List of EastEnders characters (1987)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1987, by order of first appearance.

Contents

Tina Hopkins

Tina Hopkins
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Eleanor Rhodes
Duration 1987
First appearance 5 February 1987
Last appearance 10 September 1987
Profile
Occupation Student

Tina Hopkins was introduced as Ian Beale’s girlfriend in February 1987. Ian’s friend Kelvin Carpenter took a shine to Tina and made several passes at her, which she shunned.

Tina got a job working at Naima Jeffery’s grocery store, the First til Last, and by May 1987 she and Ian had decided that they wanted to move in together. They managed to persuade Kelvin to rent them one of his father’s flats, and although their parents’ were against it, they moved in with each other in July 1987.

Things did not go well for the couple. They found it difficult to pay the rent and when money went missing from the cash register at Tina’s workplace, Naima accused her of stealing it (it was actually one of Mary Smith’s wayward friends named Sandra). Tina eventually managed to clear her name with the help of Rod Norman, who set a trap for the real thief.

Shortly after, Tina’s parents showed up in Walford on an impromptu visit from Ilford. They let themselves into Tina’s flat and were horrified to discover what a mess it was in. When they discovered that Simon Wicks and Magda Czajkowski lived next door in an adjoining room, they decided that Tina could not remain living there. Despite Tina’s protests, they packed her bags and dragged her back to Ilford to live with them in September 1987. Tina was not seen again.

Emine Osman

Emine Osman
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Pelim Ahmet
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 26 February 1987
Last appearance 29 March 1988
Profile
Occupation Student

Emine Osman was the daughter of Mehmet and Guizin Osman. She was first seen on screen in February 1987. Her father had gambled away their home and then disappeared, so Emine, her mother, and her two brothers, Murat and Rayif, were forced to move in with Mehmet's brother Ali and his wife Sue.

Emine and her siblings would fool around and get into trouble, often letting their pet boa constrictor (named Crush) loose to scare the residents of the Square. The Osman children later became friendly with Luke and Sophie Willmott-Brown. They moved out of the Square in May that year when their father returned, but occasionally showed up on the Square to cause more trouble for their parents.

In November 1987, Guizin heard news that Emine had been injured by a firework in a storyline that hoped to highlight the dangers of children playing with fireworks. Emine's last appearance was in March 1988, but after her parents had a huge argument, Emine and the rest of her family moved to Northern Cyprus in March 1989.

Rayif Osman

Rayif Osman
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Billy Hassan
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 26 February 1987
Last appearance 29 March 1988
Profile
Occupation Student

Rayif Osman was the elder son of Mehmet and Guizin Osman. He was first seen on screen in February 1987. Rayif, his mother, sister Emine and brother Murat were all forced to move in with Mehmet's brother Ali and his wife Sue, after Mehmet gambled away their home and then disappeared.

Rayif and his siblings would fool around and get into trouble, often letting their pet boa constrictor (named Crush) loose to scare the residents of the Square. They also had a penchant for playing on arcade games and fruit machines and would occasionally sneak away to play on them against their mother's wishes.

The Osman children later became friendly with Luke and Sophie Willmott-Brown. They moved out of the Square in May that year when their father returned, but occasionally showed up on the Square to cause more trouble for their parents.

Rayif's last appearance was in March 1988, but after his parents had an argument, Rayif and the rest of his family moved to Northern Cyprus in March 1989.

Murat Osman

Murat Osman
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Eddie Izzet
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 26 February 1987
Last appearance 29 March 1988
Profile

Murat Osman was the son of Mehmet and Guizin Osman. He was first seen on screen in February 1987 when his father had gambled away their home and then disappeared, so Murat, his mother, sister Emine and brother Rayif, were forced to move in with Mehmet's brother Ali and his wife Sue. Murat was the youngest of the three children.

