Trevor Morgan | |||||||||
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EastEnders character | |||||||||
Portrayed by | Alex Ferns | ||||||||
Duration | 2000–2002 | ||||||||
First appearance | Episode 2045 21 December 2000 | ||||||||
Last appearance | Episode 2404 1 November 2002 | ||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
Created by | Tony Jordan | ||||||||
Introduced by | John Yorke | ||||||||
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Trevor Morgan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders , played by Alex Ferns. He first made a one-episode stint on 21 December 2000 before reappearing as a regular cast member and gradually the show's main antagonist from 17 April 2001 to his last appearance on 1 November 2002.
The character was introduced as the estranged husband of Little Mo Slater (Kacey Ainsworth), whom he had domestically abused and mistreated throughout most of his duration on the series. This escalates up to the point where he rapes Little Mo and, after attempting to do so again on New Year's Eve 2001, ends up having her wrongfully imprisoned for attacking him with an iron in self-defense that night. During that time, Trevor frequently clashes with Little Mo's family and proceeds to spark a feud with both her sister Kat (Jessie Wallace) and love interest Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick). After Trevor is set up into having Little Mo released from prison, his story arc concludes with the character attempting to kill his ex-wife and son Sean by setting fire to their house on Halloween Night 2002; however, they are rescued by their neighbour Tom Banks (Colm Ó Maonlaí) and Trevor is consequently killed alongside Tom when the building explodes.
Trevor Morgan first arrived in Albert Square, Walford, along with his wife Little Mo Slater (Kacey Ainsworth) around December 2000 to celebrate Christmas with her family. It soon transpired that their marriage was previously troubled, due to Trevor's domestic abuse towards his wife, though she agreed to reconcile with him, following a period of separation between them. Trevor promises to cease his violence towards her, but soon resumes his abuse – often beating and mistreating her. By September 2001, he and Little Mo are living in the B&B in Albert Square. He is regularly apologetic after attacking her but continues to isolate her from her family; with her sister Kat (Jessie Wallace) being particularly resentful over the situation.
After months of talk about Trevor's treatment of Little Mo, he is finally seeing being violent towards her in October 2001 – after suspecting that there was friction within Little Mo's family and she refused to tell him what was happening. He then burnt her with an iron, and a few days later managed to intimidate her into admitting that Kat's younger sister Zoe (Michelle Ryan) was actually her daughter – as a result of Kat being sexually abused by their uncle Harry Slater (Michael Elphick) when she was a teenager. When Trevor discovers Little Mo plans to join Kat in helping their sister Lynne Hobbs (Elaine Lordan) celebrate her wedding in late 2001, even though she agreed not to do that on his behalf earlier on, he rapes her as a punishment. When she arrives late for Christmas dinner, he pushes her face into her plate and forces her to eat the remains from the carpet. Hours later, he beats Little Mo up after discovering her contraceptive pills, which she had secretly been taking in order to avoid becoming pregnant by him.
Little Mo's family constantly implore her to leave her husband, despising his treatment of her. Trevor frequently rows with Kat and is attacked by her father Charlie (Derek Martin) when he learns that Trevor burned Little Mo's hand with an iron. When Little Mo finally leaves Trevor just after Christmas 2001, when she discovers he deleted a message from Zoe, he tries to win her back. She resists and he becomes violent, attempting to rape her again. Little Mo hits Trevor over the head with an iron in self-defence, knocking him unconscious. Little Mo believes she has killed him, but when she and her family return to dispose of Trevor's body, they find out he has gone. Trevor is revealed to have survived the attack and left the house where he soon lost consciousness and collapsed, and was admitted to a hospital. When he recovers, he reports Little Mo to the police and has her charged with attempted murder, although she is released on bail until the trial in April 2002.
