the crime based only on her recollections of the smell of his aftershave and his usage of the phrase "Scout's honour". The police questioned Harker, but no forensic evidence could be found to link him to the crime and they were forced to release him due to lack of evidence. Denise persisted with her desire to see him arrested, and eventually learned the true identity of her attacker.
Shortly after this Denise discovered that Les had been to see prostitutes on a number of occasions. Marriage counselling was unsuccessful, the couple split and in late 2005 Denise moved away. Her daughter Kelly and granddaughter Susie later joined her.
Denise was portrayed by Claire Perkins.
Kelly Boulter was played by Carryl Thomas between 2003 and 2005.
Lester (Les) Boulter was played by Howard Saddler between 2003 and 2005.
Conor Byrne was Declan's brother, resident in Charnham for several months in 2000.
Conor was played by Glenn Mulhern.
Declan Byrne was played by Quentin Jones between 1999 and 2001.
Eileen Callan (née Day) was played by Rosie Rowell from 2002 until final episode in 2005.
Peter (Pete) Callan was played by David Easter from 1997 to 2005.
Pete entered the storyline in June 1997. As Maria's callous former husband he was disliked by most of her friends, the Hart and Gates families and their associates. Nevertheless he took over running local bar restaurant The Lock where they all regularly hung out. Pete developed a deep seated enmity with Roy Farmer, and later developed similar rivalries with his employee Josh Matthews and Josh's father Dave.
Despite his thuggish tendencies Pete was revealed to have a love of children. During a brief and troubled marriage to Claire Toomey was nevertheless a devoted stepfather to her twins Evan and Stella.
After splitting from Claire, Pete embarked upon a De facto marriage to Dave' ex-wife Cat for several months, but it was eventually revealed to have been a con perpetrated by Pete to exact revenge on Dave and to swindle Cat out of her home. He had convinced her to sign over ownership of her home to him as a formality to expedite a business transaction. After this was done he revealing the con to her, ended the relationship, and kept the house. Soon after this Cat found she was pregnant. At first there was doubt as to whether the child was Pete's or Dave's. Tests showed the child to be Pete's.
After selling The Lock and buying pub The Black Swan, Pete reemployed Josh as a barman to pay off a debt. Pete later murdered Josh, framing his then-wife Siobhan for the crime. She was found guilty and given a suspended sentence. Soon after the trial she realised that Pete had framed her. Pete was imprisoned (on remand) for a lengthy period starting December 2003 after being framed for arson by his then-wife Eileen. He returned after being acquitted at his trial in June 2004.
He continued in Charnham until September 2005 when he was shot dead during an armed standoff with S019 officers.
Pete was a very iconic Family Affairs character. He was born on the 9th July 1959 in Liverpool or London but was living in Stepney, London by the time he was 11. His real father's first name is unknown but his Scouse mother Joan, who we saw in the series, remarried when Pete was 11 and Pete suffered years of abuse at the hands of his stepfather. His mum knew but never did anything. Pete was charged for his stepfather's manslaughter in 1975 and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He had an affair the very early eighties with Patsy Jones, the wife of his mate Reg and Patsy gave birth to Julie Ann in 1981 but Pete never knew Julie Ann was his until 18 years later. He married Maria in the 1980s and made his debut in Charnham in 1997.
Chloe Costello was played by Leah Coombes from September 2003 until the end of the series in 2005.
Christine (Chrissy) Costello (née Maxwell) was played by Kazia Pelka from 2003 until the end of the series in 2005.
Gary Costello was played by Gary Webster from 2003 until the end of the series in 2005.
Melanie Costello (formerly Boulter) was played by Rebecca Hunter from September 2003 until May 2005. She returned for the final week of the series in December 2005.
Myra Costello was played by Kate Williams from 2003 until the end of the series in 2005.
Gemma Craig was played by Angela Hazeldine from 1999 until the character's departure in 2003.
Cameron Davenport was played by Rupert Hill from March 2002 until July 2004.
Genevieve (Ginny) Davenport was played by Joanna Foster from 2002 until 2003.
Jessica Davenport was played by Sammy Glenn from 2002 until 2003.