Murat and his siblings would fool around and get into trouble, often letting their pet boa constrictor (named Crush) loose to scare the residents of the Square. The Osman children later became friendly with Luke and Sophie Willmott-Brown. They moved out of the Square in May that year when their father returned, but occasionally showed up on the Square to cause more trouble for their parents.

Murat's last appearance was in March 1988, but after his parents had an argument, Murat and the rest of his family moved to Northern Cyprus in March 1989.

Luke Willmott-Brown

Luke Willmott-Brown
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Henry Power
Duration 1987, 1992
First appearance 31 March 1987
Last appearance 14 January 1992
Profile
Occupation Student

Luke Willmott-Brown was the young son of rapist James Willmott-Brown. He also had a sister called Sophie. He was first seen visiting his father in March 1987, but went back to live with his mother in July. During his stay, he and his sister were friendly with Mehmet and Guizin Osman's children, Emine, Rayif and Murat.

He was later seen in January 1992, visiting his father after his release from prison. This was his last appearance. It is assumed that he now lives with his mother, as his father was later imprisoned for rape again.

Sophie Willmott-Brown

Sophie Willmott-Brown
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Natasha Knight
Duration 1987, 1992
First appearance 31 March 1987
Last appearance 14 January 1992
Profile
Occupation Student

Sophie Willmott-Brown was the young daughter of rapist James Willmott-Brown. She also had a brother called Luke. She was first seen visiting her father in March 1987, but went back to live with her mother in July. During her stay, her and her brother were friendly with Mehmet and Guizin Osman's children, Emine, Rayif and Murat.

She was later seen in January 1992, visiting her father after his release from prison. This was her last appearance. It is assumed that she now lives with her mother, as her father was later imprisoned for rape again.

June Watkins

June Watkins
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Madaline Blakeney
Duration 1987
First appearance 9 April 1987
Last appearance 16 April 1987

June Watkins was the godmother of Kathy Beale's daughter Donna Ludlow. Kathy had given Donna up for adoption shortly after her birth, as she was conceived from rape. June brought Kathy news that Donna wanted to make contact with her, but told her that it was her decision. Kathy decided not to see Donna.[1][2]

Reg Sparrow

Reg Sparrow
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Richard Ireson
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 14 April 1987
Last appearance 27 October 1988
Profile
Occupation Brewery area manager

Reg Sparrow[3] was the area manager for Luxford & Copley brewery following the retirement of James Willmott-Brown. He oversaw the running of The Queen Vic pub, which was being managed by Den Watts.[4] The Vic's profits were floundering following Den's separation from his wife Angie. Reg came to Walford to assess the problem. He wanted the money that Den owed the brewery and demanded to see the pub's invoices. Den tried to avoid this by steering clear of the pub all day and leaving his bar staff to put Reg off. This plan failed due to Angie, who happily informed Reg where Den kept all the pub's bookwork, just to spite her husband. Den was forced to sell his car to pay off some of his debt.

Later in the year Sparrow joined Den in one of the Osmans' notorious card games. Den fleeced him and managed to win a vast sum of his money, although he later gave him back half in return for a future favour. Sparrow was partial to monetary bribes and often turned a blind eye to Den's dodgy dealings. In 1988 Pat Wicks and Frank Butcher were forced to bribe Sparrow in order to get him to grant them tenancy at the Vic. After they were instated Sparrow continued to exert his influence over Frank, by persuading him to throw an exuberant birthday party at the Vic in his honour, and then disappearing without paying the bill.

Oxley

Oxley
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Colun Gallivan
Duration 1987
Appears on 14 April 1987

Oxley was dubbed the "Walford attacker" when he began a series of night-time assaults on the women of Walford. Several female residents of Albert Square had encounters with Oxley, but managed to escape before they were harmed. Pat Wicks wasn't so lucky, and she was brutally assaulted in February 1987 and left battered and unconscious in the middle of Albert Square. The police had no luck tracing Oxley, as he left no clues as to his identity.

