List of EastEnders characters (1989)
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1989, by order of first appearance.
Maxine Roberts
Maxine Roberts, played by Ella Wilder, is the selfish sister of Carmel Roberts and Darren Roberts, who first appears at Carmel's wedding to Matthew Jackson in January 1989Maxine is a health care worker and she is highly ambitious. When her elderly parents can no longer cope with the responsibility of caring for her brother's two children, Maxine refuses to take over. She lives in a single room at the hospital where she works and makes it clear that her career is more important. She tries to persuade Carmel to take the children in and when she initially refuses, Maxine threatens to put them into care. Carmel believes that her niece and nephew should live with her, despite her husband's opposition and it causes many arguments. When Carmel's father has a stroke, Maxine brings the children, Junior Roberts and Aisha Roberts to the Jacksons, insisting that they take them immediately. Matthew is furious but he eventually relents.
Paul Priestly
Paul Priestly, played by Mark Thrippleton, is a builder, who came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. He finds work around the Square – the money isn't great but there are benefits – for instance, Julie Cooper discusses his building estimates while sharing a bed with him. He is a ladies man and a heart-breaker, as sixteen-year-old Diane Butcher discovers. When their relationship grows too serious, he flees and a devastated Diane runs away from home shortly afterwards.Marge Green
Marge Green, played by Pat Coombs, is first seen in May 1989 as a friend of Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner. Marge also befriends Mo Butcher, who regularly bosses her about. Marge is an elderly spinster who devotes her life to caring for her sickly 93-year-old mother, which is a massive strain on her. However, her mother dies towards the end of 1989. Although Marge is devastated, her friends helped her through it and she eventually comes to look forward to her future. However, Marge's cousin arrives and cons her into becoming his invalid mother's companion on a cruise ship. She leaves in February 1990, and has not been seen since.Trevor Short
Trevor Short, played by Phil McDermott, is the inseparable sidekick of Paul Priestly. He is a well-meaning individual but he isn't blessed with much intelligence, and he manages to mess up almost every job he is given. He has several crushes on the younger women of Walford, but despite his best efforts he never manages to find a girlfriend. Trevor leaves Walford in March 1990 to move to Leeds with his best friend, Paul.Julie Cooper
Julie Cooper, played by Louise Plowright, is a bubbly, big haired Salford girl, who has a hungry appetite for men. She arrives in Walford in June 1989 to sell a house left to her by her late grandmother, and she uses the money from the sale to open a salon. She has brief affairs with Paul Priestly, Laurie Bates and Grant Mitchell, but is shocked when she discovers that Grant has been using her to take over the lease on her salon, with his brother Phil. She agrees to give up the lease anyway, but for more money, and returns to Salford in March 1990.Janine Butcher
Janine Butcher was introduced in 1989 and currently portrayed by Charlie Brooks.Clare Butcher
Clare Butcher, played by Lucy Foxell in 1989 and then Caroline O'Neill in 2002, is the eldest child of Frank Butcher. She is only seen twice in Walford. She is married and has children but neither her husband nor her children have been seen.She first appears for her father's wedding to Pat Wicks in 1989 and leaves her sister Janine Butcher with Frank. She has been looking after Janine for most of Janine's childhood until she got promoted at work and moved to Manchester, deciding to leave Janine with Frank as he has settled with Pat. After Frank abandons Janine and leaves Walford in 1996, Janine becomes hostile towards Pat so she is sent to Manchester with Clare off-screen. Clare also looks after her other sister Diane's son Jacques, also off-screen, when Diane abandons him in 1997. Janine returns to Walford in 1999 and gets out of control over the years, getting involved with drugs and prostitution; when Clare briefly returns to Walford in 2002 she is shocked that Janine has fallen so far, and upon leaving a few days later she gives Janine some money to get back on her feet. On 1 April 2008, shortly before Frank's funeral, Dot Branning asks Clare's sister Diane of her whereabouts, and Diane says that Clare has already said goodbye to her father after visiting him when he was ill, and is now living in Australia with her family.
Vince Johnson
Vince Johnson, played by Hepburn Graham, first appears in August 1989, but was one of many characters to be axed early in 1990, following the introduction of the serial's new executive-producer, Michael Ferguson. He makes his last appearance in March 1990. Vince is a friend of Darren Roberts. Darren has abandoned his two children, Junior and Aisha Roberts, in 1988; Vince comes to Walford in August 1989 bringing money for them. Vince and Junior bond, and when the Roberts family moves away, Junior returns to Walford occasionally to spend time with Vince.Vince regularly liaises with Darren by telephone, and is involved in various illegal money making schemes. Vince and Darren con car-salesman Frank Butcher by selling him a stolen BMW, which is subsequently confiscated by the police. Unaware of Vince's involvement, Frank tries to reclaim his lost money, so Vince and a gang of hooded thugs advance on Walford with sledgehammers and begin smashing up Frank's car lot to warn him off. When the police arrive, many of the vandals are arrested, but a masked Vince manages to escape thanks to Junior, who directs the chasing police elsewhere. Frank is forced to drop the matter after Vince sends him an anonymous letter threatening to harm his daughter Diane Butcher unless he does so. However, when Frank discovers that he has sold another stolen car to Julie Cooper, he realises Vince is responsible and attacks him. Despite his rage, Frank refuses to involve the police, which earns Vince's respect, and he compensates Frank for his monetary losses, ending their feud.