Despite strong evidence of domestic violence, corroborated by Trevor's mistress Donna Andrews (Paula Jennings), the mother of his baby son, Sean, the jury at her trial find Little Mo guilty of attempted murder and she is sentenced to eight years in prison. Following Little Mo's imprisonment, Donna ends up in hospital as a result of Trevor's abuse. Kat cares for Sean, but Trevor arrives at the Slater family home, determined to take his son. When Kat stands in his way, Trevor attacks her, knocking her to the ground. The police arrive and arrest him, but Trevor makes a deal with Kat, agreeing to retract his statement against Little Mo in return for Kat not pressing charges against him. Little Mo is subsequently released from prison on appeal and she soon begins dating Trevor's love rival Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick). Unable to accept this, Trevor attempts to win Little Mo back and is nice to her both in private and in public but Mo rebuffs his attempts to get close to her. He resorts to dating Billy's cousin Sam (Kim Medcalf) – only to be later dumped when she finds out about his true colours. Mo is happy when Trevor announces he is moving to Glasgow and she agrees to have a goodbye drink with him in the Vic. But he deliberately leaves his plane ticket behind so Mo will find them and return them to him. However once he has her in his room, he reveals the ticket is hers and that she is coming with him. He tells her she is never going to be free of him and he threatens to kill her if she attempts to marry Billy. Trevor starts to stalk Little Mo and breaks into her and Billy's house when he thinks she is by herself. He tries to scare her into calling off the divorce but Billy and Paul stop him, having baited him to enter the house. Finally Trevor is outcast by the whole of Walford and he walks into the pub to see Mo has accepted Billy's marriage proposal. Billy offers him a drink to see him off, and he says "To whatever the future may hold" before leaving. Seemingly free of Trevor, Billy and Little Mo celebrate their engagement at Angie's Den. But Trevor returns, enters the party in a costume and grabs Little Mo. Taking her and his son hostage in the Slater family home he attempts to kill them all in a house fire, but Little Mo stands up to Trevor by saying she is not frightened of him. He had already tracked his former mistress Donna down to her new address in Swindon, having beaten her up and snatched their son before heading back to Walford.
He threatens to start the fire but she lights the match saying he does not have the guts. He grabs Little Mo, causing the match to drop and a fire to start. Little Mo and Sean are rescued by her neighbour Tom Banks (Colm Ó Maonlaí); however, when going back for Trevor, both men are killed when the house explodes and the dark days of Trevor are over with once and for all. Little Mo begins to plan a funeral for Trevor, but is convinced by Donna that she should be mourning Tom instead. This leads to Little Mo's family, including Billy, being angered at Little Mo after all the treatment Trevor has given her. However, when she attempts to get rid of his ashes, she says to Kat that she does not want to scatter them, as it is an act of remembrance and she does not want to remember him, which makes Kat proud of her sister. Later on, she tells Billy in the café, that she saw a new chapter of her life and the doors to her previous one closing when the curtains closed on the coffin.
In her book Media and violence: gendering the debates, Karen Boyle states that Trevor's introduction to EastEnders follows a theme in British soap operas whereby abusive characters are never completely integrated into the soap community. Trevor's first appearance in EastEnders occurs months after the introduction of the core Slater family, and he is never given a permanent home on Albert Square. Boyle observes that Trevor's status as an outsider means that he is also expelled from the community with relative ease, and that there is "a whiff of divine justice" about his eventual death. [1] In Social issues in television fiction, Lesley Henderson furthers the assessment of Trevor as an outsider with the observation that he was one of very few Scottish characters in the soap's history, and the sole Scottish character at the time. [2]
Ferns was surprised by the storyline which saw Trevor rape Little Mo, opining that EastEnders's executive producer John Yorke "really put his neck on the line by doing it." [3] He found the rape and Christmas attack the most difficult scenes of his career, but found Trevor easier to play as he gained a better psychological understanding of the character. [3] Ainsworth found the Christmas scenes equally difficult, and told Cosmopolitan magazine: "Even though I'm an actress, at that point when I was on the floor, I felt totally and utterly humiliated and sick. I felt Little Mo's degradation at having her head shoved into a plate of food. What was more frightening was I knew this scene could have been real, that it's all part of the power game these men play to make women feel as if they're worthless." [4] At one time, Ferns considered leaving the acting profession to become a counsellor, but felt that he was prevented from doing so by Trevor's high profile, explaining: "It's difficult enough for people who are grieving without Trevor walking in." [3]
Ferns won six awards for his portrayal of Trevor, and was nominated for a further four. In 2002, he was named Most Hated Soap Villain by readers of What's On TV magazine, with 21% of the votes. [5] He won Best Newcomer and Villain of the Year at the 2002 British Soap Awards, [6] Best Actor at the 2002 Inside Soap Awards, [7] and both Best Soap Newcomer and Best Soap Storyline for Trevor's abuse of Little Mo at the 2002 TV Quick and TV Choice Awards. [8] He was also nominated for Most Popular Actor at the 2002 National Television Awards, and Best Actor, Villain of the Year and Best Storyline, again for Trevor's abuse of Little Mo, at the 2003 British Soap Awards. [9] Karen Price of the Western Mail wrote in 2008 that Ferns as Trevor had "some of the most dramatic scenes in the history of EastEnders". [10] The domestic abuse storyline received critical commendation for its "sensitive account" of sexual violence, however was also condemned for "symbolising the descent of popular television into distressing and inappropriate material." [2] Boyle gave the storyline a mixed review, writing that Little Mo's attempted murder conviction served to highlight the inequities of the legal system, yet undermined "the more mundane, persistent realities of domestic violence that the soap – patterned on repetition and the deferral of closure – is otherwise well positioned to deal with." [1] In 2012, Digital Spy listed Trevor as one of the "scariest TV characters of all time", saying he "gave plenty of soaps fans nightmares." [11]
"We have [...] no wish to declare particular subjects off limits. We carefully consider each case on its merits, in the context of the audience expectations which have been built up, and having regard also to the general limits understood by the watershed concept. The issue here was not the quality or sensitivity of the drama, but only its scheduling."