However in April 1987, Oxley's luck ran out when he attempted to attack Debbie Wilkins in the launderette and was warded off by her self-defence moves. The police were able to apprehend Oxley and he was arrested and charged.[5]

Magda Czajkowski

Magda Czajkowski
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Kathryn Apanowicz
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 5 May 1987
Last appearance 31 March 1988
Profile
Occupation Caterer

Magda "Mags" Czajkowski is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kathryn Apanowicz.

Magda was born to a Polish father and a Yorkshire mother. She initially lived in Leeds until she moved to London for a career in catering, where she shared a flat with her business partner, Amanda.

In May 1987 Magda managed to secure herself a catering gig at The Queen Vic, which is where she met and began a flirtatious relationship with the married publican, Den Watts. With Den recently separated from his alcoholic wife Angie, he was free to actively pursue Magda, which only sought to infuriate his already fragile wife.

Later in the year, Den went on a trip to Morocco and whilst he was away, Magda started flirting with barman Simon Wicks, who subsequently ended the relationship with his girlfriend Sharon Watts to be with Magda. When Den returned from his extended holiday, he found that Magda was no longer interested in him. When Den discovered that she was seeing Simon, he physically attacked Simon, sacked him and threw him out of his home in The Vic. A few months later Amanda left for Australia and Magda moved to Albert Square, where she rented a flat at 3 Albert Square from Kelvin Carpenter, and managed Symphony Food Catering on her own. With Den now out of the picture, Magda decided she wanted a more serious commitment from Simon so she asked him to move into her flat with him, and he agreed.

However, their relationship did not go smoothly. Magda was a bit older than Simon, and his immature tendencies often infuriated her, whilst her complaining infuriated him. Simon had some family upsets over the coming months and Magda failed to support him adequately, so he turned to his former boss, Den, for counsel. On Den's advice, Simon proceeded to pursue other women, and then started seeing the barmaid Donna Ludlow behind Magda's back. By this time Magda was in love with Simon and his rejection hurt her. Den used this opportunity to gain his revenge on Magda. He feigned mock sympathy for her, then seduced her, but before he got her into bed, he told her that he had to go on an errand. He instructed Magda to "get ready" for him, telling her that he would be back soon. He then left Magda undressed and waiting in his bed for hours, before instructing Pat Wicks to inform her that he was otherwise engaged, leaving her humiliated.

Magda tried to take her mind off things by attempting to purchase a new property, the house that James Willmott-Brown was selling. However, she received another setback when James had a better offer and turned her down. After a heart-felt chat with Lou Beale, Magda decided to cut her losses and leave Walford. She left the Square to share a flat with a friend in Fulham in March 1988.

Edie Smith

Edie Smith
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Eileen O'Brien
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 12 May 1987
Last appearance 31 May 1988
Profile

Edie Smith was a religious and strict woman, which alienated her daughter, Mary, so much that she ran away from Stockport to escape her. Mary moved to London after falling pregnant, and chose not to inform her family about her child. When Mary's father tracked her down and discovered he had a granddaughter, Mary made him promise not to tell Edie. She worried that her mother would interfere and take over. Her father, Chris, paid heed to his daughter's wishes for several years. However, when he discovered that Mary had left her daughter Annie alone in her flat to prostitute herself, he decided to take action. He informed Edie and she came to Walford in May 1987 to sort Mary out. Despite Mary's protests, she took Annie back to Stockport to live with her, leaving Mary distraught.

With the help of Rod Norman, Mary managed to sort her life out. She contacted her mother to bring Annie back, but Edie kept refusing. Eventually Mary became so depressed that Rod contacted Chris and told him Mary was considering suicide. A concerned Chris then finally brought Annie home to Mary.

