There was undoubtedly a time in your life when you considered EastEnders appointment viewing.
For some, it was the Den and Angie-days; for others, it was the Golden Epoch of Janine and Barry, the latter of whom probably ranks as one of the soap’s most memorable characters.
More recent fans would most likely name storylines involving Stacey Slater and Max Branning as its most popular. It’s characters such as these that have ensured the soap has remained a staple of BBC schedules since it began 40 years ago this week.
As the soap celebrates its anniversary, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane to look at the best forgotten EastEnders characters.
Andy Hunter
Played by: Michael Higgs
In the early 2000s, EastEnders went through a phase of having organised crime subplots, with characters including Dan Sullivan and Johnny Allen. Andy Hunter – who joined the show in 2003 – was the slimiest of them all. Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) proved the perfect love interest to Andy’s gangster up until she jilted him at the altar for Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) in 2005.
Beppe di Marco
Played by: Michael Greco
Police officer Beppe di Marco was a household name in the late 1990s up until the character was unceremoniously axed from the soap in 2002. He’s perhaps best remembered for his rivalry with the Mitchell brothers, the peak of which arrived when he attempted to frame Grant (Ross Kemp) for the murder of Martine McCutcheon’s Tiffany.
Binnie Roberts and Della Alexander
Played by: Sophie Langham and Michelle Joseph
Binnie Roberts and Della Alexander, characters from 1994, were the soap’s first lesbian couple. They left after a few years as a happy couple, which is rather unthinkable for the soap.
Chelsea Fox
Played by: Tiana Benjamin
Chelsea Fox, daughter of Denise, was a breath of fresh air on the Square, mostly thanks to her portrayal by Tiana Benjamin, who quit the Harry Potter franchise to join the soap in 2006. (She played Gryffindor student Angelina Johnson.) She left the square in 2010.
Dawn Swann
Played by: Kara Tointon
Dawn may have been tainted by her association with the Miller family (her brother Mickey – played by Joe Swash – does not make this list), but the character injected a dash of glamour and optimism into the doom and gloom of Albert Square in 2005. Well, until she was kidnapped and almost died in a gas explosion.
Dennis Rickman
Played by: Nigel Harman
Dennis Rickman seemed like a staple of EastEnders throughout the 2000s, but he was actually only on the show from 2003 to 2005. Still, his appearance made quite a stir thanks to the return of his resurrected father Dirty Den (Leslie Grantham) and marriage to his adopted sister, Sharon (Letitia Dean), right up until he was killed off on New Year’s Eve.
Garry Hobbs
Played by: Ricky Groves
Garry was in EastEnders for just under nine years, which – let’s be honest – is longer than anyone could recall. His character had quite the trajectory. After being introduced as the doting, if ultimately unhappy, husband of Lynne Slater (Elaine Lordan), he ended his time on the show literally sailing into the sunset with Dawn Swann in 2009.
Glenda Mitchell
Played by: Glynis Barber
It’s fair to say that Glenda, the scheming mother of Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell (Samantha Womack and Rita Simons), was liked by nobody in the soap, which made her great entertainment for viewers. Glenda’s episodes always saw the character swanning around Albert Square with the sole intention of stirring up trouble, which invariably came back to bite her. She’s returned a number of times since the character was first introduced in 2010.
Dr Harold Legg
Played by: Leonard Fenton
More memorable due to the fact he was given a send off in the soap in 2021, Dr Legg was Albert Square’s go-to doctor throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Jamie Mitchell
Played by: Jack Ryder
Sorry Phil (Steve McFadden), but the best male Mitchell has always been his nephew Jamie, the character played by Jack Ryder from 1998 to 2002. He found himself at the heart of some of the soap’s biggest moments, including the surprise pregnancy of Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), the arrival of the Slaters and the 2001 shooting of his uncle in one of the soap’s biggest storylines of all time.
Lou Beale
Played by: Anna Wing
The straight-talking Lou Beale was an early favourite, as well as being the matriarch of one of the soap’s longest-standing families; Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) is her grandson. She was killed off in 1988.
Kelvin Carpenter
Played by: Paul J Medford
Kelvin Carpenter was one of the soap’s original creations. You might remember him being a member of the soap’s fictional band alongside other teenage characters, including Sharon and Ian. His last appearance may have been 1987, but the character was mentioned in 2017.
