Danielle Jones is a fictional character from the BBCsoap operaEastEnders, played by Lauren Crace. The character appeared between 18 August 2008 and 3 April 2009. Crace's casting in the role was announced in July 2008, when she was described as a love interest for fellow new character Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan). In October 2008, it was revealed that Danielle was actually the long-lost daughter of established character Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Janus). Crace has disclosed that even she was unaware of this fact upon being cast in the role, but always knew Danielle would only have a short arc. Danielle's feelings were further explored in a segment of the BBC EastEnders homepage entitled Danielle's Diary, documenting the character's thoughts on the storylines she was involved in, while a special episode of EastEnders Revealed entitled "The Secret Mitchell" further explored the character's impact on the show.
Danielle played a small but pivotal role in multiple storylines on the show, which focused on her friendship with local resident Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), her crush on Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan), her adoption secret and seeking to find answers about her missing mother in Albert Square. She was deemed a welcome addition to the soap by members of Telford and Wrekin Council for raising awareness of the town (Telford) the character originates from; however, she was poorly received by The Guardian's Gareth McLean and Grace Dent, and dubbed "Drippy Danielle" by the Daily Mirror's Jane Simon.[1][2] Her final episode was watched by 11.46million viewers, and caused a notable power surge on the National Grid.
Storylines
Danielle arrives in Walford, having left her hometown of Telford and is befriended by local resident Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), who gives her a job on her market clothing stall and offers her the spare room in her family's home. Danielle quickly develops a crush on fellow stall-trader Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan), who leads her on in an attempt to make Stacey jealous, but he helps her get a second job, cleaning at The Queen Victoria public house, where she gets caught in the feud between the pub's landlord Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) and his daughter Ronnie (Samantha Janus). Both try to use Danielle to get information from the other, with Archie persuading Danielle to steal Ronnie's post. Ronnie is furious when she realises, and sacks Danielle after publicly berating her. Danielle is devastated by this, and is later seen clutching a locket containing a photograph of Ronnie, revealing herself to be Ronnie's long-lost daughter, Amy.
It soon transpires that Danielle is the result of a teenage romance between Ronnie and her first boyfriend, Joel Reynolds. Archie disapproved of the pregnancy and put Danielle – named Amy by Ronnie — up for adoption. Danielle was adopted by Lizzie and Andy Jones (Aneirin Hughes). She began trying to locate her birth mother after Lizzie's death in 2007. Following Ronnie's tirade, Danielle tries to leave Albert Square, but Stacey and her family persuade her to stay with them.
In late 2008, Ronnie's sister Roxy (Rita Simons) gives birth to a baby girl who she names Amy, in honour of the child Ronnie thought she had lost, to Danielle's surprise. When Danielle falls out with Stacey and ends up squatting in a flat owned by next-door neighbour Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), Ronnie convinces him not to call the police.
Danielle later breaks down and tells Ronnie that she is pregnant by Paul, a barman she had a one-night stand with. She intended to tell him about her pregnancy until he revealed he has a girlfriend. Ronnie comforts Danielle and contacts Andy, suggesting that he take Danielle home but she resists in favor of staying close to Ronnie. She is dismayed when Ronnie confides in her that having her own child was the biggest mistake of her life. Danielle makes up with Stacey and decides to terminate her pregnancy. She is delighted when Ronnie accompanies her to the clinic but dismayed when she backs out of attending her second appointment. Following her abortion, Danielle visits her family for a while, but soon comes to miss Ronnie and Stacey; she then returns to Walford. Danielle becomes increasingly angry with Ronnie for rejecting her. She decides that she will tell Ronnie who she really is and leave Walford for good but Archie stops her when he learns who she is. Unknown to Danielle, Archie has told Ronnie that her daughter died as an infant, so in order to preserve his story, he convinces Danielle that Ronnie suffers from depression and she should keep quiet until he decides the time is right to make her revelation. Although Danielle continues to press Archie to reveal the truth, he repeatedly puts her off to maintain his lie. Eventually, believing that Archie has told Ronnie about her, Danielle tells her the truth, but Ronnie refuses to believe her. Distraught, Danielle intends to leave Walford, but Ronnie discovers that Archie has been lying, and chases her. They are about to reconcile when Danielle is run over by a car driven by Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks). A tearful Ronnie cradles Danielle and apologises for not believing her, saying that if she had known, she would never have given her up. Danielle passes away in Ronnie's arms as Roxy and Stacey watch on helplessly, leaving Ronnie devastated. Danielle is buried and a grief-stricken Ronnie sings by her grave when alone.
