Janine Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, introduced in 1989. The character was played by Rebecca Michael from 1989 to 1993, Alexia Demetriou from 1993 to 1996, and Charlie Brooks from 1999 to 2022. Brooks initially departed on 7 May 2004. She returned for a three episode guest stint in April 2008 before returning permanently on 18 December of that year. Brooks later took a break from September 2012 until April 2013, then departed again on 20 March 2014. In April 2021, it was announced that Brooks would reprise the role once again and return later in the year. She returned on 6 September 2021. It was announced on 24 September 2022 that Brooks had only agreed to reprise the role for 12 months and would depart again at the conclusion of her storyline, with her final scenes airing on 26 December 2022.
Stacey Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Lacey Turner. She first appears in episode 2826, originally broadcast on 1 November 2004. The character is introduced as a feisty and troublesome teenager and extension to the already established Slater family. She was created by scriptwriter Tony Jordan with Turner in mind. Producers explored the character's backstory with the introduction of her mother, Jean Slater, who has bipolar disorder. They then paired Stacey with Bradley Branning and writers developed a series of problems for their marriage, including an abortion and Stacey's scandalous affair with Bradley's father, Max Branning. In 2009, the character was placed in an issue-led storyline when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder; the show worked with various charities to develop the story. Writers also incorporated Stacey in the "Who Killed Archie?" plot and revealed her as his killer in a live episode, which was followed by a two-hander episode between Stacey and Max. Stacey became pregnant by Ryan Malloy and gave birth to their daughter Lily. This led to a feud between Stacey, and Ryan's wife Janine Malloy, and culminated in Stacey fleeing Walford on the episode broadcast on 25 December 2010, to avoid imprisonment after Janine stabbed herself and framed Stacey for attempted murder. Turner's return was announced on 19 December 2013, and Stacey reappears in the episode originally broadcast on 7 February 2014 before departing again on 24 March 2014. She made a permanent return on 1 September 2014.
Diane Carol Richards, known professionally as Diane Parish, is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera EastEnders since 2006.
Jean Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Wright. Her first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2004. Having only been introduced for one episode, Wright was reintroduced for four more episodes the following year and became more of a regular character in the following two years. The character is introduced as the mother of Stacey Slater who suffers with bipolar disorder. Her disorder strains her relationship with her children, Stacey and Sean Slater. Wright researched the disorder to prepare for the role. In April 2010, it was announced that Jean would be written out of the series, however, Wright was awarded a reprieve in late 2010. Jean departed on 13 January 2011 and returned on 29 March 2011. Wright announced her intentions to leave the series in July 2013, and Jean departed on 17 September 2013. Following her departure, Wright reprised the role for 15 episodes between 2014 and 2017. In December 2017, it was announced that Jean would be reintroduced as a regular character, along with Kat Slater and Mo Harris. She returned on 20 March 2018. On 11 December 2023, Wright appeared in her 1,000th episode as Jean.
Gillian Wright is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Jean Slater on the BBC soap opera EastEnders since 2004, for which she has won numerous awards. She previously worked as a drama teacher and a theatre director before occupying acting roles.
Ricky Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest-running male protagonists to feature in EastEnders. Owen originally left the role in 2000 to pursue a music career. However, he reprised the role in 2002 before being axed by producer Louise Berridge in 2004. In 2008, producer Diederick Santer introduced the character for a third time, along with his wife Bianca Jackson. Ricky is portrayed as unintelligent, simplistic, easily led and bossed around by dominant personalities. On 26 February 2011, it was announced that Owen would take a temporary break from the show. The character exited on 19 July 2011, returning five months later on 13 December 2011. Ricky left EastEnders on 17 January 2012. Ricky returned to EastEnders on 20 June 2012 for the wedding of his sister, Janine Butcher, before departing for the final time on 29 June 2012. In April 2016 he had voiced his interest in returning to EastEnders during an appearance on Celebrity Juice. He reprised his role as Ricky for an eight-week stint from 1 December 2022 to 26 January 2023.
Diane Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Lawrence. Diane appeared as a regular character between 1988 and 1991, when Lawrence decided to leave. The character made several brief returns in 1993, 1994, and 1997. In 2008, she returned for her father Frank Butcher's funeral, and on 20 June 2012 she returned for her sister Janine Butcher's wedding, departing on 29 June 2012.
Sophie Lawrence is an English actress and singer. She played the role of Diane Butcher in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991, making subsequent guest appearances in 1993, 1994, 1997, 2008 and 2012. In 1991, Lawrence achieved a top 30 hit in the UK single's chart with her cover of Donna Summer's hit single, "Love's Unkind". Since 2001, she has been most active on stage in musical theatre and pantomime.