Growing weary of a life of crime, Vince attempts to go into legitimate business, hosting themed nights at Walford's community centre with the help of his old friend, Rod Norman. When Rod decides to leave Walford, he sells his African statues to Vince, which Vince attempts to sell on for a profit. When Frank discovers his money making scheme, he harasses Vince to pay off the rest of the money he owes from the stolen car debacle. To get out of his debt, Vince gives Frank the statues, believing their worth to be less than what he owed, but he is later infuriated to discover that he had underestimated their real value. By this time, Frank has sold them on cheaply to Grant Mitchell for £100. Both Frank and Vince try to con Grant's brother Phil Mitchell into selling back the statues for a cheap price; Phil eventually does so, but the deal is void when Grant reveals that he has already sold them for £300. Furious, Frank tries to force Vince to compensate him for his lost profit, but Vince refuses and amidst Frank's threats, Vince leaves in March 1990, saying he is sick of Walford.
Danny Whiting
Danny Whiting, played by Saul Jephcott, is a computers salesman who helps Michelle Fowler, who struggles with the new computer system that David Samuels introduces to the surgery. Michelle and Danny are instantly attracted to each other and go on a date together off-screen.Danny is suave, middle class, and a lot older than Michelle, but despite their differences Michelle falls for his charms instantly. Their relationship progresses quickly and Michelle is so smitten that she agrees to go away with him for the weekend. However, she is given a shock when she telephones his home and is greeted by a woman's voice. Danny comes clean and confesses that the woman is his wife, Mandy Whiting, the mother of his three children. Danny claims that he is no longer in love with Mandy and tells Michelle that he wants to continue their relationship. Michelle is devastated and refuses to consider the idea. Danny's poor treatment of Michelle upsets the locals and Simon Wicks and Ricky Butcher seek revenge on her behalf by graffiting his car with the words "Love Rat". Danny holds Michelle responsible for the vandalism and storms off leaving her perplexed and lonely.
The following month Danny contacts Michelle hoping to reconcile with her. She refuses, but when Danny creeps into her house late one evening she is seduced by the gesture and agrees to be his mistress. Michelle falls in love with Danny, but he frequently lets her down to be with his wife and children, and she begins to tire of sharing him. To appease her, Danny lies to his wife, telling her that he is attending a computing course, and moves in with Michelle for a few days to spend some time with her. While he is living in Walford, Danny became an accidental hero after he anonymously rescues Marge Green from a gang of muggers. Danny refuses to give testimony to the police however, fearing that his wife will discover his whereabouts. Michelle is furious about this, especially when she discovers that his testimony could lead to the muggers' imprisonment. Danny eventually relents and tells the police what he witnessed, but deceives them by using Michelle's address as his own, leaving her answerable when they called in search of him. Michelle is infuriated by Danny's dishonesty and cowardice and he exacerbates the situation by avoiding her for several weeks. Michelle's family and friends advise her to finish with him, but she defiantly refuses to do so. Danny eventually contacts Michelle and promises to spend Christmas Eve with her. However, he turns up extremely late and then sours the evening further by giving Michelle a Christmas card that was intended for his wife.
Danny continues to mess Michelle around in 1990 by avoiding all contact with her, which turns her into an emotional wreck. Just when she has given up hope, Danny returns to Walford claiming that he has informed his wife about their affair and has left her. He moves in with Michelle, much to her parents' dismay, and tells her that he wants to be with her permanently. Michelle is overjoyed, but Danny's true colours eventually emerge when his estranged wife shows up in Walford shortly afterwards to confront Michelle. Danny apprehends his wife before they meet and takes her to the launderette where he begs her to take him back. Danny has been given a promotion in Newcastle and he wants Mandy and their children to go with him. Mandy tells him that moving is not an option, but she says she will take him back if he finishes with Michelle and returns to her. Danny refuses to give up his job however, and he promptly goes to Michelle and makes the same offer.
Despite an array of objections, Michelle agrees to leave her family and friends and move to Newcastle. While Michelle organises the move, Danny makes various attempts to change his wife's mind, all of which were greeted with rejection. On the day of the move, just as they are about to depart, Michelle changes her mind about leaving. Danny is stunned and attempts to forcibly place her in the moving van. Michelle, fearful of Danny's sudden aggression, locks herself in her flat and refuses to let him in. Danny kicks down the door to confront her, but is forced to admit defeat after Michelle confesses that she did not really love him. He departs in a fury and throws all of Michelle's belongings from his van in the process. A week later Michelle discovers the extent of Danny's duplicity when Mandy arrives in Walford and informs her that he'd been attempting to reconcile with her.