Jude Davenport was played by Daniel Jackson]] in 2003. Adoptive brother of Robert, he attracted scorn from Robert's wife Ginny and sons Cameron and Lewis after pursuing a romantic liaison with Robert's daughter Jessica.
Lewis Davenport was played by Sam Stockman from April 2002 until July 2004.
Robert Davenport was played by Brian Cowan. Robert arrived in Charnham in 2002, setting up a catering business in Stanley Street. Frustrated by his moody and censorious wife Ginny he had a one night stand with Geri Evans. Geri later accused him of rape. Robert was arrested and went to trial, but was ultimately acquitted. After this Ginny left him, moving to France. Robert, along with his employee Fern Farmer, was killed when a runaway car driven by Jake Walker crashed into the workplace in September 2003.
Charlotte Day was played by Leanne Lakey from May to October 2002.
Lucy Day was played by Julia Lee Smith from 2002 until leaving a few months before the end of the series in 2005.
Arlo Dean was played by Ash Newman from 1999 until 2000.
Maxwell (Max) Derwin was played by Nick Stringer. He first entered the series in March 1999 and remained until Christmas Eve that year, when he died of a heart attack during an argument with his foster son Arlo Dean.
Gabriel Drummond was played by Roger Griffiths from June 2002 until the character's departure in September 2003 after running away from his involvement in a car scam.
Karen Ellis (née Webb) was played by Tanya Franks from 2000 until 2003.
Matthew (Matt) Ellis was played by Matthew Jay Lewis from 2000 until 2003.
Geri Evans was played by Anna Acton from 2002 until the end of the series in 2005.
Fern Farmer (previously Derwin) was played by Belinda Sinclair. She entered the storyline in 1999. At that time she was married to taxi driver Max Derwin and their foster son was troublesome Arlo Dean. They quickly began steps to take on another foster child, the recently orphaned Gemma Craig. They did so, but soon afterwards opted to discontinue fostering Arlo. During a subsequent argument with Arlo, Max died of a heart attack. Fern later learned he was a bigamist with another wife, and a biological child, living in a neighbouring town.
She later married Roy Farmer's father Vince. Vince clashed with Gemma and the marriage did not run smoothly. They eventually separated and Vince moved away. Fern took a job working with Robert Davenport in his catering business. Fern had decided to reconcile with Vince when she, along with Robert, was killed when a runaway car driven by Jake Walker crashed into the workplace in September 2003.
Nikki Farmer (previously Warrington and Scott, née Ellis) was played by Rebecca Blake. She arrived in Charnham in 2000 along with her husband Andrew, her two children from a previous marriage, Becky and Darren, and two step children Luke and Sara. Her marriage to Andrew broke down after he learned of her affair with his son Luke. Later her first husband Adrian Scott appeared in town and she had a brief fling with him while involved with Luke. She eventually married Roy Farmer after a long romance. She moved away in 2003 after Roy's death in the cybercafe fire.
Royston Farmer was played by Miles Petit from episode one of the series in March 1997.
he is now is show business and is very successful.
Vince Farmer was played by Stephen Yardley. Vince appeared briefly in Charnham in 1999, visiting his son Roy. He returned in 2000 on a permanent basis. During this time he married Fern Derwin, but the marriage later crumbled. He left in 2003, and moved to France. He was planning to return to Fern when she was killed in a car accident. Vince subsequently returned to Charham for his son Roy's funeral later in 2003.
Georgina (George) Fitzgerald was played by Florence Hoath from September to December 2005 when the series ended.
Barbara Fletcher (previously Trip) was played by Kay Adshead from episode one in March 1997 until 1999.
Nathan Fletcher was played by Felix Scott from October until December 2005 when the series ended.
Bradley Foster was played by Harry Capehorn from 2004 until 2005.
Ben Galloway was played by Peter England. He was a member of Roy Farmer's housing project at Number 14 Stanley Street. He briefly dated Chris Jacobs until he admitted he was gay. They remained friends and subsequently left to find alternative accommodation in Brixton in September 2003.
Elsa Gates was played by Delena Kidd from episode one in March 1997 until 1998, when she was murdered by her husband Jack, who subsequently gassed himself.