Tameka Lydia Empson is an English actress and comedian. She appeared as one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non-Blondes. In 2009, she began portraying the role of Kim Fox in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Maisie Louise Collender Smith is an English actress and singer. She appeared in the feature film The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and played the regular role of Tiffany Butcher in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2008 to 2014. In November 2016, Smith temporarily returned to EastEnders for a guest stint, before making a full-time return in January 2018. In October 2021 it was announced that she would once again be leaving EastEnders and her final scenes aired in December of that year; she made a one-off appearance in March 2022 to aid the departure of Keegan Baker. In 2020, she competed in the eighteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing alongside partner Gorka Marquez, reaching the final but losing out to Bill Bailey.
"EastEndersLive" is a live episode of the British television soap opera EastEnders, broadcast on BBC One on 19 February 2010. It was also simulcast to Irish viewers on RTÉ One. The episode was commissioned as part of the show's 25th anniversary celebrations, and was the first EastEnders episode to be broadcast live. It was the series' 3,952nd episode, and was written by Simon Ashdown, directed by Clive Arnold and produced by Diederick Santer. The episode concludes a "Whodunit" storyline "Who Killed Archie?", about the murder of Archie Mitchell, revealing his killer to be Stacey Slater. It also sees the exit of Charlie Clements as Stacey's husband Bradley Branning, who dies after falling from the roof of The Queen Victoria public house.
Michael Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve John Shepherd. The character is a second cousin once removed of Alfie Moon, and first appears on 1 October 2010 after Alfie's return. He is also the father to Tommy Moon, whose mother is Alfie's wife Kat Moon. Michael is later joined by his father Eddie Moon and half brothers Tyler Moon and Anthony Moon.
Heather Jean Chasen was an English actress, known for her roles in soap operas; playing Valerie Pollard in the ITV soap opera, Crossroads, from 1982 to 1986 and guest roles in Doctors, Holby City and Family Affairs. Chasen also played many roles in BBC Radio 2's The Navy Lark from 1959 to 1977, and appeared in the television series Marked Personal from 1973 to 1974. She played the recurring role of Lydia Simmonds in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role which received positive reviews from critics and EastEnders crew and cast members. Furthermore, she appeared extensively in theatre productions and film; in 2012, she appeared in a film version of Les Misérables.
Lydia Simmonds is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, initially played by Margaret Tyzack and then by Heather Chasen. She is the maternal grandmother of Ricky and Janine Butcher. She made her debut on April 5, 2011, was portrayed by Tyzack, who left the show for health reasons on April 13, and appeared as Lydia in three episodes before dying on June 25, 2011. Chasen appeared in the role from 21 April. The character was killed-off and Chasen made her last appearance on 13 June 2011, and, though not credited for it, did a voice-over for the 14 June episode. Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood later said that Lydia's storyline was perfect and that Chasen made the part of Lydia her own.
Joseph "Joey" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Witts. Introduced on 22 June 2012 by producer Bryan Kirkwood, Joey is the estranged son of established character Derek Branning and the brother of Alice Branning. Joey was featured in storylines such as a problematic relationship with his father due to his absence in his life, and a sexual relationship with his first cousin Lauren Branning. Joey and Lauren's relationship was one of the prominent storylines featured throughout 2012 and 2013. He also had relationships with Lucy Beale, Whitney Dean and Janine Butcher.
Alice Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jasmyn Banks. Alice is the daughter of Derek Branning. She made her first appearance on 10 May 2012. The character and casting was announced on 14 April 2012 with executive producer Lorraine Newman stating that Alice will allow the audience to see a softer side to Derek. Banks also stated that Alice will allow viewers to see a "lovely" side to Derek. The Daily Mirror praised the character for revealing herself as Derek's daughter on her first appearance, comparing her to Danielle Jones after she kept her identity to her mother Ronnie Mitchell a secret for months and then dying minutes after revealing herself. Another critic from the Daily Mirror said that Alice has had a "colossal impact" on Derek. In September 2013, it was announced that Banks would be leaving the show as part of Michael Moon's exit storyline. She departed on 24 December 2013, after being wrongly arrested for Michael's murder.
Bhavna Jayanty Limbachia is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Alia Khan in the BBC comedy Citizen Khan (2012–2016) and Rana Habeeb in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2016–2019).
Charles Alexander De Melo is a British actor. From 2017 to 2022, he portrayed the role of Imran Habeeb on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, for which he was nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Leading Performer.
