List of EastEnders characters (1988)

The following is a list of characters first appearing in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1988, by order of first appearance.

Contents

Kenny Beale

Kenny Beale
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Michael Attwell
Duration 1988
First appearance 9 February 1988
Last appearance 10 March 1988
Book appearances Home Fires Burning
Swings and Roundabouts
Spin-off appearances Civvy Street
Profile
Date of birth 1941
Occupation Swimming pool salesman

Kenneth "Kenny" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Attwell. He also appears in the EastEnders novels by Hugh Miller, and in the 1988 EastEnders spin-off episode entitled Civvy Street, though the character is a baby and the actor is not credited.

Kenny is the older brother of Pauline and Pete Beale. He was born in 1941 to Albert and Lou Beale. He was born and raised in Walford, where he lived with his family at number 45 Albert Square.

Kenny was banished from Walford in 1965, at the age of 24, when his mother caught him in bed with his brother's wife Pat. He went to live in New Zealand, set up a business selling swimming pools, and married a New Zealander named Barbara. He didn't speak to any of his family for five years after emigrating, and after that it was only Pauline who corresponded with him.

He returned to Walford in 1988 with his daughter Elizabeth, after his marriage had hit a rocky patch. He visited his ill mother and found out that he had been named as the father of Pat's younger son, Simon Wicks. After a month in Walford, he realised how good his life in New Zealand was, and returned to Barbara. He said goodbye to Simon, whose paternity had come into doubt again, and told him he hoped that he was his father. It was later revealed that Brian Wicks was Simon's father, but Simon wanted nothing to do with him.

Pauline later went to New Zealand to visit Kenny in June 1992, when he had a car crash. He sent a wreath to Pauline's funeral in 2006.

Elizabeth Beale

Elizabeth Beale
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Lucy Bayler
Duration 1988
First appearance 9 February 1988
Last appearance 31 May 1988
Profile
Date of birth circa 1969
Occupation Apprentice engineer

Elizabeth Beale was born in New Zealand to Kenny and Barbara Beale, and came to Walford with Kenny when they visited her sick grandmother Lou.

Elizabeth began an unlikely and brief liaison with her cousin Ian. She stayed with her uncle Pete and his wife Kathy when her father returned to New Zealand. She soon angered Ian by flirting with other men, and Pete subsequently threw her out of his house when she tried to bring a boyfriend home to stay. She has never been seen since, and it is assumed she returned to New Zealand.

Johnny Harris

Main article: Dickens Hill#Johnny Harris

David Samuels

David Samuels
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Christopher Reich
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 28 April 1988
Last appearance 7 September 1989
Profile
Date of birth circa 1952
Occupation Doctor

Doctor David Samuels is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher Reich.

David first appeared in April 1988 as Dr. Legg's nephew who was visiting from Israel. David had fallen on hard times in Israel. He was being shunned by the locals because he had treated a wounded terrorist, who was guilty of bombing a bus that had killed his best friend. He had also split from his fiancée Ruth, and wanted a new start. When his mother came to visit Harold she asked him if it would be possible for David to join him in England for a while. Harold thought it was a great idea, and David came over the following month. He helped his uncle out with the practice and lived in the flat above the surgery.

Despite being extremely fond of each other, the new partners argued about almost everything. David wanted to modernise the surgery and bring in computers, but Harold was set in his ways and was opposed to any obvious changes. Harold also disagreed with David's friendship with their secretary, Michelle Fowler. Particularly when the two got drunk one night at a Christmas party, left together and ended up in the same bed. David awoke the next day not remembering a thing, but was reassured when Michelle informed him that they he had been too drunk to do anything untoward anyway. Harold was not convinced however, and berated David for the degradation he'd brought upon himself and the surgery.