Jack Gates played by Ken Farrington. Jack was an original character in the series, featured from episode one in March 1997. He had a troubled marriage to wife Elsa, and enjoyed an affair with Maria Simons leading to the breakdown of his marriage. Elsa threw him out of the house and he lived in their small boat moored at the marina, for some weeks. They later reconciled, and he moved back in to their home.
In late 1998, while driving Elsa home from an awards ceremony, a drunken Jack lost control and crashed their car in a country lane. Elsa was knocked unconscious in the crash. Because he was drunk, Jack moved her to the driver's seat before any one else arrived on the scene. As she convalesced Jack kept Elsa isolated and drugged-up lest she recall what really happened. When she did recall what Jack had done he smothered her to death with a pillow. A week later he committed suicide by gassing himself in the car, having changed his will to leave most of his assets to his family's nemesis Pete Callan in a final act of revenge.
Yasmin Green (née McHugh, previously MacKenzie and Matthews) played by Ebony Thomas from 1998 until the end of the series in 2005.
Anna Gregory was played by Martha Cope.
Pamela Hargreaves (later Pamela Trip) initially joined the storyline in 1997 when she appeared as the solicitor of Liam Trip. She soon started a romance with Liam's father Nick Trip, and they were engaged to be married.
Pamela subsequently defended a man accused of sexual assault, Simon Thornton (Valentine Pelka), believing him to be innocent. Prior to the trial Pamela learned that he was actually guilty. When Pamela dropped the case due to his guilt, Simon started stalking her, however neither Nick nor Pamela's mother Sadie believed her claims she was being stalked. Pamela eventually killed Simon in self defence - he died after she hit him over the head with an iron when he attacked her after luring her into his house. She and Sadie disposed of the body but were wracked with guilt and fear of being caught for several months.
Pamela married Nick in 1999. Eventually Simon's makeshift grave on Charnham Common was discovered, and because of the long silence and the fact she disposed of the body and never reported the death Pamela was sentenced to murder for the crime, and sent to prison.
Pamela was initially played by Sandra Hendrickse from 1997 until 1999, when she was sent to prison for murder. On the character's release from prison in 2005 Caroline O'Neill took over the role, appearing for several months.
Graham Harker was played by Lee Warburton. Graham first appeared in Charnham in early 2005 when he took employment at the local cab office owned by Gary Costello and Dave Matthews. Having recently been raped by an unidentified assailant in a darkened laneway, Denise Boulter identified Graham as her attacker when she got into his cab and recognised his aftershave and his use of the phrase "Scout's honour". However there was no forensic evidence linking him to the crime, so Graham was not charged. The Boulters firmly believed he was guilty and made several attempts to convince him to leave Charnham. Graham refused to leave, and began dating Gary's daughter, Melanie, who fervently believed he was innocent. He soon became possessive of Melanie and his aggressive side came out. He then began hitting her, and then held her against her will in his flat.
Melanie enlisted Denise's help but Graham discovered this. He kidnapped Denise in his car, but in the ensuing chase ran off the road after a near miss with Ben and Alex Williams in another car. Denise managed to escape the wreckage, and saved a trapped Graham at the last second before the car exploded in flames. Denise suggested she saved him as she felt that Graham's death would have been the easy way out.
Angus Hart was played by Ian Cullen. An original character in the series, Angus was featured beginning with episode one in March 1997. After losing his wife Sally he came to live with the family of his son Chris. He married Helen Cooper after much consternation over the fact that she was a Roman Catholic who insisted he convert to her religion, however she was killed minutes after the wedding in a car accident. He continued in the series until January 1999 when he and the majority of his family were killed in a massive boat explosion during the wedding reception of his granddaughter Melanie Farmer.
Annie Hart (née Gates) was played by Liz Crowther from episode one in March 1997 until 1999, when she and the majority of her family were killed in a boat explosion. Initially a steady, stable character whose main storylines involved reacting to events in her children's lives, Annie eventually featured in more dramatic plots such as her unplanned pregnancy (resulting in the birth of her fifth child, Sam) and her affair with her neighbour, Dave Matthews, who also began a relationship with Annie's elder daughter, Holly.