—Lord Dubs, chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Commission, on the Trevor-Little Mo domestic abuse storyline. [12]
The episode in which Trevor attacked Little Mo over Christmas dinner was watched by 14.5 million viewers, and voted 57th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Scary Moments. [13] The storyline attracted so many complaints from the public that the Broadcasting Standards Commission undertook their first study of sex and violence in soap operas in twenty years. [2] The Commission ruled that the Christmas episode, as well as the New Year's Eve 2001 episode in which Little Mo retaliated by attacking Trevor with an iron, should not have been broadcast before the 9 pm watershed. It was felt that the latter episode had a "stark and graphic quality unsuitable for pre-watershed transmission", and while the BSC stated that scenes of domestic abuse were permissible, there were "concern[s] about the intense, disturbing and protracted nature of the scenes portraying Trevor's attacks on Mo". [12] A spokesperson for the BBC defended the scenes as "developments in well-established storylines". They claimed the depiction of abuse was consistent for the series, and that EastEnders viewers expected that seasonal episodes such as Christmas and New Year would always be "overshadowed by crises". [12]
Ferns received a death threat whilst working on EastEnders, believed by police to have been sent from a "crazed fan". He was told to take extra security precautions, including leaving the EastEnders set via the back exit, and not travelling alone. [14] Ferns was surprised by the strength of reactions to his role, and assessed that it was because of the domestic abuse: "You can have violence on screen and it's kind of an everyday thing but there's something about a man hitting a woman, within the confines of their own home, that people find hard to take." [3] The aggression directed at him by members of the public intensified following Little Mo's imprisonment, forcing Ferns to wear a disguise when travelling on the London Underground. [3] In 2008, All About Soap included Trevor and Little Mo's domestic violence plot in their list of "top ten taboo" storylines of all time. Their writer described it as one of the "taboos which have bravely been broken by soaps." [15]
In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Trevor 95th on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him "Evil" and his abuse "violent". [16]
Sharon Watts is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. Sharon was one of EastEnders' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith. She first appeared in the first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985 as the teenage adopted daughter of pub landlords Den and Angie Watts. Dean originally quit the role in 1995 after ten years, with Sharon departing following the breakdown of her marriage. In May 2001, Sharon was reintroduced by producer John Yorke, before departing in January 2006. Dean's return was announced in February 2012, and she later made her on-screen return on 13 August 2012 in a special week of episodes. Dean took a temporary break from the show and departed on 9 January 2024, with Sharon set to return on 1 April 2024.
Paul Trueman is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gary Beadle. The character, who first arrived onto Albert Square on 23 April 2001 and later departed the programme on 23 December 2004, was portrayed as a bad boy who was a member of the already-established Trueman family. In his exit storyline, Paul became a drug dealer, which Beadle has been critical towards, as he suggested it played into black racial stereotyping. It was implied that Paul was killed upon his exit, though his death was not screened.
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.
Maureen "Little Mo" Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kacey Ainsworth from 18 September 2000 to 26 May 2006.
Alfie Moon is a fictional character from the BBC drama EastEnders, played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005. He returned on 21 September 2010, following the return of his on-screen wife, Kat Slater, two episodes previously, and they continued to feature until 22 May 2015. Alfie appeared in a guest stint between 26 December 2015 and 25 January 2016, before starring in the six-part drama spin-off series Kat & Alfie: Redwater in 2017. Richie returned for two short stints in 2018, concluding with his exit on 22 January 2019. Richie then made a virtual cameo appearance on 12 July 2022, followed by a permanent return from 12 September 2022.