Later David and Harold fell out over Harold's treatment of patients. David was appalled that Harold had decided to lie to Colin Russell and withhold vital information from him about his depleting health. He was also angry over Harold's lack of persistence concerning Donna Ludlow's drug problem, and later blamed himself for not providing sufficient help following her suicide in May 1989. Soon after David had stern words for Harold when he failed to diagnose Vicki Fowler with meningitis. Their altercation led to Harold retiring and leaving the running of the surgery to David. However, David's contemporary methods alienated the older residents of Walford and after much protesting Harold eventually decided to rethink his retirement. David initially tried to fight this, but in August 1989, his old Israeli girlfriend, Ruth, arrived in the Square to reconcile with David, and she made David and Harold realise how petty their arguing had become. The two doctors managed to patch up their differences, whilst David and Ruth put their past behind them and got back together. The following month they decided to marry and return to Israel together.

Flo Medeemey

Flo Medeemey
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Linda Robson (Civvy Street)
Spin-off appearances Civvy Street
Profile
Date of birth 1910s

Florence "Flo" Medeemey was the bitchy aunt of Kenny Beale, Pauline Fowler and Pete Beale. She appeared at her sister Lou's funeral but was uncredited. However, Linda Robson portrayed Flo in the spin-off Civvy Street.

Harry Jameson

Harry Jameson
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Anthony Dutton
Duration 1988
First appearance 10 March 1988
Last appearance 26 May 1988

Harry Jameson was an old business associate of Chris Smith, who provided Chris with money for his new haulage firm (Smith & Jameson Haulage).[1]

Little Ali Osman

Little Ali Osman
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Omer Mustafa Salih
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 24 March 1988
Profile
Date of birth 24 March 1988

"Little" Ali Osman was the second son born to café owners Sue and Ali Osman. He was born in March 1988 and was delivered in his parent's flat, 47B Albert Square, by the unlikely midwives, Lofty Holloway and Pauline Fowler.

Following his parents' split, his mother took him away from Walford in April 1989. The next month his father snatched him back from his mother, which culminated in Sue having a mental breakdown and being sectioned. Little Ali then lived with his father, who struggled as a single parent and employed an unregistered child minder to care for his son while he worked. When health visitor Carmel Jackson began to notice that Little Ali was not being cared for adequately, she did some investigating and discovered that the unregistered child minder was neglecting the children in her care, leaving them alone all day. Unable to look after his son, Ali gave Little Ali to some relatives who lived outside Walford. Ali's monetary problems continued and he eventually left Walford in October 1989 when he lost his home and business. Little Ali now lives in Northern Cyprus with his father.

Brian Wicks

Brian Wicks
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Leslie Schofield
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 28 April 1988
Last appearance 11 May 1989
Classification Former; guest
Profile
Occupation Painter and decorator

Brian Wicks was the second husband of Pat Harris. He only appeared twice on-screen, but the character's history was heavily intertwined with several other key characters within the series, and he was mentioned regularly for the first three to four years. The character was involved in one of EastEnders most complicated storylines, the paternity of Simon Wicks.

Brian began an affair with Pat in the 1960s, while she was still married to her first husband, Pete Beale. During this time Pat fell pregnant with her second son Simon, and claimed that Pete was the father. When Pat and Pete eventually divorced, Pat latched on to Brian. They married in 1966 and Brian adopted Simon, and Pat's older child David. Both boys took on Brian's surname. They moved from Walford in the 1970s, after his adoptive son, David, was beaten up by Derek Branning, for getting Carol Branning pregnant resulting in the birth of David and Carol's daughter, Bianca. Brian used to beat Pat and her children, so she eventually left him in 1986 and returned Walford. Pat caused havoc by revealing to Simon that Pete was not his father. Several other men were put in the frame, including Brian, Den Watts, Frank Butcher and Pete's brother Kenny. Furious rows erupted between all concerned, but Pat ominously refused to divulge the father's true identity.