Chris Hart was played by Ian Ashpitel from episode one in March 1997 until 1999, when he and the majority of his family were killed in a boat explosion. Chris was depicted as a traditional, working-class man from Newcastle, who struggled with some of his children's life choices, for example his younger daughter Melanie Hart's decision to train as a policewoman, and his elder daughter Holly Hart's decision to have a relationship with another woman.
Duncan Hart was played by Rocky Marshall from episode one in March 1997 until 1998, when his character moved away. Some months later all of his family were killed in a boat explosion. Duncan briefly returned to the series in 2000 for one week, this time played by Jonathan Wrather, as the character struggled to cope with the loss of almost his entire family, his only living relatives being his twin children with Claire Toomey.
Helen Hart (née Cooper) was played by Janice McKenzie. Helen first appeared in 1997. She became engaged to Angus Hart and there was much tension over the fact that she was of a different religion, being a Roman Catholic. Helen died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident minutes after her wedding to Angus in 1998. She was badly injured when the car being driven by her new stepson, Chris Hart, crashed after leaving the church, and Helen died of a heart attack while being treated in hospital.
Holly Hart was played by Sandra Huggett from episode one in March 1997 until 1999, when she and the majority of her family were killed in a boat explosion. The twin sister of Duncan Hart, Holly had a lesbian relationship with Duncan's ex-girlfriend, Susie, but at the time of her death was in an affair with her neighbour, Dave Matthews - who was also sleeping with Holly's mother. Another of Holly's major storylines was her continuing angst over being (when the series began) a virgin although she was in her mid-twenties. This ended when she slept with Susie.
Jamie Hart was played by Michael Cole from episode one in March 1997 until 1999, when he and the majority of his family were killed in a boat explosion. The fourth of the fifth Hart children, Jamie was a schoolboy teenager who featured in few storylines.
Melanie Hart was an original character in the serial, appearing from episode one in March 1997. She was a police constable and was the first of the Hart children to leave the family home, albeit to live with her grandparents Jack and Elsa Gates.
She later started a romance with Roy Farmer which ended after he was charged with drug possession. They later reconciled, leading to their marriage in January 1999 where she became Melanie Farmer. However Melanie and the Hart family were all killed just hours later. During the wedding reception which was being held on the boat previously owned by the recently deceased Jack Gates, a gas explosion tore through the vessel, killing all on board except Roy.
Melanie was played by Cordelia Bugeja.
Sally Hart, wife of Angus, was played by Jean Heywood from episode one until episode ten, when she died after drowning in a canal.
Samuel James Angus (Sam) Hart was the youngest child of Chris and Annie Hart. The result of an unplanned pregnancy, Sam was born late 1998, and was killed in January 1999 in the boat explosion that claimed the lives of most of the Hart family.
Barry Hurst was played by Tony Booth during 2001.
Gloria Hurst was played by Joanna Wake from 2001 to 2002.
Kelly Hurst was played by Nicky Talacko. Kelly entered the storyline in 2001 when she arrived on holiday from her home in Australia to visit her aunt Sadie. Kelly was a lesbian who left a girlfriend in Australia. In Charnham she soon befriended a neighbourhood couple Karen and Matt Ellis, and eventually agreed to act as surrogate mother for Karen. After falling pregnant to Matt she and Karen began an affair, and Karen ended her marriage to Matt. The affair with Karen continued after the birth of the baby, a girl who was named Grace. Kelly died in 2002 after falling down a flight of stairs during an argument with Matt.
Sharon Ingram was played by Kim Taylforth from 2004 until 2005. She was Chrissy Costello's best friend until revelations of her son Bradley, abusing Chrissy's daughter Chloe came to light.
Chris Jacobs was played by Gemma Wardle. She lived at Number 14 Stanley Street with boyfriend Ben Galloway and their housemates Anna Gregory and Amir Sadati. Chris left with Ben in 2003 to find alternative accommodation in Brixton.
Gabby Johnson was a university student who shared a flat with Clive Starr and Declan Byrne. She had romances with various men including Declan, Roy Farmer, Pete Callan, and with Clive's boyfriend, the bisexual policeman Adam Sheldrake. Sometimes depicted as prissy and bossy around the flat, she was occasionally seen as a proponent of health-food, and she at one time ran an aerobics class.
