| Steve Elliot | |||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||
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| Portrayed by | Mark Monero | ||||
| Duration | 1991–1996 | ||||
| First appearance | Episode 700 22 October 1991 | ||||
| Last appearance | Episode 1249 12 February 1996 | ||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||
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Steve Elliot is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders , played by Mark Monero between 8 October 1991 and 12 February 1996.
Steve is first seen in Albert Square in October 1991 as an old school friend of Hattie Tavernier (Michelle Gayle) and Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook). He initially works as a pizza chef, but his talents are noticed by Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) who quickly gives him a job as head chef at his catering business, The Meal Machine. In 1992, after much flirting, Steve and Hattie start dating. Unlike Hattie, Steve is not keen on commitment but accepts her marriage proposal on New Year's Eve 1992. Hattie makes plans for the wedding but Steve has second thoughts when he loses his job and begins to listen to Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton), who persuades him he is not ready for marriage. He decides to take a job as a chef on an ocean liner but neglects to tell Hattie that the wedding is off. Unknown to him, Hattie is pregnant; she follows him and tries to persuade him to stay but doesn't tell him that she is pregnant, fearing he would stay from obligation and not love. Steve decides to leave anyway. Hattie is heartbroken and has a miscarriage soon after.
In 1994, Steve returns to Walford and hopes to reunite with Hattie but learns that she has left Albert Square. After an ill-fated attempt to win her back, Steve resigns himself to the fact that she is gone. Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) gives him a job as a barman in The Queen Victoria public house and Steve falls for new arrival, Della Alexander (Michelle Joseph). Della moves to the square to open a hair salon and coaxes Steve into becoming a partner in the business, named 'Kool for Kutz'. After some problems at home, Della moves into the Queen Vic with Steve and he starts seeing her as more than just a business partner. He actively pursues her but is shocked to discover that she is a lesbian when he catches her in bed with her girlfriend, Binnie Roberts (Sophie Langham). Steve throws Della out in disgust, prompting a feud between him and Binnie.
In 1995, Steve buys shares in the Bridge Street cafe and opens a night bistro, sparking a feud between him and Ian as Ian sees him as competition and tries to get him closed down. Later in the year, Steve is approached by a criminal firm who talk him into holding an illegal gambling night in his cafe. Several Walford residents attend, including Mark Fowler (Todd Carty), who gets lucky and wins a sizable sum. Mark promptly gives some of his winnings to his father, Arthur (Bill Treacher), to repay a loan but Arthur is later falsely accused of embezzlement, and he is assumed guilty due, in part, to the money Mark gave him. Steve is faced with a dilemma when asked by his friend, Mark, to testify as a character witness for his father and corroborate Arthur's story about the origins of the money. Admitting to the illegal gambling will threaten Steve's trading licence and implicate the criminal firm who use stolen money to fund the gambling. When the firm find out that Steve is going to testify and implicate them, they try to dissuade him. After idle threats fail, they take a different approach and kidnap Steve's girlfriend, Lydia (Marlaine Gordon) instead. Steve is frantic but he eventually finds her distraught after the mobsters had attempted to drown her. They threaten to kill Lydia if Steve testifies. Fearful for their lives, Steve packs his things and he and Lydia leave Walford in February 1996.