Lucas Johnson
Played by: Don Gilet
There was something Shakespearean about the downfall of Lucas, a former criminal-turned-preacher who started murdering his way around the Square in 2008. Full of dramatic irony, his scenes with unsuspecting wife Denise (Diane Parish) were genuinely enthralling to watch, with Don Gilet playing up the Jekyll and Hyde-aspect of his character impressively. Lucas got his comeuppance in 2010.
Kelly Taylor and Spencer Moon
Played by: Brooke Kinsella and Christopher Parker
EastEnders has had its fair share of frustrating younger characters over the years, but Kelly – loyal friend to Zoe Slater – and the hapless Spencer Moon were two of the more likeable ones. Unlike his brother Alfie, Spencer’s time on the Square lasted for just three years (2002-05) and Kelly was written out the year before he left.
DCI Marsden
Played by: Sophie Stanton
Albert Square kept DCI Marsden very busy. Whenever a murder took place, there was a period when she’d be the detective assigned to the case. Marsden was brought in for four big arcs in all: Phil Mitchell’s shooting (2001) and stalking storyline (2012), as well as the murders of Archie Mitchell (2009) and Lucy Beale (2015).
Paul Trueman
Played by: Gary Beadle
Forget Anthony – the only Trueman you’ll find on this list is Paul, the “unloved” son of Audrey (Corinne Skinner-Carter) and Patrick (Rudolph Walker). Paul spent his time on the soap fighting for the attention of his family, which reached a crescendo when his mother told Anthony she loved him in her final moments, but failed to mention Paul. “WHAT ABOUT ME?!” he bellowed. Cue the duffs duffs. Paul was killed off in 2004 completing three years on the soap.
Sean Slater
Played by: Rob Kazinsky
Before Rob Kazinsky starred in True Blood and the Hobbit trilogy, he played the long-lost Slater brother, Sean, who wasted no time getting into trouble. His storylines included dealing drugs and infidelity with his step sister, Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley). His last appearance as a regular was in 2009, but Sean returned for multiple episodes in 2019.
Shirley Benson
Played by: Robyn Moore
Before Shirley Carter, there was Shirley Benson. Still no idea? Let us remind you: in 2003, Shirley led a pleasant life working in the bookies until the arrival of Gavin (Steve Nicolson), a noisy neighbour-from-hell who tormented Shirley and – in a pretty disturbing twist – left the body of her cat Boots in a bag on her doorstep. All before 9pm!
Sue Osman
Played by: Sandy Ratcliff
Sue Osman was one of the soap’s original 23 characters alongside her Turkish Cypriot husband Ali (Nejdet Salih). She was at the centre of what was probably the soap’s first ever truly harrowing scenes, which focused on the cot death of her newborn son. She left after her character was sectioned in 1989.
Tamwar Masood
Played by: Himesh Patel
Other EastEnders cast members may have tried to crack Hollywood, but It’s fair to say nobody has had as much success as Himesh Patel. Since his breakout in Danny Boyle’s Beatles film Yesterday, the actor has worked with Christopher Nolan in Tenet, appeared in a Leonardo DiCaprio film (Don’t Look Up) and led his own HBO show. He’s worlds away from the nerdy Tamwar, who provided much-needed light relief in the soap from 2007 to 2016.
Tariq Larousi
Played by: Nabil Elouahabi
Hear us out – the Ferreira family might have been a disastrous addition to the show (they were axed after being blamed for plummeting viewing figures), but Ronny Ferreira’s best friend Tariq wasn’t so bad, bringing much-needed levity to many a sombre and terribly boring storyline from 2003-05.
Yusef Khan
Played by: Ace Bhatti
Everyone remembers Trevor (Alex Ferns), the abusive husband of Kacey Ainsworth’s Little Mo, but Yusef Khan also deserves a mention as one of the soap’s scariest villains. He spent his single year on the soap breaking up the Masood family and, after months of violently manipulating Zainab (Nina Wadia), met a fiery end after burning down the bed and breakfast in 2001.
Zsa Zsa Carter
Played by: Emer Kenny
Writer-actor Emer Kenny had a brief appearance in EastEnders as Zsa Zsa Carter, one of an influx of teenage characters who primarily featured in spinoff show EastEnders: E20, but, throughout 2010, would occasionally show up in the main soap (the others included Leon, played by Sam Attwater, and Fatboy, played by Ricky Norwood). Zza Zsa didn’t really get involved in the main action and spent the majority of her scenes chilling in the cafe, which is a vibe we can get on board with.