In 2016, Danielle's adoptive brother Gareth arrives in Walford, using the alias Andy Flynn (Jack Derges). He secretly plots revenge on Ronnie, as he believes that she caused Danielle's death. However, when Ronnie discovers his true identity, she tells him that he has not grieved for Danielle properly; he subsequently blames himself, saying he encouraged her to find Ronnie in the first place.
Creation and characterisation
Danielle was created as the long-lost daughter of established character Ronnie Mitchell, and a member of the soap's long-running Mitchell family.[3] Her introduction had been planned from 2007, when story producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins conceived the idea of two new Mitchell sisters, Ronnie and Roxy. Ronnie was depicted as the more detached and icy sister, and a hidden secret was first alluded to eight months after their introduction, when Roxy made a veiled reference to Ronnie's child and a physical fight ensued. Several months later, off-set episodes shot in Weymouth and dubbed "Mitchell Week" by the BBC were aired, during which the audience were introduced to Ronnie and Roxy's father Archie, and learned that Ronnie had given a child up for adoption.[4]
Treadwell-Collins explained that it was necessary to introduce Danielle shortly after this revelation, but in such a manner that she would arrive "under the audience's radar", to preserve the later revelation of her identity as Ronnie's daughter.[4] Lauren Crace, then a third year student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, was cast as Danielle and began filming in June 2008.[5]EastEnders was Crace's first professional acting role, and executive producer Diederick Santer expressed his pleasure that Crace had chosen to make her debut on the show.[6] Upon her introduction, EastEnders's producers attempted to deceive the audience into believing Danielle was nothing more than a new friend for Stacey.[4] Crace herself was only told of Danielle's true identity after her successful audition, though as she only signed a six-month contract with the show, was always aware Danielle would only have a short arc.[7] She stated that some audience members guessed Danielle to be Ronnie's daughter almost as soon as she arrived, and that she found maintaining the secret difficult.[7]
Crace initially portrayed Danielle as being shy and afraid of rejection, though felt that Stacey's friendship and living with the Slater family could have a positive impact on her confidence.[3] Discussing her failure at romantic relationships, Crace assessed that Danielle's eagerness may scare men off.[7] She came to find portraying Danielle depressing, explaining that she was bored by and had doubts about Danielle's constant naivety and passive personality. She suggested to the producers that Danielle should stand up for herself more, which was accepted and adapted into her personality, to the point that by the end of her tenure on the show, Danielle was "not a little mouse any more".[5] Crace's view is that Danielle's Mitchell heritage manifested itself in an inner-strength and ability to "come back fighting", giving her a toughness beneath her "wet and pathetic" personality.[7]
Development
Series writer Simon Ashdown explained that Danielle initially chose to conceal her identity from Ronnie due to her fear of being rejected. He described her as "hurt and broken by her life", and hoping to charm Ronnie into liking her before revealing the truth. Crace observed that Danielle was intrigued by Ronnie and the Mitchells, but also worried that she was too different from them and may be a disappointment to Ronnie. Danielle's pregnancy was used as a plot-device to bring the two closer together. Crace deemed the development "a huge thing" for Danielle, as contrary to her constant rejection, the one person she most desired support from was finally showing her affection.[4] However, Ronnie's failure to attend Danielle's second clinic appointment signified "a step back" for the character, leaving her "hurt and distraught" and less willing to confide the truth in Ronnie than ever.[8]
In the aftermath of her abortion, Danielle was depicted as being increasingly emotionally unstable and angry with Ronnie, believing that she deserved to belong to the Mitchell family. The writers had Archie discover her secret as a test of his character, experimenting with whether he would be despicable enough to conceal the truth. Lamb deemed Danielle "a huge threat" to Archie's position as patriarch of the Mitchell family, explaining why he chose to lie that Ronnie was suffering from depression and Danielle ought not tell her.[4] Danielle accepted the lie, believing it to explain Ronnie's "hot and cold" reaction to her, and attempted to care for Ronnie and help her recover. Crace explained that despite their turbulent relationship, Ronnie was all Danielle had ever wanted.[9] Despite seeing Archie as "a domineering figure", Danielle initially trusted him and believed he would reunite her with her mother when the time was right. However, as time passed she became aware of Archie's "true colours" and grew afraid of him.[10]