Steve Elliot was the second of only two regular characters to be introduced into EastEnders in 1991, the other was Rachel Kominski (Jacquetta May). [1] Described by writer Colin Brake as a "young black cook with ambitions to see the world", Steve was originally paired storyline-wise with Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) when he became involved in his catering service "The Meal Machine", as well as the character Hattie Tavernier (Michelle Gayle) with whom he had a relationship. [1]
From 1991 to 1994, Steve made two exits and returns to the soap. [1] In 1993, The Independent reported that the character was being written out of EastEnders. Steve was one of several characters to be written out that year in what the press dubbed the "Albert Square Massacre". [2] However, as Colin Brake summarised in the book EastEnders: The First 10 Years, "since like Frank Sinatra [Steve] always seems to make another comeback, perhaps we will list this as a temporary disappearance." [1] In the storyline, Steve, faced with an imminent marriage to Hattie which he did not want to commit to, jilted her, not knowing she was pregnant with his child. [1] Actress Michelle Gayle quit the serial towards the end of 1993, and Steve was used in an unrequited-lust storyline with a new character, Della Alexander (Michelle Joseph) upon his return early in 1994. [1] Initially, writers lead the audience to believe that Della was designed to be a new love interest for Steve, however as the plot developed it was revealed that she was actually the soap's first lesbian character. [1]
Steve Elliot has been described by author Kate Lock as "a bit of a dilettante where women were concerned", [3] while Josephine Munroe has described him as "laid-back". [4] Steve's portrayer Mark Monero has described Steve as a transient character because he did not have a screen family. [5] This, he says, enabled him to have more autonomy in how the character developed. [5] BBC News reporter Katy Lewis has suggested that although Steve Elliot was a black character in the soap, his ethnicity was never important with regard to storylines stating, "[Steve] lived [his] life and had [...] storylines and it didn’t matter what colour he was." [5] Monero has said that he tried his best "not to stick to any kind of stereotypes, except the fact that Steve was a Cockney. He was in EastEnders and he lived in the East End. It just so happened that he was black. I tried not to make it a big deal so after a while [the producers] let me have that freedom." [5]
The character remained on-screen till February 1996 when he fled after getting on the wrong side of some mobsters. [6] In reality, Monero quit the soap. In 2006, he revealed why: "I didn't think I was going to be in EastEnders that long. I was 23 [when I started] and was working quite a bit before I joined. I never really watched that much television but I knew of it. It's not the route I expected to go down, but I did and enjoyed most of it. Then, it was a little bit like being in school. People weren't as relaxed as they should be in TV. You're only acting, so it was like saying 'get a grip' to them." [6] When asked about his exit, Monero commented, "I drove off into the darkness. I can’t remember why now, but they gave me a really nice car to drive off in. It was a Mercedes, a lovely old classic merc. It was really nice. I suppose that leaves it a bit open ended. I could come back - or maybe not!" [5]
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.
Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the drama's longest-serving main character and one of four remaining original characters, the others being his mother Kathy Beale, Sharon Watts and Tracey. The character appeared in his 2,000th episode in the show on 26 March 2007, and his 3,000th on 27 May 2016. Woodyatt took an extended break from EastEnders on 22 January 2021. He made appearances on 12 December 2022 and 22 June 2023, prior to a full-time return on 22 August.
Tom Banks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Colm Ó Maonlaí from 23 April to 1 November 2002. Introduced in April 2002 as a love interest for Sharon Watts, producers made the decision to axe the character, and he was killed off in November 2002. The character was said to be popular with female viewers, and he was voted the eighth sexiest male character to appear in EastEnders in a 2005 poll.
Hattie Tavernier is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Gayle between 5 July 1990 and 21 December 1993. Hattie and her family were introduced in July 1990 by producer Michael Ferguson. The Taverniers were the first collective black family to join the soap at the same time. Portrayed as an intelligent, independent young woman, Hattie remained in the serial after the departures of many of her screen family, covering issues such as miscarriage and sexual harassment.
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.
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.
Kelvin Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul J. Medford from 12 March 1985 to 3 September 1987.
Jules Tavernier is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tommy Eytle between 5 July 1990 and 23 December 1997. Jules is depicted as a flirtatious older gentleman. He is introduced in 1990 and remains in the show after the departures of all of his on-screen family. He is largely semi-regular during the latter part of his stint, and is not featured again after December 1997. Jules Tavernier appeared in more than 150 episodes over his seven-year tenure.
Clyde Tavernier is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steven Woodcock. Introduced on 5 July 1990, Clyde featured in prominent storylines including an inter-racial relationship with Michelle Fowler and being framed for the murder of publican Eddie Royle. The character was written out in 1993 and was given a happy ending, leaving on 22 July 1993.
Mark Marcel Monero is a British actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Steve Elliot in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (1991–96), but he has appeared in many other television and theatre roles, and had parts in a number of films, including Prayer for the Dying and Sid and Nancy.
Binnie Roberts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Langham from 9 June 1994 until 16 May 1995. Binnie is an out and proud lesbian, which is in stark contrast to her shy and retiring girlfriend, Della Alexander.
Della Alexander is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Michelle Joseph from 1 March 1994 until 16 May 1995. Della is the first lesbian character to be featured on the show.
Celestine and Etta Tavernier are fictional characters from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Leroy Golding and Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence respectively. Both appear primarily in the serial as a married couple between 1990 and 1992. Celestine makes a further guest appearance in 1993, while Etta makes a guest appearance in 1994, both visiting remaining members of the Tavernier family. Celestine is portrayed as a strict disciplinarian and a devout Christian who expects everyone in his family to show similar dedication to the church and abide by his rules. His unwavering demand for respect often alienates his children and almost causes the breakdown of his marriage. Also religious, Etta is portrayed as a career woman; her most prominent storylines concern marital problems and crises of faith.