Brian first appeared in April 1988. He had been informed that Pat had settled down with Frank Butcher, and was running The Queen Vic pub. Brian was interested in Pat's monetary affairs and their brief reunion was not pleasant. After calling Pat a slag and almost getting into a fight with Frank, Brian left. It wasn't until Lou Beale died in July 1988 that Pat finally revealed that Simon's father was Brian. Simon and Brian never appeared on-screen together, although later plots implied that they did correspond with each other, despite Simon (who left Walford in December 1990) claiming regularly that he hated him.

Aside from this plot, Brian continued to remain a menacing off-screen presence, continuously pestering Pat for money. Brian wasn't seen again until May 1989. Pat had decided that she wanted to marry Frank, and in order to do this she needed to divorce Brian. She met Brian and asked for the divorce, but he made it clear that he would only divorce her if she gave him either £1000 or one of Frank's cars as pay-off. Pat had no choice but to get Brian the car. She deceived Frank by claiming that her aunt Mabel's car had been written off and asked if he could provide one for her. Frank agreed to get her the car free of charge. He managed to get hold of a mini, and Pat telephoned Brian to tell him of her success. Although he was slightly annoyed that the car he was getting was only a mini, he nevertheless agreed to give Pat a divorce.

Matthew Jackson

Matthew Jackson
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Steven Hartley
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 5 May 1988
Last appearance 25 July 1989
Profile
Occupation Shop Manager

Matthew Jackson, played by Steven Hartley, was the manager of the local music store. He was first seen on screen in May 1988 as a new love interest for the social worker, Carmel Roberts. Matthew had had an unhappy childhood. His mother had fallen pregnant at 16 and after bringing him up for 15 years, she had been forced to put him into custody. Matthew was fostered by another family and he had subsequently refused all contact with his mother and rather resented her for abandoning him.

Matthew was initially a kind, easy-going man. Everyone loved him, except Carmel's brother, Darren, who objected to his sister dating him because he was white. His racial hatred eventually led to Carmel kicking him out of her flat and Matthew later moved in instead. Darren subsequently fled Walford, leaving Carmel and Matthew to look after his two children, Junior and Aisha.

Carmel was really besotted with Matthew, so when he proposed marriage in November that year, she gleefully accepted. Carmel wanted to invite Matthew's estranged mother to the wedding, but Matthew was totally opposed to the idea. His ire rose at her mere mention, but Carmel pursued it, which caused Matthew to blow his top and viciously scream at her. Carmel was left dumbstruck at the sudden outburst, but this was only a small taster of what was to come in the following months.

The two married in January 1989, but the day was ruined when Matthew saw his mother was in attendance. Carmel had got in contact with her, thinking that Matthew would be pleased to have her at the wedding. She was wrong and Matthew was furious. After shunning their reception party, he threatened to pack his things and leave. Carmel could not understand his reaction and when she attempted to stop him leaving he grabbed her by the throat, held her up against a wall and berated her for her interference. Carmel was petrified, and upon seeing her fear Matthew immediately released her and began apologising profusely for his violent outburst. Carmel was shaken, but was convinced that his apology was sincere, so she dropped the matter.

Things did not go much better for the newly weds in the following months. Matthew was finding it increasingly difficult to put up with Junior's presence in his life. The two would regularly clash and this in turn caused major animosity between him and Carmel. This eventually evoked Matthew back into violence and he punched Carmel in the face one night during an argument about Junior. Carmel was left with a heavily bruised face, but yet again a tearful Matthew managed to convince her to forgive him. Matthew's behaviour continued to alternate from contrite and caring to hot-tempered and violent, for seemingly no reason. Nevertheless, Carmel remained with him as she believed she could help him combat and contain his rage. Despite his despicable behaviour, she still deeply loved him.