The ultimate revelation of Danielle's identity was set at Archie's wedding to Peggy (Barbara Windsor), matriarch of the Mitchell family. Crace deemed the wedding "the perfect opportunity" for the storyline to conclude,[7] and Santer explained: "Weddings are great because they bring the community together. A wedding gives you a stage, it gives you an event, the context to play things out, so it felt right that these big Mitchell stories would collide at Peggy's wedding."[4] Writer James Payne concurred that setting the reveal at the wedding helped to make the moment "as dramatic and sensational" as it could possibly be.[4] The episode saw Danielle announce that she was Ronnie's daughter in front of the entire wedding reception party, in what Crace has named her favourite scene on the show.[7] She opined that the disbelief Danielle was faced with was "heartbreaking" and served to highlight the fact that "she came as the outsider and she still is the outsider because no one steps in to help her".[4]
Danielle was killed off minutes after revealing her true identity to Ronnie, dying in her mother's arms. Although different outcomes to the storyline were considered, Santer explained that Danielle dying best preserved Ronnie's status as EastEnders' "tragic heroine character".[4] Treadwell-Collins felt that to allow Ronnie to have her daughter, the "one thing that is key to her character" would serve to progressively weaken her character, and Santer agreed that while it may initially be touching, ultimately, the relationship would become boring.[4] The scene in which Danielle dies was filmed during winter, but as it was set in early April, snow had to be cleared away from the set before filming could commence. A body double was used for the moment Danielle was run over.[7] Although sad to leave, Crace felt that the story's conclusion was the right one, and was glad that Ronnie and Danielle finally shared a brief moment in the end, explaining: "It was so important that that tender moment was finally found, because that's all people wanted. It's all Danielle wanted, and it's all Ronnie wants." Crace concluded: "I think Danielle will leave quite a big mark on the Square and on the people in the Square – probably a bigger mark than she did when she was alive.[4]
News of Danielle's death was subject to a media embargo, although several newspapers and magazines including the Radio Times leaked news of Crace's exit in advance of the event. Digital Spy's Kris Green reported that most of the online EastEnders community had anticipated the character's exit from the soap beforehand, some as early as January 2009.[11]
Related media
The BBC used viral promotion on the EastEnders homepage to further develop the character of Danielle. A new section named Danielle's Diary was launched, encompassing events in the show from 6 October 2008 onwards, written in diary style from Danielle's point of view. Insight was given into the character's thoughts and feelings on the events surrounding her each week, beginning with the introduction: "Bit new to all this. Need some way to clear my head though. Can't really talk to Stace. Or Callum. Or anyone. Maybe if I write it all down, my head won't explode... Anyway, welcome to my life in Walford."[12]
"Wow. As much as a loose cannon Roxy is... she has a way with words. She told me not to let Ronnie walk over me... "get in her face. It's what you'd do if you were a Mitchell!" I am a Mitchell! My blood boiled. She was right! Get in R's face. Tell her. Why should she get off lightly? Then I'll leave – I'LL REJECT HER, just like she rejected me. Tell that woman just what she's done to me! I ran to the Vic. I didn't care if I fell over... I just ran for my life. @ 22.05
In this manner, viewers were able to keep up with the character during her temporary absence from the show in February 2009, when she returned home to Telford following her abortion: "Back in Dawley. Feels strange to be away from Stacey... away from R&R... away from Ronnie. Been sleeping a lot – so tired. When I was younger I never dreamt that I'd go through all of this. Stace keeps ringing, but I can't speak to anyone. I can't even listen to my voicemail",[14] and were privy to Danielle's internal worries about her relationship with Ronnie: "It's like I scare R. It was as though she scared herself, as she actually admitted that she cared. For about ten seconds I felt close to her again. Like watching the sun appear from behind a cloud... feeling the warmth across your skin again. But, then it disappears as another cloud sweeps over it."[15] The final entry, dated minutes before Danielle's on-screen death, reads: "All I ever wanted was for mum to look at me with love in her eyes. To call me her baby. To tell me she loved me. I have to leave now. I have to go back to Telford. Goodbye Walford."[16] After the character had been killed off, the diary format gave way to a wall of memorial messages, supposedly penned by other EastEnders characters, including Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald), Lucy Beale (Melissa Suffield), Callum and Stacey.[17]
