| Julie Haye | |||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Karen Henthorn | ||||||
| Duration | 1997–98 | ||||||
| First appearance | 15 September 1997 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 30 April 1998 | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Occupation | Teacher | ||||||
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Julie Haye (previously Saunders) is a fictional character that appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders between 1997 and 1998, played by Karen Henthorn. Julie was a love interest for the popular character Nigel Bates.[1] After "a whirlwind affair", the couple left the soap together for a new life in Scotland.[2]
Julie Haye was the teacher of Clare Bates. She was first seen at a parent-teacher meeting in September 1997, where she informed Clare's guardian, Nigel, that Clare was associating with a gang of bullies. Clare initially took against Julie's interference, but with Nigel's help the bullying was eventually curtailed.
Juile occasionally dropped in to Nigel's video shop to rent French films, and a friendship soon developed. Julie was intending to put on a play about the history of Walford and she persuaded Nigel to help organise it. The play prompted much local interest, and everyone wanted to get involved. Julie was so taken with Nigel that she kissed him one night after a play committee meeting, but Nigel didn't reciprocate and she was left embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Clare had begun dating a fellow pupil at her school named Josh Saunders, who turned out to be Julie's son. Julie had divorced Josh's father and went by her maiden name, Haye, to prevent Josh from being bullied by her pupils. Julie's ex-husband had become incensed to learn that Julie was taking Josh to live in Scotland, which saddened Nigel also. Regretting his prior reticence, Nigel asked Julie round for dinner. Their date went well and they ended the evening with a kiss.
Julie's play rehearsals went ahead amidst many problems, mainly concering casting, as everyone in Walford wanted to be given the best roles. She also managed to offend Nigel when she recast his role to Alex Healy. Nigel began to think that Julie did not reciprocate his feelings for her, but after much moping Julie reassured him that she really was interested, and invited herself to stay the night at his place. However, the following day, the rose bush that Nigel had planted in his dead wife's honour, died. He saw this as a bad omen, and finished with Julie without explanation. Julie was furious, and Clare's attempts to get them back together failed.
Nigel clearly regretted his decision, but he found it impossible to tell Julie how he felt as she was too busy organising her play. The play was performed in April 1998, and, despite some hitches, it was a great success. Depressed, Nigel shunned the after party, which saddened Julie as she was leaving for Scotland the following day and was unable to say goodbye. Just as her taxi was driving away, Nigel stopped the car, confessed his love to Julie and asked if he could move to Scotland to be with her. Julie agreed and came to collect Nigel at the end of the month to begin their new life together in Scotland.
When Clare returned to Walford a decade later, in 2008, she revealed that Nigel and Julie were still happily together.
Julie Haye was introduced in September 1997 as a love interest for the character Nigel Bates (played by Paul Bradley). Actress Karen Henthorn was cast in the role. Henthorn had previously auditioned to play the minor role of a pregnancy counsellor for the character Bianca Jackson. She was not offered the part, but she was instead asked to audition for the much bigger role of Julie.[3] Having been called back to Elstree Studios to discuss the role with the casting director, Henthorn was told that EastEnders were creating a new "semi-regular" character, Julie Haye, specifically as a love interest for Nigel Bates.[3] Actor Paul Bradley, who played Nigel, had decided to leave the serial the following year, reportedly for fear of being typecast.[2] As Nigel was "such a popular character", and because he had such an unsuccessful love live throughout the course of the show, the producers of EastEnders felt that the viewing public would not want him to have anything other than a "happy ending". "So Julie was being introduced as a vehicle for Nigel’s exit". Because the character Julie was in the process of being conceptualised, the casting director asked Henthorn to read through scenes from previous episodes of EastEnders between Nigel and his deceased wife, Debbie. The audition proved successful and they re-called Henthorn to read through some new scenes, which she had to learn for a screen test. Henthorn has commented, "this meeting was with the same director and two casting directors and took place on the Friday morning. I was offered the job that lunchtime!"[3]
Henthorn has confessed to being a "fan" of EastEnders before she worked on it: "I could hardly contain myself the first time I actually saw Albert Square—‘in the flesh’. I ran all the way round the houses, up and down the steps, knocked on all the doors, peered through the windows of the Queen Vic, jumped around the garden and finally ended up sitting on Arthur’s bench—exhausted and totally overwhelmed. It looked exactly the same as it does on the telly and everything is ‘real,’ apart from the buildings—there’s nothing behind the walls!"[3]
Viewers saw Nigel—dubbed "the Albert Square nerd"—fall in love with teacher Julie Hay as they tried to sort out his problematic stepdaughter, Clare (played by Gemma Bissix).[2] In a plot twist, Julie was given a son named Josh, who had already formed a romance with Nigel's daughter Clare before his connection with Julie was revealed. Julie's son, Josh, was played by Jon Lee, who went on to find greater fame as a singer in the successful pop band, S Club 7.[4]
A slow on/off romance was developed between Nigel and Julie, which progressed into 1998 and eventually led to the departure of both characters. Nigel was initially shown to struggle with the guilt of moving on following the death of his wife Debbie, who was killed in the serial in 1995 in a hit-and-run accident. Faced with Nigel's uncertainty, Julie made plans to leave Walford for a teaching job in Scotland; however, moments before she left, Nigel changed his mind and opted to move to Scotland with her. The characters made their final appearances in April 1998. A source at the time said: "Nigel deserves a happy ending."[2]
Actress Karen Henthorn has since reflected on her time in EastEnders: "I tried to keep an open mind regarding any expectations of the job. To be honest, I hadn’t got a clue what to expect. All I did know was that, because up until then, I, like the majority of actors, had spent years in and out of work (but mostly out). I had been struggling financially and creatively, had waited on more tables and pulled more pints than I care to remember. I was absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, going to appreciate every single second, enjoy the whole experience. Which I did—whilst I was actually at work. But when I was away from the working environment, getting recognised in the street everywhere I went, being followed, pointed at, photographed, this was something I didn’t expect. And it happened overnight—one day, you can’t get anyone’s assistance in the supermarket, the next, they’re queuing up to carry your shopping home! Fame didn’t change me—it changed people round me. It was a very ‘interesting’ experience which took quite a while to get used to."[3]
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