It wasn't long before Junior had worked out why his aunt was constantly covered in bruises. He tried to put a stop to it by informing various people about the abuse, which didn't impress Matthew and this only made his temper worse. Matthew began to grow irrationally jealous over Carmel's friendship with Dr. David Samuels, and during a family meal one night, he began to get violent towards her in front of Junior. In a desperate bid to protect his petrified aunt, Junior ended up stabbing Matthew with a kitchen knife. Matthew spent time in hospital, but once again he managed to convince Carmel that he'd changed and she allowed him to come home when he recovered. She tried to get Matthew to seek professional help, but Matthew was appalled by the idea, and true to form, he began smashing up the house and threatening her with more violence. This was the last straw for Carmel and she wisely decided to end their relationship. She threw Matthew out and he left Walford in July 1989.

Cindy Beale

Main article: Cindy Beale

Mo Butcher

Main article: Mo Butcher

Ricky Butcher

Main article: Ricky Butcher

Diane Butcher

Main article: Diane Butcher

Melody

Melody
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Lyanne Compton
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 14 June 1988
Last appearance 2 November 1989
Profile
Occupation Student

Melody, played by Lyanne Compton, was introduced in 1988 as the troublesome school friend of Junior Roberts, on whom she had a crush. They were mischievous, doing things such as stealing dogs from their owners and then claiming rewards when they returned the dogs, professing to have found them, or charging children to see a free Punch and Judy show. Melody attended the local Brownies, where she was particularly troublesome for the Brown Owl, Marge Green.

During her time in Walford, Melody was approached by a potential paedophile, who offered her sweets and a ride in his car; Melody responded by biting his hand. She reported the man to the police, but subsequently, her father prohibited her from seeing Junior for a while, though this did not last.

Melody was upset when Junior and his family moved away in August 1989; they thought about running away together, but were unable to set their plan in motion. Junior still visited Melody occasionally and on Halloween 1989, she and Junior dressed as ghosts and threw eggs at Dot Cotton for refusing to offer anything desirable during their game of Trick or Treat. Following a chastising from Dot for this, Melody disappeared with no explanation. Off-screen, the show acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson, and many characters were dropped.[2] According to writer Colin Brake, the storyline involving Melody and the unruly Brownies was intended to be fun, but references to Brownies behaving badly caused great offence to the Brownie movement, and an official complaint was made and upheld. The broadcasting commission said the EastEnders Brownie episodes "came near to parody," were unfair to the Brownies and harmed the Girl Guides' image.[3] The BBC had to make a public apology for the misinterpretation of the movement.[2] Brake has suggested that the mishap was a "salutary lesson to those [...] in the script department to be very vigilant in ensuring, as far as possible, that no group or individual was offended by an unintentional slight in a script."[2]

Gregory Mantel

Gregory Mantel
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Pavel Douglas
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 16 June 1988
Last appearance 23 February 1989
Profile
Occupation Gangster

Gregory Mantel is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He was played by actor Pavel Douglas.

Mantel was a well-spoken, sharp-suited gangster, an employee of The Firm.

He was introduced in June 1988, as a character claiming to be from "Walford Investments", who tried to persuade James Willmott-Brown to let him buy into The Dagmar. When Willmott-Brown refused, he soon found that his suppliers were refusing to do business with him. The bar's business suffered dramatically as a result.

The Firm had financially ruined The Dagmar for the purpose of drawing in its custom for their own wine bar, Strokes, which was in fact a front for illegal gambling reluctantly run by Den Watts. Den later used his Firm connections to arrange for The Dagmar to be firebombed, which angered Mantel and The Firm's bosses, the unseen Mr. Vinnicombe and Jack Dalton.

Mantel and Vinnicombe were good friends, and Mantel reported directly to him.

Mantel later established the Portakabin office on Albert Square as a base of operations for "Walford Investments".

Mantel was also responsible for leading the operation to kill Den, after it was thought that he had grassed up The Firm for the Dagmar fire.

Gregory was an intelligent man, and was able to work out the connection between Den and Michelle Fowler, and that she might be the key to finding him. He ordered that Michelle be tailed, and she was followed to the Walford canal. Mantel then co-ordinated the assassination via a walkie-talkie.