Gabby was played by Emma Linley from January 1999 until 2000.
Julie-Ann Jones was played by Chloe Howman from 1999 until 2000
Siobhan Langley (Previously Callan, née Jones) was played by Jemma Walker. She first appeared on a recurring basis as vapid and over-sensitive bar maid at The Lock starting in December 1998. Viewers soon learned she was an old family friend of owner of the Lock, the much-despised Pete Callan. Siobhan soon started a romance with Declan Byrne after his arrival in January 1999, but abruptly left Charnham in March that year after they had a lover's quarrel. She returned later that year briefly resurrecting the romance with Declan. However, Declan cheated on Siobhan with her half-sister Julie-Ann. Siobhan subsequently aborted Declan's baby. They remained friends later. Through all this she remained working for Pete, eventually moving with him to his new pub, The Black Swan.
In mid-2000 Siobhan married Pete Callan, and they lived together upstairs at The Black Swan. One night, Pete framed her for the murder of pub employee Josh Matthews. Siobhan went to trial and was sent to prison. Eventually paroled she returned to Charnham where she slowly realised she had been framed by Pete, but was unable to prove it. She eventually left town in 2002. About a year after she left, it was reported that Siobhan had since remarried.
Max Lawson was played by Marcus D'Amico from June to October 2005.
Sadie Lloyd was played by Barbara Young from November 1998 until July 2005.
Meredith Lovechild a nurse who entered the storyline in September 2005. She was known for her bitchy and selfish behaviour. She paid for it dearly when her friends and housemates Hector Price and George Fitzgerald fell for each other and left her out in the cold on New Year's Eve. Meredith then left Charnham.
Meredith Lovechild was played by Perdita Avery from September 2005, to December 2005 when the series ended.
Douglas (Doug) MacKenzie was played by Gareth Hale from 2003 until the end of series in 2005.
Justin MacKenzie was played by Ryan Davenport from 2003 until the end of the series in 2005.
Marc MacKenzie was played first by Michael Wildman from 2003 to 2004 and then by Graham Bryan in 2005 up until the final episode.
Rosa Marshall was played by Ginny Holder for six months in 2002.
Joshua (Josh) Matthews was played by Terry Burns.
Benji McHugh was played by Junior Laniyan between December 1998 and July 2001, and Mark McLean between December 2002 and December 2003.
Dusty McHugh was a played by Doreen Ingleton. First entering the storyline in late 1998, Dusty was a loud and bossy divorced mother of teenagers Yasmin and Benji. She owned and ran her own minimarket business Dusty's Store, and she and her children lived upstairs in a flat. In 1999 she moved to Jamaica to care for an invalid relative; her sister-in-law Pearl McHugh arrived to take the reins of the business and care for Yasmin and Benji. Dusty made a brief return appearance in Charnham for Yasmin's wedding to Josh in December that year. In 2002, Dusty died in a car crash in Jamaica, off-screen.
Pearl McHugh was played by Doña Croll from 1999 until 2002.
Eve O'Brien was played by Zara Dawson from October until December 2005 when the series ended.
Johnny Palmer was played by Iain Fletcher. He was mainly known for his feuds with Pete Callan and his romantic involvements with Eileen Day, her daughter Charlotte and Claire Toomey.
Deke Pascal was played by Darren Saul from 2001 until 2002.
Ziggy Pascal was played by Roger Davies-Roberts from 2001 until 2002
Hector Price was played by Andrew Hinton-Brown from September to December 2005 when the series ended.
Hester Randall was played by Catherine Kanter for several weeks in December 2005 until the end of the series.
Rex Randall was played by John Hopkins from November to December 2005 when the series ended.
Alex Renshaw played by Roman Marek from 2001 until 2002.
Daniel Renshaw played by Andrew McKay from 2001 until 2002.
Linda Renshaw was played by Alison Newman for several months in 2001. Linda was Paul Webb's biological mother who rejected him after he tracked her down and tried to build a relationship with her.
Susie Ross was played by Tina Landini from 1997 until 1999. Susie was a bisexual character who slept both with Duncan Hart and later, his twin sister, Holly. After taking Holly's virginity, the smitten Holly pursued Susie and eventually they had a long term relationship.