Reception
Miles Hosken, a former mayor of Telford, welcomed the choice to give Danielle a Telford background due to the national exposure it gave the area. Sarah Raper, chief executive of economic development company Transforming Telford, commented: "We hope the new character will portray Telford in a positive light and increase national awareness of the town". Councillor Eric Carter, Telford and Wrekin Council cabinet member for regeneration, added: "There are a lot of people working to put Telford on the map and this will help".[18]
The Daily Mirror sympathised with Danielle over the storyline which saw her manipulated by Archie, deeming it one of the more interesting EastEnders plot strands.[19] Gareth McLean of The Guardian's described Danielle as a "wet weekend incarnate", criticising the drawn out nature of the secret Mitchell storyline.[20] Fellow Guardian critic Grace Dent was similarly critical of the storyline, particularly the scripting.[21] The Daily Mirror's Tony Stewart wrote that "when a downcast Danielle walks into a room, it's like all the lights have been switched off",[22] and his colleague Jane Simon christened the character "Drippy Danielle",[1][2] writing that "If she's half Mitchell, her father must have been a marshmallow."[23]
Discussing the character's death, Digital Spy's Kris Green praised Crace's acting. He compared Danielle's revelation that Ronnie was her mother to the EastEnders storyline several years previously, when Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) revealed she was actually the mother of her supposed sister Zoe (Michelle Ryan). Green opined: "Although it didn't quite capture the magic of [the Kat-Zoe scene] it definitely comes an extremely close second." He concluded: "I'd probably go as far as to say that it's one of the best episodes EastEnders has produced in a long time".[11] The episode was selected as recommended viewing by The Guardian's Sarah Dempster.[24] Simon called it "the EastEnders episode of the year", though was again critical of Danielle, writing: "As a nation we've been driven mad by Danielle screwing up her forehead, shrugging her shoulders and walking around like a wide eyed simpleton. She isn't the first person in the world to track down their biological mother and while it's seldom easy, I can't imagine it's ever been quite so hard as Danielle has made it."[25] Writing for The Times, Tim Teeman was critical of the length of time it took for the storyline to conclude, calling it "the most drawn-out 'reveal' in soapland". He deemed Ashdown's scripting of Danielle's exit to be "mad crescendo after mad crescendo", and the storyline as a whole "implausible", concluding that by the time Danielle died in Ronnie's arms: "EastEnders had hit the misery mother lode."[26]
Crace was pleased with public reaction to the mother-daughter storyline, commenting prior to the reveal: "Everyone seems desperate to know why Danielle hasn't told Ronnie yet, so I'm taking that as a sign they're enjoying the story. Viewers are always telling me that they love it when Danielle and Ronnie have a scene together – I think they're on the edge of their seats, waiting to see when Danielle is finally going to admit the truth about her identity."[9] Danielle's death received a mixed reaction from viewers.[27] The decision was defended by Santer, who stated: "We acknowledge that we didn't deliver the happy ending that many of the audience may have been hoping for, and that for some people this was upsetting. We hope viewers understand that our aim is to deliver the best drama. That doesn't always lead to a happy ending. EastEnders – like all good drama – contains a balance of storylines, both happy and sad. We're proud of the episode, the storyline which built up to it and the way the audience have engaged with it."[28] Following Danielle's final episode, regulator Ofcom confirmed they had received a number of complaints from the public about the "violent nature of the show and the horrific death at the end", and the fact it was broadcast before the 9p.m. watershed.[29]
Danielle's final episode was watched by an average of 11.46million viewers,[30] and attaining a 48.3% audience share.[31] A further 1.2million viewers watched the episode's repeat on BBC Three later that evening.[32] The high ratings caused a power surge more than double the national average, seeing a grid surge of 1270MW compared to the 550MW usually experienced during EastEnders episodes. A National Grid spokeswoman commented that the surge was "equivalent to around half a million kettles being switched on at once."[33]
Charlie Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Derek Martin. Charlie's first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2000. He was played by Jason McGregor in flashbacks broadcast in 2001 and Richie Daysh in a 2018 flashback. He also makes a cameo appearance in the second series of the spin-off EastEnders: E20.