Mantel gave the order to shoot Den, but 14 years later it was revealed that his attempt to kill Den was unsuccessful and he promptly returned to Walford in September 2003, and that the body found in the canal in May 1990 was that of Mr Vinnicombe, who had been killed on the orders of Jack Dalton after discovering that Den had survived.

Joanne Francis

Main article: Joanne Francis

Sufia Karim

Main article: Karim family

Shireen Karim

Main article: Karim family

Sohail Karim

Main article: Karim family

Benny Bloom

Benny Bloom
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Arnold Yarrow
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 25 August 1988
Last appearance 19 January 1989
Profile
Date of death 12 September 1989[4]
Occupation Bricklayer

Benny Bloom is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Arnold Yarrow.

During World War II, Jewish bricklayer Benny and his wife, Golda, lived at number 5 Albert Square. Some years later, they retired to Clacton where Golda died in August 1987.

The following year in August 1988, Benny returned to Albert Square to visit his old friend Dr Legg and began spending time with Ethel Skinner, who was also an old friend of his. As Benny and Ethel spent more time together, their friendship began to blossom into a romance.

In December 1988, a very drunk Benny propositioned Ethel and asked her to move in with him. Ethel initially thought the offer was for a proposal of marriage, but when she realised that his motives were less than honourable she was furious and smashed his 'Izzy Bon' records over his head. When relaying her concerns to her friend Dot Cotton, Ethel confessed she did love Benny, which angered Dot as she felt that Benny was an old pervert and she told Ethel to stay well clear of him.

By January 1989, Ethel and Benny had reconciled, and over lunch Benny decided to propose to Ethel, this time for marriage. However, Dot had heard that Benny planned to propose and in a desperate bid to prevent her best friend from accepting, she turned up at their luncheon and attempted to put a stop to their romance. Dot launched into an attack on Ethel, branding her stupid for considering marriage and saying that she could never be happy with a Jew, as they were "different". Ethel accused Dot of anti-Semitism and just to spite Dot, she agreed to marry Benny. However, things took a turn for the worse when Benny relayed all the domestic duties he expected from Ethel. The final straw came when Benny informed Ethel that her pug Willy would not be able to stay at the manor where he lived, due to a "no pets" rule. Ethel couldn't consider parting with her dog, so the engagement was called off.

This was Benny's last appearance on the Square, but a few months later in September 1989 the residents heard news that Benny had died and he had left Ethel £2000 in his will.

Barnsey Barnes

Main article: Dickens Hill#Barnsey Barnes

Queenie Price

Main article: Dickens Hill#Queenie Price

Trevor Kellow

Main article: Dickens Hill#Trevor Kellow

Victor Hampton

Main article: Dickens Hill#Victor Hampton

Gillie Hampton

Main article: Dickens Hill#Gillie Hampton

Guido Smith

Guido Smith
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Nicholas Donovan
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 6 October 1988
Last appearance 28 February 1989

Guido Smith, played by Nicholas Donovan was first seen in October 1988 as a business contact of the graphic designer, Colin Russell. Over subsequent meetings, allegedly to discuss business, it became clear that Colin and Guido were attracted to each other. Eventually Colin plucked up the courage to make a pass at him, but was heartbroken to discover that Guido was already involved with another man named Des.

After seeking the advice of his friends in Walford, Colin decided to play things cool with Guido, by not actively chasing him and instead becoming the chased. The plan worked and it wasn't long before Guido had invited himself back to Colin's to spend the night. Soon after, Guido split with his boyfriend and moved in with Colin. Colin had been scarred by past relationships, so he was adamant that he was not going to be used by Guido as a mere stop gap. He wanted assurances that the relationship had a future and he began to demand more commitment from Guido. Guido on the other hand, was far more relaxed and wanted to take the relationship one stage at a time. Petty arguments erupted between the pair, instigated by Colin, whose demeanour was constantly changing from mild-mannered to belligerent, for no apparent reason. Guido was left bemused by this, but eventually Colin divulged that he was suffering from poor health and the worry was having a negative effect on his behaviour. Guido managed to persuade Colin to get a check up, after which it was revealed that he had been suffering from early symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