Amir Sadati was played by Kayvan Novak. He was one of the tenants of Roy Farmer's housing project at Number 14 Stanley Street and was a bad influence on local troubled teen Darren Scott. Amir briefly worked for Yasmin Matthews and dated her until he was caught stealing from her store and he subsequently left Charnham.
Adrian Scott was played by Ariyon Bakare between March 2000 and May 2001.
Becky Scott was played by Chandra Reugg between January 2000 and December 2003.
Darren Scott was played first by Joe Fox for much of 2000 then by Ike Hamilton from 2001 up until 2003 when he, his mother and his sister left Charnham after Roy died in the cybercafe fire.
George Shackleford was played by Miles Anderson from July 2001 to January 2002
Joan Shackleford (previously Short) was played by Margi Clarke from 2001 until 2002. She was the mother of Pete Callan. She had Pete in 1959 when she was about 16 or 17 after marrying his father ? Callan. They either divorced or he died and she remarried Kevin Short in about 1970. She knew Pete was being abused by his stepfather but never batted an eyelid. She made her debut in 2001 at the time of Pete's court case over Josh Matthews' murder.
Tom Shackleford was played by Tom Healy from 2001 until 2002.
Sami Shafiq was played by Hosh Kane from June to December 2005 shortly before the end of the series. Sami first arrived in Charnham in June 2005 with his partner Max Lawson, who had bought Dusty's store from Yasmin Green. Yasmin and Sami didn't exactly hit it off at first, but they gradually became good friends. Max and Sami's relationship was plagued with problems, as Max was separated from his wife, Carrie and their children were kept in the dark. Max eventually went back to his family, and Sami went on to date Australian backpacker Brett Owen. After a stabbing following a disagreement with his mother, Aamina only days after the death of his father, Yousef, Sami left Charnham to go with Brett to Melbourne.
Michael (Mike) Shaw was played by Tony O'Callaghan from November 2003 until June 2004 and also made several flashback appearances in September 2004.
Adam Sheldrake was played by Vince Leigh from 1999 to 2000. Adam, a police constable, entered the storyline August 1999 as a love interest for Clive Starr. The relationship fizzled after Adam became cagey about his home life, and began worrying about how being outed would effect his career. Adam and Clive got back together shortly after Adam returned to Charnham to aid the search for Benji McHugh who had run off with his teacher, Maggie Roswell. Adam later revealed he had a daughter from his previous marriage.
When Clive went away on tour, Adam became involved with Clive's flatmate Gabby Johnson. Clive was devastated when he found out. Adam and Gaby got engaged but broke it off on the day of the wedding in March 2000. Adam then left Charnham, returning five months later to investigate the murder of Josh Matthews.
Diane Short was played by Pooky Quesnel from 2001 until 2002.
Maria Simons (previously Starr and Callan) was played by Annie Miles from 1997 until 2000. She had been married to Pete Callan before the series began. Many of her major storylines were connected to her desperate desire to have children after being rendered unable to conceive by a beating from Pete. At one point she deceived her new husband Dudley Starr into believing she was pregnant. She was in fact hiding a cushion under her dress. She eventually kidnapped a baby from a hospital, and tried to pass it off as her own. The baby's real parents soon tracked her down and the baby was returned to them. They did not press charges.
Eventually Pete Callan plotted to get her out of Charnham. He paid to unofficially adopt a baby, which he gave to Maria on the condition she leave town and never return. She left with the baby and was not seen in Charnham again.
Clive Starr was played by Huw Bevan. Clive entered the storyline in January 1999 as a university student doing a Media Studies degree and sharing a flat with Declan Byrne and Gabby Johnson. He secretly fell in love with Declan, who was straight. After that he had a succession of short-lived gay relationships and grew increasingly depressed over his plain looks and short and stocky build, leading to a suicide attempt. Clive, at one point found himself in a love-triangle with new love Adam Sheldrake, and flatmate Gabby.
After graduating from university he worked as a radio presenter. He later worked as bar manager for Pete Callan at the Lock, and following Pete to his new pub The Black Swan, before moving away in 2001.