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.
Bradley Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Charlie Clements. He made his first appearance on screen on 24 January 2006 and last appeared on 22 February 2010 after he was killed-off in the show's live 25th anniversary. Clements won multiple awards for his portrayal.
Sean Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Robert Kazinsky, who made his first appearance on 22 August 2006. Sean's existence was revealed on 9 December 2005 when his sister Stacey Slater returns to Walford after their mother, Jean, attempts suicide. It was announced on 18 January 2008 that Kazinsky would be leaving the show, and he made his final appearance on 1 January 2009. He returned for a brief stint on 26 April 2019, and departed again on 6 May 2019. Kazinsky returned again for one-off appearances on 1 November 2021 and 7 April 2022.
Roxanne Lizette "Roxy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Rita Simons. Roxy arrived in Walford with her sister Ronnie on 24 July 2007 and decides to move permanently to Walford from Ibiza where they ran a bar together. Roxy is the younger of the two sisters. She is described as the "fire", as opposed to Ronnie's "ice". Simons took a temporary hiatus in 2016, with Roxy off screen from 1 January until 4 May 2016. Following the announcement that Womack would be leaving the series, Simons' departure was also announced. Roxy departed the series in scenes broadcast on 1 January 2017, when she drowned in a hotel swimming pool along with Ronnie. Simons returned in 2019 to record a voiceover as Roxy, which was broadcast on 3 May 2019. A younger version of Roxy, played by Elodie de Rohan Willner, appeared in a flashback episode broadcast on 5 September 2022, which focuses on the Mitchell family in the 1970s. Simons reprised her role on 27 April 2023 for a one-off appearance as a hallucination to her daughter, Amy Mitchell.
Veronica Elizabeth "Ronnie" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Samantha Womack. She and her younger sister Roxy Mitchell were introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer in July 2007. Ronnie is described as the "ice" to Roxy's "fire". As an extension to the already established Mitchell family, Ronnie quickly became a prominent character, taking over the square’s local nightclub. She later formed an on-off relationship with her business partner, Jack Branning.
Archibald Lionel "Archie" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Larry Lamb. He first appeared on 8 July 2008 as a newest member of the Mitchell family—who had first appeared on the soap in 1990—and became the show's main antagonist until the character was killed-off on Christmas Day 2009; with Archie making his last appearance as a corpse on 28 December 2009 and later serving as a posthumous impact throughout the majority of 2010, which involves making a brief voice appearance on 19 July 2010 on a family video tape overheard by his ex-wife Glenda and their two daughters Ronnie and Roxy respectively.
Suzy Branning is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Julie Christian-Young for a brief appearance in April 1996, and Maggie O'Neill in 2008, who began filming in May that year, and she appeared from 8 July to 26 December 2008. Soon after her reintroduction in 2008, Suzy begins a relationship with Phil Mitchell and enters into a rivalry with Phil's other love interest Shirley Carter. She schemes to con Phil out of his money and after her intentions are discovered, Suzy leaves Walford.
"The Secret Mitchell" was a storyline in the BBC soap opera EastEnders involving the characters of Ronnie Mitchell and Danielle Jones. The build-up to the storyline began in the episode broadcast on 18 August 2008 in which Danielle was introduced as a friend for Stacey Slater and a love interest for Callum Monks. The storyline gained more pace in October 2008 when it was revealed that Danielle was actually the daughter of Ronnie and that she came to Walford to find her.
Ryan Malloy is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Neil McDermott. From his arrival on 28 April 2009, the character remained a mystery in the show for a number of months, until he was revealed as the half-brother of established character, Whitney Dean. Ryan departed on 26 August 2011, and made a surprise guest appearance on 2 September 2014. Following his former lover, Stacey Slater, being sectioned in the episode that aired on 22 January 2016, he then made a surprise cameo for a short stint to look after his daughter Lily Slater, before departing again on 11 February 2016. Seven months later, Ryan returned on 20 September 2016 after he was released from prison. Ryan returned again on 4 November for Whitney and Lee Carter's wedding. On 28 January 2023, it was announced that Ryan would return to EastEnders for a brief stint in February. He returned on 13 February 2023 and departed once again on 16 February 2023.