Chris decided to move to London early in 1988 in order to open a haulage company. Things did not go according to plan, and he spent much of his time drinking himself into a stupor. Eventually, Mary contacted her mother to come and sort Chris out and the Smith family finally managed to sort out their differences. Shortly after, Edie began to consider moving to London permanently. This was too much for Mary to bear however, and she began to rebel against her parents once again. Edie tried to intervene, but Mary was hostile and told her that she would kill her if she ever tried to take Annie from her again. Shortly after, Mary decided to leave Walford. She took Annie, and jumped on a bus to destinations unknown. Edie refused to waste anymore concern on her unruly daughter and she left Walford to return to Stockport. Her last appearance was in May 1988.

Graham Clark

Graham Clark
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Gary Webster
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 16 June 1987
Last appearance 19 January 1988
Profile

Graham Clark grew up in Walford and went to school with Nick Cotton, Rod Norman and Darren Roberts. After getting involved in criminal activity with Nick, Graham served time in prison, but it later transpired that Nick had committed the crime that he was imprisoned for. Graham never forgave Nick for allowing him to go to prison for his crime.

Graham was very protective of his younger brother Barry Clark. Barry was afraid to admit to Graham that he was homosexual and in a relationship with Colin Russell. He tried to cover this up, but was relieved when Graham revealed he had known he was gay and accepted it. Graham married a girl named Kate in 1987 after she fell pregnant with his child. Graham was looking forward to the prospect of becoming a father and asked Barry to be Godfather. Kate miscarried weeks before the baby was due in November 1987. Graham and Barry were devastated.

Graham got involved in the plight of Colin, who was targeted by the criminal organisation known as "The Firm". The Firm wanted Colin, who was doing jury service, to give a verdict of "not guilty" for one of their associates, and they used Den Watts to lean on him. Graham intervened, he along with a gang of thugs and his pet Alsatian, Prince, confronted Den and ordered him to stay away from Colin and Barry. Nick's father, Charlie Cotton, used Graham's animosity towards Nick to get rid of his son. Nick had been hiding from Graham, but Charlie allowed Graham into their house to confront him. Graham ordered Nick to leave Walford or face the repercussions. Nick fled for his own safety. Graham was last seen in January 1988, supporting Colin over his recent break-up with Barry.

Farrukh

Farrukh
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Sumar Khan
Duration 1987
First appearance 9 July 1987
Last appearance 19 November 1987
Profile
Occupation Lawyer / Politician

Farrukh comes to Walford from Bangladesh as a suitor who wants to woo his cousin Naima Jeffery. Naima had disgraced her family by divorcing her first husband following the demise of their arranged marriage. She is not open to embarking on another arranged marriage, but when she meets Farrukh, she is pleasantly surprised. A successful lawyer in Bangladesh with political aspirations, Farrukh was in full support of Naima's desire to be an independent woman. He and Naima bond, and several months later he returns to propose to Naima. They marry off-screen in Birmingham and move to Bangladesh in November 1987.

Ashraf Karim

Main article: Karim family

Ashraf Karim is played by Aftab Sachak. Ashraf came to Britain from Bangladesh in 1968 and was already betrothed to Sufia, who was still a child in Bangladesh. Before he returned to Bangladesh to be married to Sufia, he met and had a fling with Stella, a young hippy, and their relationship continued on and off after Sufia emigrated to Britain to be with her husband in 1973. Sufia knew about Stella, and suspected other affairs and found them all distressing. In the beginning, Ashraf worked in a car manufacturing plant in the Midlands. Later on, relatives in Walford East London offered him a job in one of their corner shops and he, Sufia and their two small children, Shireen and Sohail, came south to live. He saved enough money to open a business of his own, although racist taunts and attacks made life difficult for him. Even so, by putting in long hours he finally made a success of running his third shop in Walford High Street.

Rod Norman

Main article: Rod Norman

Rodric "Rod" Norman is played by Christopher McHallem. Rod the roadie, was a modern day hobo. He dossed in squats and never settled anywhere for long, although he did return to Albert Square several times. Rod was a sucker for female hopeless cases and he tried to help out several 'women in need' over the years, although he was rarely thanked for his efforts. Rod was first seen in Albert Square in July 1987 as an acquaintance of fellow punk, Mary Smith. Rod was a greasy layabout, but underneath his scruffy appearance lay a kind-hearted, genuine guy, who would go out of his way to help anyone in need.