Dudley Starr was played by David Verrey. Dudley first arrived in the series as new chef at The Lock. He initially went by the name Serge Pompidour, which he felt was more fitting of a chef. His brother Clive Starr soon moved to Charnham as well. Dudley married Maria Simons but he left her upon learning she had kidnapped a baby, and was not seen in Charnham again.
Sean Steel was played by Sam Barriscale from 2003 until the character's death in the early hours of New Year's Day 2005 after being stabbed.
Olly came to the street as brother of Sam Taylor, he had a brief fling with Lucy. He began to fight for Lucy, against fellow character Jake Walker. Some of his last scenes were filmed as he pushed Jake off some scaffolding, placed in the street.
Sam Taylor was played by Leon Ockenden between May and December 2004.
Claire Toomey (previously Callan) was played by Tina Hall. She was an original character in the series, appearing from episode one in 1997. Claire was best friends with Melanie Hart, and she later had an affair with Melanie's brother Duncan Hart, falling pregnant to him. She gave birth to twins Ewan and Stella. After Duncan left town, Claire married Pete Callan, who loved the children, but the marriage was not a happy one. After the Hart family was killed in a boat explosion in January 1999, the sole survivor of the blast, Roy Farmer, became mentally unbalanced for a time, kidnapping and threatening to murder Claire. Soon after this, Claire left town.
In 2000, she returned to Charnham and went into business with Roy. She left Charnham permanently in 2003.
Jake Walker (played by Seb Castang) was initially seen in Charnham from February to December 2003, when he was sentenced to two years in a young offenders institute after accidentally killing Fern Farmer and Robert Davenport. Jake ran them down after losing control of a car during a police chase.
Jake only served his half sentence and returned in December 2004, remaining in Charham until May 2005.
Patricia (Trish) Wallace was played by Gabrielle Glaister from September 2004 until September 2005.
Luke Warrington was played by Royce Cronin from January 2000 until March 2001, and from December 2001 to May 2002.
Nikki Warrington was played by Rebecca Blake from January 2000 until December 2003
James (Jim) Webb was played by Jo Dow from December 2000 until September 2003.
Paul Webb was played by Martin Delaney from January 2001 until July 2003. Paul lived with Polly, Tanya and Declan in the flat and was Charnham's most colourful character. Always in trouble, getting hurt, or hurting someone else, Paul was a popular character from this period. Heavily involved with Gemma, Jim, Karen, Cameron, Vince and Pete before he left. Arguably the most successful actor since leaving the show.
Played by Idris Elba, Tim Webster appeared from the first episode. He was a good friend of Duncan Hart's and attempted to romance Duncan's twin Holly, though he was eventually thwarted by Holly's confusion over her sexuality and relationship with Susie Ross, and later, Holly's affair with her neighbour Dave Matthews. Tim was eventually written out of the series as part of the revamp that saw the Hart and Gates families eliminated from the show, departing a few months prior to most of the original cast members.
Coral, played by Katy Edwards from October until December 2005, was married to Jason Wilding. The couple moved into the street in the final weeks of the show. Coral was a glamorous, loud mouth who clashed with many residents.
Jason Wilding, played by Daniel Hyde from October until December 2005 when the series ended.
Ben Williams was played by Adam Rhys Dee from January 2005 until the final episode in December 2005.
The father of the Williams family, Conrad was played by Simon Merrells, the older brother of Jason Merrells, and appeared from September 2004 to October 2005. A single parent, he had to deal with the repercussions of his son Ben spending time in juvenile detention for accidentally killing a classmate, as well as his relationship with Sharon Ingram, after her son Bradley Foster was revealed to have abused Chloe Costello. He had an affair with Tanya Woods, which ended when she realised she was pregnant by her fiancé John Stokes and married him. Towards the end of his time on the show, two of his children, Ania and Alex, left to live with their mother while Katie and Ben moved out of the house. Conrad was then reunited with Tanya, whose marriage had broken down after she suffered a miscarriage, and they left the show together.
Katie Williams was played by Robyn Page from October 2004 until the final episode in December 2005.
Babs woods was played by Jan Harvey until the final episode. She was the mother of Tanya Woods and Grandmother of Harry.