Peggy Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared in the episode broadcast on 30 April 1991, featuring in 10 episodes. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast to Barbara Windsor, who made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 7 November 1994. Peggy became a regular character, and Windsor played the role until she was forced to take a long break due to poor health and departed on 23 May 2003. She returned for two episodes broadcast on 16 and 17 September 2004, before rejoining as a regular character on 8 September 2005. Windsor announced in October 2009 that she would be leaving the show and departed on 10 September 2010. Windsor returned to the show for guest appearances on 20 September 2013, 25 September 2014, 17 February 2015 and 15 January 2016. She then appeared in six episodes between 9 and 17 May 2016, where the character was killed off. Her voice is last heard in the following episode, on 19 May 2016. Peggy's funeral aired on 4 July 2016. An archived recording of her voice was heard on 25 January 2022. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that Peggy would feature in a flashback episode set in 1979, alongside her husband Eric and their children Phil, Grant and Sam. Jaime Winstone played the role of Peggy for this special episode, which aired on 5 September 2022.
Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made brief returns to the role in 1986 and 1987. Scarboro died by suicide in April 1988 and subsequently Mark was recast two years later on his return, with former Grange Hill regular Todd Carty taking on the role. From this point the character was a permanent fixture in the series and Carty remained in the role until the character was written out of the series in early 2003.
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.
Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holland, one of the creators of EastEnders; he was based on a member of Holland's family. Pete is featured in the soap for eight years as the local fruit and veg trader of Albert Square; he is a member of the original focal clan in the serial, the Beales and Fowlers. Pete is portrayed as a macho and somewhat insensitive individual who struggles to cope with emotion. Pete was axed from the soap in 1993 and departed in May that year after over eight years on-screen. The character was killed off-screen later that year, following Peter Dean's public criticism of the BBC.
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.
David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael French. David originally appeared from 23 December 1993 to 21 November 1996. He returned to the show on 1 January 2012 and departed two weeks later on 13 January. French returned to the role on 26 September 2013. David has been involved in various storylines, such as his troubled and dysfunctional reconciliation with his biological children Bianca Jackson and Joe Wicks, his volatile and equally dysfunctional relationship with his mother Pat Butcher, an affair with his sister-in-law Cindy Beale, reuniting with Carol Jackson and struggling to cope with her diagnosis of breast cancer. On 17 May 2014, it was announced that French had once again decided to leave the show. David last appeared on 30 May 2014, after his relationship with Carol broke down. In July 2024, it was announced that French would be reprising the role for a short stint after ten years away, with David returning on 3 October 2024 and departing a week later on [[10 October 2024.
Dean Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Matt Di Angelo. He made his first appearance on 2 January 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that the characters of Deano and his sister Carly Wicks were being axed by executive producer Diederick Santer. Deano made his final appearance on 7 February 2008. On 15 January 2014, it was announced that Deano, now called Dean, would be returning and he first reappeared on 11 April of that year. Di Angelo took a three-month break from the soap from January to April 2015, with a one-off appearance in February to tie in with the show's 30th anniversary celebrations. In October 2015, it was announced that Di Angelo would leave the show in early 2016. The character is arrested for attempted rape with his final scenes set in court airing on 4 and 5 February 2016. On 19 August 2016, Dean is acquitted of attempted rape after standing trial off-screen. On 30 October 2023, Di Angelo made an unannounced return as Dean. On 15 July 2024, it was announced Di Angelo had finished filming with the show and Dean departed on 4 September 2024.
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.
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.
Nigel Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Bradley from 1992 to 1998. Introduced in 1992 by Leonard Lewis, the character was incorporated gradually and brought back as a regular following a brief stint due to a popular reception. He is depicted as a lovable loser and a nerd. Bradley quit the role and Nigel was written out of the serial in April 1998 and was given a happy ending. The door was left open for a possible future return.
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.
Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another character, Mark Fowler; Mark's actor, David Scarboro, had left the serial prematurely due to personal problems. Wicksy was the soap's first male pin-up.
Simon Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Andrew Lynford. Simon is introduced in 1996 as the homosexual brother of Tiffany Mitchell. His relationship with the bisexual character Tony Hills featured a gay kiss that caused controversy in the UK; numerous complaints were made because of its broadcasting. Simon remained in the serial until 1999, at which time it was mutually agreed between Lynford and executive producer Matthew Robinson, that the character had run its course. The character was given a happy ending, reuniting with his former boyfriend Tony to travel Europe.
Lorraine Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jacqueline Leonard between 2 April 1996 and 14 November 1997.
Nellie Ellis is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Elizabeth Kelly. Nellie is introduced as the interfering relative of Pauline Fowler in 1993 and appears regularly until 1998. She makes a further appearance in 2000 for the funeral of Ethel Skinner. She moves in with the Fowlers in early 1994, and appears to be extremely annoying and interfering. However, she proves useful in getting Michelle Fowler's money back from Frank Butcher, who had unwittingly sold Michelle a stolen Austin Metro, which was subsequently apprehended by the police.
Mo Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She is introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's elderly mother. She is portrayed as a battle-axe, tough and interfering. Her most notable storyline first aired in 1990, when the character is used to portray descent into Alzheimer's disease. Doré opted to leave the serial that same year; Mo was written out of the soap making her last appearance in November. Mo was killed off in 1992, but her death was off-screen.
Joey Rainbow is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Alex O'Han. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 June 1996. O'Han joined the serial while he was still in high school and was assisted by an on-set tutor. His decision to quit the serial three years later was based on the decision to concentrate on his education. Joey departed on 11 May 1999.
Episode 6994 of the British soap opera EastEnders aired on 10 October 2024. It was originally released on BBC iPlayer and released on BBC One later that day. The episode revolved around the aftermath of David Wicks finding out about Cindy Beale's affair with Junior Knight, and the episode sees David and Cindy discuss their past relationship. The episode also sees Junior ask his father, George Knight, love advice. This was the final episode in French's week-long guest stint as David, with the episode further exploring David's relationships with Cindy and his daughter Bianca Jackson. Both Collins and Palmer were happy to work with French again. In addition to David's departure, the episode also marked the cameo return of David's son Joe Wicks, which was not announced prior to the broadcast, and the brief appearance of Joe's daughter Holly. The episode ends on a Cliffhanger where it is revealed that Cindy's admission that she is having an affair with Junior and that she is still in love with George has been recorded. Joe's surprise return was well-received by viewers and critics.