Kathleen "Kat" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jessie Wallace. She was also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the second eldest Slater family sister and first appeared on 18 September 2000. Kat's usual dress is very short skirts and leopard-print tops, with much make-up and heavy fake tan. Her initial stint saw her involved in many storylines, most significantly in a plot twist that sees her supposedly sister Zoe Slater, revealed to be her daughter after she was raped by her uncle Harry Slater as a child. Kat and Zoe's relationship is tested several times, and a feud forms when they compete against each other for the affection of Anthony Trueman. Another key aspect to the character's storylines is her marriage to Alfie Moon, prior to which she became briefly engaged to Andy Hunter ; after Kat jilted Andy on their wedding day, he blackmailed her into sleeping with him in his revenge bid against Alfie and Kat. Kat was absent between November 2004 and May 2005 following Wallace's maternity leave, and Kat later left the soap on 25 December 2005.
Zoe Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Ryan. She made her first appearance on 18 September 2000. Zoe arrives in Walford along with her father, Charlie, sisters Kat, Lynne, Little Mo, and grandmother Big Mo.
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. The character has been described as a "super-bitch" and a "classic villainess". She has proven popular with critics and fans of the show. Her storylines typically involve her in an antagonistic role. She has been married five times: to Barry Evans whom she killed on New Year's Day 2004, David, Ryan Malloy, Michael Moon and Mick Carter. Her feuds include a long-standing conflict with former stepmothers Pat Butcher and Peggy Mitchell, Sonia Fowler, Lynne Hobbs, Laura Beale, Kat Slater, Zoe Slater, Stacey Slater, Sharon Watts and Linda Carter. Her initial departure saw Janine being wrongfully charged for the death of Laura Beale. Upon her return, Janine is caught forging a wedding to a wealthy, old-age pensioner, that ends with her new husband abruptly dying of a fatal heart attack upon discovering her false identity. She later accidentally kills local resident Danielle Jones by running her down in her car; conspires with Peggy's husband Archie to defraud the Mitchell family from their ownership of The Queen Victoria public house; and becomes a prime suspect in Archie's murder investigation. Janine later becomes involved in a love triangle with her third husband Ryan and his baby's mother, Stacey. All of this results in Janine framing Stacey for her attempted murder and also attempting to kill Ryan by poisoning him. Janine later gives birth to a daughter, Scarlett, with her fourth husband Michael, and they become embroiled in a custody battle over Scarlett, which leads to Janine murdering Michael, leading to her third departure from the show.
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.
Billy Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Perry Fenwick, who made his first appearance on 2 November 1998. Billy was originally introduced by producer Matthew Robinson as a guest character, facilitating the introduction of Jamie Mitchell to the show. Early on, Billy was Jamie's abusive uncle and guardian - which results in Jamie being taken away from Billy by his relative Phil Mitchell. Billy was then brought back to the serial on 2 August 1999 and Fenwick was offered a longer-term contract, and Billy ended up becoming a regular character. Frequently portrayed as a small-time criminal, Billy is a luckless resident of Albert Square who often struggles financially. His most prominent storylines include two failed marriages with Little Mo Morgan and Honey Edwards and having a daughter Janet (Grace) born with Down syndrome. Fenwick filmed his 1000th episode on 6 August 2010, and later his 2000th on 24 September 2022.
Jamie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jack Ryder. The character debuted on 9 November 1998 and became one of the show's central protagonists, until he was killed-off on 25 December 2002.
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.
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.
The Mitchell family is a fictional family in the UK soap opera EastEnders. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell bought the local garage, the Arches. Their sister Sam was introduced later in 1990, and their mother Peggy shortly after in 1991, before being reintroduced as a regular character in 1994, with the role recast to Barbara Windsor. Since then, they have been significantly expanded to include both the immediate and extended families. Phil has been the longest running Mitchell on the show, and the family has expanded significantly in the years since, remaining a large presence on the square.
The Slater family are a fictional family from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, that have appeared since Episode 1,997, first broadcast in September 2000. The family are introduced as a central family unit, originally consisting of father Charlie Slater, grandmother Mo Harris, Charlie's daughters, Kat Slater, Lynne Slater, Little Mo Morgan and Kat's teenage daughter Zoe Slater, and Lynne's partner Garry Hobbs. A fifth sister, Belinda Peacock, was introduced one year later. The family were the eighth to be introduced in the soap's history, replacing the di Marco family who departed during the previous month. The Slaters were created by Tony Jordan and introduced by John Yorke. The Slater sisters were cast in an improvisation session. In their first years on the show, the family were involved in storylines about child sexual abuse and domestic violence.