Darren Roberts

Darren Roberts
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Gary McDonald
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 28 July 1987
Last appearance 21 July 1988
Profile
Date of birth 1962

Darren Roberts, played by Gary McDonald, was the brother of Carmel Roberts. He arrived in Walford in July 1987 along with his son Junior and young daughter, Aisha, who had different mothers. Darren had fallen out with his wife Darleen, and managed to persuade his sister to allow him and his children to move in with her at number 3b Albert Square.

Darren had attended school with Nick Cotton, Graham Clark and Rod Norman, none known for their law-abiding tendencies, and just like his wayward contemporaries, Darren also regularly dabbled on the wrong side of the law. Darren set up various dodgy deals. He made an enemy out of Den Watts for selling stolen goods on his patch; he got involved in pornographic video laundering; instigated a counterfeit money ring; started renting out an abandoned flat to squatters for a weekly fee; and held a 'cultural evening' in the community centre, which was a front for a porn film screening and stripper — Dot Cotton accidentally wandered in and fainted.

He got on the wrong side of Brad Williams, a member of the gangster organisation known as The Firm. Darren wanted membership into the gang, but after several attempts to gain favour, Brad warned him off by beating him.

Darren went on to con Ian Beale and Barry Clark. Darren provided them with equipment for a mobile disco, but the equipment turned out to be hired and further hire purchase payments were still owed. Soon after, the hire purchase men turned up and took back all the disco gear. When Carmel found out, she threw Darren out of her flat, after which, he disappeared in July 1988, abandoning his two children in the process.

Days before his departure, Darren was questioned about the torching of The Dagmar, following Kathy Beale's rape, and he purposefully implicated Den Watts as the culprit. Den, who was working for The Firm, was eventually forced to take the blame and was arrested for the deed. Joanne Francis and Gregory Mantel (two members of The Firm, who were watching Darren), later revealed that Darren had moved in with a girl, whose boyfriend then put him in hospital. He never returned to Albert Square to claim his children, and his whereabouts following this were not revealed. However, in 1989, Darren's accomplice Vince Johnson arrived in Walford. Vince regularly liaised with Darren by phone, and both were responsible for conning Frank Butcher in a motor scam.

Junior Roberts

Junior Roberts
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Aaron Carrington
Duration 1987–89
First appearance 28 July 1987
Last appearance 31 October 1989
Profile
Occupation Student

Junior Roberts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Aaron Carrington.

Junior was a young tearaway, who idolised his wayward father. He was often getting into trouble and mischief around Albert Square.

Junior was the son of Darren Roberts, and he arrived in Walford along with his young sister Aisha in July 1987. The Roberts clan had come to live with Junior's aunt, Carmel, at number 3b Albert Square.

Junior proceeded to cause havoc around the Square, getting into trouble for stealing, graffitiing the square, playing truant, and gave everyone a fright when he ran away from home and almost got into a car with a stranger. Junior found himself a girlfriend in 1988, Melody, who was equally as troublesome. The two began a scam where they would steal dogs from people and then return them for a reward. They also managed to spark up a feud with the Karim children, with both sides swapping racist insults at each other. Darren, a petty criminal, was not the best role-model for his impressionable son, and he was often unable to curtail his deviance.

