Shana Frances Swash is an English actress, and the sister of actor and television presenter Joe Swash. She is best known for playing Demi Miller in the long-running BBC One soap opera EastEnders from 2004 to 2006.
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between the first episode on 19 February 1985 and 25 December 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer Julia Smith as one of EastEnders' original characters. She made her debut in the soap's first episode on 19 February 1985, and remained for twenty-one years and ten months, making her the second-longest-running original character to appear continuously, surpassed only by her nephew, Ian Beale. Since then, she has been surpassed by Letitia Dean who plays Sharon Watts.
Sonia Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on 2 December 1993 and she departed on 2 February 2007. She returned briefly in 2010 along with other members of the Jackson family, and re-appeared in the soap from 8 to 18 February 2010 and again in January 2011. Sonia returned as a permanent character on 14 January 2014, as part of a storyline that saw her mother Carol Jackson develop breast cancer. Cassidy took maternity leave in 2016 and Sonia left on 20 September 2016 for her dream job in Kettering. Cassidy made two guest stints during her maternity leave, on 25 December 2016 via webcam and for a three episode arc from 14 to 18 April 2017. She returned full-time on 27 June 2017. On 29 December 2020, it was announced that Cassidy would take an extended break from the show, with Sonia set to leave the Square to return in spring 2021. She departed on 8 January and returned on 16 April.
Mickey Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Joe Swash. He made his first appearance on 15 April 2003. Introduced as a guest character, Mickey proved popular and was turned into a regular by executive producer Louise Berridge. The character is portrayed as a wheeler-dealer, involved in various money-making scams. A family was built around the character in 2004 when the other Millers moved to Albert Square. It was announced on 25 February 2008 that the characters of Mickey and his stepfather Keith had been axed by EastEnders' executive producer Diederick Santer. Mickey left on 1 July 2008. In July 2011, it was announced Swash would reprise his role for the departure storyline of his screen brother Darren and appeared for two episodes on 19 and 20 September 2011.
Rosie Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gerry Cowper. Her first appearance was 6 September 2004 and she was axed in 2006, with her final scenes airing July 2006.
Dawn Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005. It was reported on 26 March 2009 that Tointon and co-star Ricky Groves, who plays Garry Hobbs, would be written out of the soap and the character made her final appearance on 27 August 2009. Dawn has been described as a "tart with a heart" character. In 2007, the character was involved in a storyline where Dawn was kidnapped and held hostage by Dr. May Wright and Rob Minter ; their intention being to give her a forced caesarean section and take the baby. Originally, the storyline would have included a child abduction; however, due to the real-life suspected kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, the BBC removed the child abduction from the scripts.
Keith Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Spinx. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004. Throughout his tenure, he was shown to be a lazy, unmotivated and jobless character who sits around watching television all day.
Darren Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Charlie G. Hawkins. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004 and departed in the episode broadcast on 20 September 2011.
Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992 by producer Leonard Lewis, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylines about teenage homelessness, child abuse and recreational drug taking. Her relationship with Aidan Brosnan was one of the prominent storylines featured in 1993. Due to the character's antagonistic behaviour, it has been suggested that Mandy was one of the most hated characters on television during her initial tenure. The character appeared in a special episode of Doctor Who in 1993, which was set in the fictional soap setting of Walford. Stapleton left the role and Mandy departed on-screen on 13 January 1994. Stapleton returned to the role for a nine-month stint on 29 August 2011, and left again on 31 May 2012.
Aidan Brosnan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sean Maguire between 14 January and 28 December 1993. A popular character, Aidan is involved in storylines about homelessness, drug-abuse and suicide. His relationship with the character Mandy Salter is a dominant storyline in the serial throughout 1993.
Rob Minter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Stuart Laing. He made his first appearance on 21 June 2006. Of his new role, Stuart said: "I am really excited about joining EastEnders and am thrilled to be working with the cast – I can’t wait to get stuck in." It was announced on 15 June 2007 he would leave the show at the end of his current storyline. Laing's contract was initially for a few episodes but was soon extended to six months and stayed on for a year in total and departed on 25 June 2007. He is the husband of May Wright and father of Dawn Swann's daughter, Summer Swann.
Carmel Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Judith Jacob from 5 June 1986 to 24 August 1989. Carmel, a health visitor, was initially introduced in a recurring, minor role in 1986, when she is credited as "health visitor". Producers saw potential in the character, and script writers were asked to develop more prominent storylines, and Carmel became a regular character. She is portrayed as a well-meaning, caring individual who is forever getting everyone's problems dumped on her. She is featured in storylines about domestic violence and various family and career upsets. Jacob remained in the role until 1989, when she opted to leave. Off-screen, the character was the subject of criticism regarding the portrayal of her profession from the Health Visitors Association.
Willy Roper is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Tudor Barnes. The character appears on-screen in episodes originally broadcast between 1 June 1995 and 20 June 1996.
In 1997, the BBC soap opera EastEnders broadcast three singular transmissions that were filmed on location in Dublin, Ireland. The episodes involved the Fowler and Beale family travelling from London to Ireland to meet their long-lost relatives. The episodes were badly received by viewers and heavily criticised in the media. The BBC was inundated with complaints from angry viewers from Ireland for negative stereotyping, portraying Irish people as "dirty, rude, and drunk". Complaints were made by the Irish Embassy and there were fears that the episodes would have a negative effect on the Irish tourist trade. The BBC was forced to issue an apology for causing offence.
Lucy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The character was played by Eva Brittin-Snell, Casey Anne Rothery, Melissa Suffield, and Hetti Bywater. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the baby daughter of Ian and Cindy Beale. She was the twin sister of Peter Beale, and had three half siblings, older brother Steven Beale, younger sister Cindy Williams and younger brother Bobby Beale.
Sasha Bezmel is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Demi Harman. The actress relocated to Sydney from Brisbane for filming and she stated that winning the role was a dream come true. Harman told a reporter that her character forced changes within herself, which she had difficulty adjusting to. Harman made her first screen appearance as Sasha during the episode broadcast on 31 August 2011. Harman decided to leave the show in 2014 and filmed her final scenes in October. Sasha made her official departure on 1 April 2015.