Glenda Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Glynis Barber. The character first appeared in the programme on 7 January 2010. She was axed in February 2011, departing on 8 March 2011. She later returned for two episodes in January 2016 and three in May 2016. She made an unannounced return on the 30 December 2016 episode for the departures of her two daughters. She made her second departure from the show on 10 February 2017. Glenda has been described as "complex", "vulnerable"," "demure, dynamic and assured". She is the former wife of Archie Mitchell ; and mother of both her son Danny and Archie's two daughters Ronnie and Roxy.
Danny Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by soap newcomer Liam Bergin, who appeared from 21 January 2010 to 18 June 2010. He, along with his mother Glenda, made a previously unannounced return on 30 December 2016, before departing again on 20 January 2017.
"Who Killed Archie?" is a storyline from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It began on 25 December 2009, Christmas Day, when the character Archie Mitchell, played by Larry Lamb, was murdered by an unseen person. Events leading up to and following the murder put several characters in the frame, in the style of a Whodunit mystery. The culprit was kept a tight secret within the production crew as well, with only seven people knowing the identity of the killer. The murderer was revealed as Stacey Slater during a live episode titled "EastEnders Live", broadcast on 19 February 2010, the show's 25th anniversary. Turner was told thirty minutes before the broadcast that Stacey was the killer, and actors rehearsed several possible endings. Finally, a two-hander episode between Stacey and her ex-lover Max Branning on 26 March 2010 explained how she killed Archie - who had previously been the show's main antagonist prior to the character's death and murder storyline.
"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.
"Queen Vic Fire Week" is a group of four episodes of the BBC soap opera EastEnders, broadcast between 6 and 10 September 2010 on BBC One. The episodes included a fire at The Queen Victoria public house, also known as The Queen Vic or The Vic, and the departure of the character Peggy Mitchell, portrayed by Barbara Windsor, who left the series after sixteen years in the role. During the episodes, Peggy—the pub landlady—has her crack cocaine-addicted son Phil imprisoned in The Queen Victoria, forcing him to go cold turkey. She later learns that her deceased husband Archie was murdered by the person he raped: Stacey Branning. Before she can report Stacey to the police, Phil escapes and sets the pub on fire. Stacey and her infant daughter Lily are trapped inside, but are rescued by her lover Ryan Malloy – prompting Stacey to reveal to him that he is Lily's father. In light of the incident, Peggy decides against reporting Stacey for Lily's sake. She then plans to make a fresh start, bidding her family goodbye and leaving Walford.
Manda Best is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Josie Lawrence. Manda was introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer, and made her first appearance on 6 March 2009 and her last on 12 February 2010.
Kirsty "Dotty" Cotton is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Molly Conlin from 2008 to 2010 and Milly Zero from 2019 to 2022. She was introduced on 26 December 2008 as the daughter of established character Nick Cotton. Nick uses Dotty as his partner-in-crime; they plan to kill his mother Dot Branning and inherit the money from her will. She and Dot subsequently become close after Dotty sabotages Nick's murder attempt at the last minute. In her final storyline which aired on 23 February 2010, she left with her mother Sandy, who she believed died. On 3 October 2019, Dotty returned, with the role recast to Milly Zero. In December 2021, Sandy tells her that she is not Nick's daughter and that her father is Tom "Rocky" Cotton. However, in September 2022, this is revealed to be a lie. On 13 November 2022, it was announced that Zero had quit the show and Dotty left on 16 December 2022.
DCI Jill Marsden is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Stanton. She made her first appearance on 5 March 2001 investigating the shooting of Phil Mitchell, which was part of the whodunit storyline "Who Shot Phil?". Marsden returned in 2002, 2003 and 2009. She returned on 5 January 2012 for her third whodunit storyline, "Who's Stalking Phil?", departing four months later on 10 May 2012. Marsden returned for two episodes on 17 August 2012 to conclude the latter storyline. On 16 July 2015, she returned for part of the "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" whodunit storyline.
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