Junior idolised Darren and so he was devastated in July 1988 when his father abandoned him and his sister and disappeared without a word to anyone. Junior was forced to move away from Walford and go and live with his Grandparents, but he would show up regularly to visit Carmel and get into more trouble, such as stealing Colin Russell's CD collection and then selling them on to Rod Norman for a profit. This act even led to him getting arrested after Colin's boyfriend, Guido, decided to teach him a lesson and informed the police. He got off with a warning, but continued to make trouble for himself when he persuaded Ricky Butcher to buy him alcohol, and was witnessed drinking by Dot Cotton. Dot was appalled to see an underage boy getting drunk, and she promptly informed Carmel. By 1989 Junior had become so troublesome that his elderly, sickly grandparents could no longer cope and Carmel was instructed to take both her brother's children in again. This was met unfavourably by Carmel's new husband Matthew Jackson, who freely admitted that he disliked Junior immensely.

Matthew and Junior would argue regularly and this put a severe strain on Carmel's marital relationship. Junior's dislike for Matthew stemmed from the fact that he rightly suspected him of abusing his aunt. Junior tried to put a stop to Matthew's violence by informing various members of his family about the abuse he'd witnessed, but despite their best efforts Carmel refused to take their help and denied that anything untoward was occurring. Things reached a head in July 1989, when Junior, in an attempt to protect his aunt from Matthew's rage, stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Matthew was rushed to hospital, and Junior found it difficult to come to terms with what he had done. Carmel eventually managed to reassure him that what he did was in self-defence and he was not to blame.

The following month Carmel's father died, and so the Robertses all left Walford to tend to Junior's grieving grandmother. Junior was not pleased with this and made an ill-fated attempt to run away from home with Melody, but he only managed to get as far as the front door before Carmel discovered his plan and forced him to leave with her instead.

Over the following months Junior would show up in Walford regularly to visit Melody and Vince Johnson, a friend of his father. His last appearance was October 1989 when he attended a Halloween party in the Square.

Aisha Roberts

Aisha Roberts
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Aisha Jacob
Duration 1987–89
First appearance 18 August 1987
Last appearance 17 August 1989

Aisha Roberts was played by Aisha Jacob — who was the real life daughter of Judith Jacob, the actress who played her on-screen aunt, Carmel Jackson, in the serial.[6]

Aisha was the young daughter of Darren and Darlene Roberts and the half sister of Junior. She came to Walford in August 1987 to live with her aunt Carmel, following the breakdown of her parents marriage. Darren was an irresponsible parent and the care of the young toddler was left mainly to Carmel and Junior - who was forced to take and collect Aisha from nursery school, making him miss school himself.

In July 1988, Darren abandoned both his children and left Walford without a word to anyone. Aisha was then sent away from Walford to live with her grandparents. However, the following year, she was sent back to Carmel, much to the annoyance of her abusive husband, Matthew Jackson. Matthew found caring for Aisha a chore and would get annoyed with her for crying, wandering into his bedroom constantly and making his flat a mess. Eventually Carmel and Matthew's marriage came to an end after Junior stabbed Matthew in self-defence. In August 1989 Aisha's grandfather died, and so the entire Roberts family moved away from Walford to tend to Aisha's grieving grandmother.

Donna Ludlow

Main article: Donna Ludlow

Donna Ludlow is played by Matilda Ziegler between 1987 and 1989.[7] Donna was scripted as a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her. In her storyline, after finding out she was conceived from rape and then rejected by her mother, Donna set herself on a path of self-destruction. She turned to manipulation, blackmail and prostitution to fund her drug-habit, before choking to death on her own vomit in 1989.

Frank Butcher

Main article: Frank Butcher

Frank Butcher is played by Mike Reid. Frank made his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987 but, due to a positive viewer reception, he was reintroduced in 1988 as a regular. Reid took a long hiatus from EastEnders in 1994. Frank returned as a recurring character from December 1995 to January 1998,[8] and eventually became a regular once again from May 1998 to November 2000, when Reid quit. Frank made three brief reappearances after that, the final one in December 2005. Given the widespread identification of Mike Reid as Frank, Reid's death in July 2007 led to BBC bosses deciding that it would not be possible for the character to return in the future. In November 2007, it was announced that the character would die off-screen and in April 2008 his funeral was screened as part of a special set of episodes, dubbed Frank week.