The following weeks were tough for Guido, as he tried to help his boyfriend come to terms with his illness. Colin assumed that Guido would now want nothing more to do with him, but Guido assured him that he was there for the long haul. However, over the following months, major differences in the pair's political view points began to surface. Colin's liberal opinions clashed with Guido's more conservative ones. Colin was furious when Guido reported Junior Roberts to the police for stealing some of his CDs. He felt that police involvement would only worsen any anti-social behaviour, whilst Guido felt that punishment was the only way to curtail the problem. Meanwhile, Guido was becoming annoyed with Colin's tendency to worry more for others than himself, namely Donna Ludlow, the unappreciative heroin addict who Colin was trying to reform. Their opposing opinions brought to the fore how little they shared in common. In addition, Colin couldn't shake the feeling that Guido was only staying with him out of pity and so in February 1989 he decided to leave Walford to stay with his brother in Bristol. Colin decided not to tell Guido he was going, but a surprise visit from his ex, Barry Clark, stalled his departure, and Guido arrived home to see Colin packed and ready to leave. Guido was furious that Colin was planning on leaving without saying goodbye, but Colin said that he needed some space and he asked Guido to look after his flat while he sorted his head out. He then left a perplexed Guido to ponder on where he went wrong and despite claiming that he would return, he never did.

After Colin's departure Guido was seen one last time when he allowed Donna to stay in his flat for one night, before throwing her out the next day for overstaying her welcome. After this Guido then disappeared and his exit was never shown.

Guido's exit scenes were filmed and due to air in February 1989. However, due to time constraints, the scenes had to be cut and so his exit was never aired. Writer Colin Brake has joked that when Ian and Cindy moved into the flat some time later, many viewers expected them to find Guido still inside.[5]

Reception

Colin and Guido's gay relationship was the cause of much controversy in January 1989 when EastEnders aired the first homosexual mouth-to-mouth kiss on British television. The chaste peck on the lips between Colin and Guido resulted in a front page denunciation in The Sun newspaper, who described it as "a homosexual love scene between yuppie poofs [...] when millions of children were watching". The kiss was watched by twenty million people and came at a time when Margaret Thatcher’s government had set forward a moral agenda that urged a return to traditional family values. The Sun printed the assertion that "Furious MPs last night demanded a ban on EastEnders as the BBC soap showed two men kissing full on the lips".[6]

Bob Ashley

Bob Ashley
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Robin Lermitte
Duration 1988–89
First appearance 24 November 1988
Last appearance 2 March 1989
Profile
Occupation Detective Inspector

Detective Inspector Bob Ashley[7] was based at Walford Police Station, who was determined to shut down The Firm. He arrested Den Watts for arson on The Dagmar, and was transporting him to court when he was kidnapped by The Firm.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Harry Jameson", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  2. ^ a b c Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2. 
  3. ^ "Poll tax blamed for pushing Britons into debt". Toronto Star. 12 March 1990. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/471606831.html?dids=471606831:471606831&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+12%2C+1990&author=Michael+Hanlon+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Poll+tax+blamed+for+pushing+Britons+into+debt&pqatl=google. Retrieved 13 August 2009. 
  4. ^ "Programme Information Network TV BBC Week 7 EastEnders 25th anniversary feature – births, deaths and marriages!". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/2010/wk7/feature_eastenders.shtml. Retrieved 2011-12-30. 
  5. ^ Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0563370572. 
  6. ^ "Tipping the Velvet", BBC. URL last accessed on 2006-12-30.
  7. ^ "DI Bob Ashley", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  8. ^ "DI Ashley (First name unknown)", Walford Web. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
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