Derek Taylor

Derek Taylor
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Ken Sharrock
Duration 1987
First appearance 8 September 1987
Last appearance 17 September 1987

Derek Taylor[9] was a friendly passer-by who stopped to help when the Walford ladies' darts team's coach broke down on the way to the Isle of Dogs. He formed a friendship with Pauline Fowler, and followed the team to the Isle of Dogs.[10][11] He was attracted to Pauline, and turned up in Walford on 15 September 1987 to see her in the launderette. He met Pauline's husband Arthur, and her sister-in-law Kathy Beale, offering her a deal to sell her knitware. He went back to the Fowlers' house, but got into an argument with Arthur when Arthur asked him to leave.[12] Pauline turned him down when he visited again on 17 September, and he left Walford.[13]

Martin Hunter

Martin Hunter
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Peter Purves
Duration 1987
First appearance 13 October 1987
Last appearance 20 October 1987
Profile
Occupation TV presenter

Martin Hunter was a TV presenter who went to Walford to make a documentary about East End life. He promised to feature Den Watts in the documentary, but James Wilmott-Brown diverted his attention, and introduced Hunter to his chief barmaid Angie Watts, and tried to get the documentary focused on his wine bar, The Dagmar. Wilmott-Brown introduced Hunter to Colin Russell (as one of the new breed of people in Albert Square) and Pauline Fowler (as one of the older type of people in the square).

When the documentary was aired, the residents of Walford were horrified at how Hunter had misrepresented them.[14]

Duncan Boyd

Duncan Boyd
EastEnders character
Portrayed by David Gillespie
Duration 1987–89
First appearance 20 October 1987
Last appearance 27 July 1989
Profile
Occupation Curate

Duncan Boyd, played by David Gillespie, was the curate at the local church. He was first seen in Albert Square in October 1987, when Sharon Watts, who was sick of being made to choose sides between her rowing parents, sought solace at the church. Over subsequent chats, Sharon soon began to feel comfortable enough around Duncan to start relaying her problems and she was overjoyed to finally find someone that listened to her for a change. Over the following months, Sharon found herself leaning on Duncan more and more and she soon began to feel attracted towards him, feelings that were reciprocated by Duncan.

By the end of the year, the two had started seeing each other, much to the shock of Sharon's parents, Den and Angie. Sharon seemed to have fallen head over hills in love and in December she asked Duncan in they could get engaged. Duncan tried to win Den over by informing him of his admirable intentions towards Sharon, and hinting that marriage was a definite possibility in the not too distant future. Den was pessimistic however, and set about trying to upset the relationship by persuading his employee, Donna Ludlow, to flirt with Duncan outrageously, knowing full well that Sharon would catch them in the act. The plan worked, and Sharon was furious to see Duncan sharing a drink with Donna, but unfortunately for Den, their row was short-lived and they patched things up soon enough.

Later in the year, Duncan sparked up a friendship with Lofty Holloway, who would regularly accompany him to youth help groups. This eventually led to Lofty's departure when Duncan set him up with a job as a handyman in a children's home away from the Square.

In late 1988, cracks started to show in Duncan and Sharon's relationship, mainly because Sharon started to begrudge the amount of time Duncan spent on his Christian duties and the many Bible readings he attended with the devout Christian, Dot Cotton. She had also began to grow tired of Duncan's inability to have fun and she started to ponder whether they were really suited to each other after all. Things reached a climax after Duncan persuaded Sharon and her best friend Michelle to house a homeless Donna in their flat. Malicious Donna subsequently tried to come between the friends, and when asked to leave, she refused and claimed tenants rights. Sharon blamed Duncan for the whole mess, and when he was offered a parish in Wiltshire and wanted to proceed with their wedding immediately, Sharon had second thoughts and called off their engagement. Duncan was heartbroken and proceeded to ask her to marry him several more times, before he finally accepted it was over.

Duncan remained in Walford until July 1989, performing priestly duties, including being the priest at Den Watt's memorial service in April, after which he was not seen again.

Gerry Fairweather

Gerry Fairweather
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Jason Watkins
Duration 1987–88
First appearance 17 November 1987
Last appearance 5 January 1988
Profile
Occupation Estate agent

Gerry Fairweather was a yuppie estate agent who used to frequent the Dagmar Winebar. Magda Czajkowski asked him to help her find a property in Walford, but the manageress of the Dagmar, Angie Watts, blamed him and his type for the gentrification of the East End. Gerry often infuriated Angie with sexist and rude remarks, and when he, his brother, and his friends were having their Christmas party in the Dagmar, she snapped and punched Gerry in the face, knocking him to the floor. Gerry threatened to sue the Dagmar, until Angie's daughter Sharon made him see how humiliated he would feel to stand up in court and confess to being beaten by a woman. Gerry never returned to the Dagmar.

Alan McIntyre

Alan McIntyre
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Pip Miller
Duration 1987–89
First appearance 3 December 1987
Last appearance 10 October 1989
Profile
Occupation Landlord

Alan McIntyre first appeared in December 1987 as the downstairs neighbour to Sue and Ali Osman. Alan would play his music extremely loudly at all hours as well as hold unruly parties. The Osmans were left exhausted and irritable from severe lack of sleep. After much pressuring from Sue, Ali was forced to reason with Alan, but Alan refused to take their complaints on board. When the noise continued, the Osmans went down to Alan's flat and threatened to complain to the landlord in order to make him stop, only to find out that Alan was their landlord and that he'd bought their flat.

Things then proceeded to get infinitely worse for the Osmans at the hands of Alan, when their flat was broken into and their carpet was defecated on. Ali and Alan had several fights and Alan often resorted to racial insults.

In 1988 Alan managed to patch up his differences with Ali and he also purchased James Willmott-Brown's house and converted in into flats. He allowed Donna Ludlow to have first choice of one of the flats in exchange for sex.

In October 1989 Ali was going through some money problems, so as always, he turned to gambling to get himself out of debt. However, he picked the wrong opponent in Alan, and after he had a bad lose and was unable to pay his rent, Alan kicked him out of his flat, forcing Ali to return to Cyprus. This was Alan's last appearance.

Brendan Smith

Brendan Smith
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Ian Wilkinson
Duration 1987
Appears on 25 December 1987
Profile

Brendan Smith is the brother of Mary Smith. He lived in Stockport with his parents Chris and Edie. He came to Walford on Christmas Day 1987 to visit his father and niece, Annie, in hospital. After getting drunk, Chris had taken Annie and attempted to drive home to Stockport. However he crashed the car into a wall, and both he and Annie were hospitalised. The Smith family were overjoyed to discover that both Annie and Chris were not seriously harmed.

References

  1. ^ "June Watkins", Walford Web. URL last accessed 2007-04-21.
  2. ^ "June Watkins", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-21.
  3. ^ "Reg Sparrow", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  4. ^ "Mr Sparrow (First name unknown)", Walford Web. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  5. ^ "Oxley", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-21.
  6. ^ "Judith Jacob looks back on Carmel" Walford Gazette. URL last accessed 2006-10-12
  7. ^ "Matilda gets pearl of new role". The Metro. 31 July 2007. http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/59408-matilda-gets-pearl-of-new-role. Retrieved 26 January 2011. 
  8. ^ "EastEnders Thursday 1 January 1998 episode guide", Walford.net. URL last accessed on 2008-05-11.
  9. ^ "Derek Taylor", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  10. ^ "TUE 08-SEP-87", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  11. ^ "Derek", Walford Web. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  12. ^ "TUE 15-SEP-87", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  13. ^ "17-SEP-87", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-04-27.
  14. ^ "In pictures: Celebrity soap cameos", BBC News. URL last accessed 2007-03-15.
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