List of minor EastEnders characters (2001)

The following is a list of minor characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 2001, by order of first appearance.

Diane Irving
Diane Irving was the social worker who took over from Ameena Badawi on the case of Chloe Jackson, when Ameena was promoted. She eventually found Chloe a home with Neil and Sue Miller, who renamed her Rebecca.

Ritchie Stringer
Ritchie Stringer was a gang boss who knew Phil Mitchell. Phil contacted him in April 2001 to call in a few favours. Ritchie and Phil had a mutual acquaintance, Dan Sullivan. Phil asked Ritchie to help him frame Dan. Dan had worked for Ritchie in the past, and so he did not suspect anything untoward when Ritchie provided him with a gun to do a raid on Phil. However it was all part of Phil's plan, and Dan was caught by the police in the middle of the armed robbery. It transpired that the gun Ritchie had given Dan, was the same gun that Lisa Shaw had used to shoot Phil earlier that year. Dan was blamed for the shooting.

Ritchie Stringer was 10/3 at Ladbrokes bookmakers as the culprit in the "Who Shot Phil?" storyline, despite not being one of the named suspects. When the BBC announced that actor Gareth Hunt was appearing in EastEnders, there was a massive betting flurry on Ritchie being the culprit. Bookmakers William Hill even "closed the book". William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe commented that there were "dozens of calls" within half an hour of a 16/1 price being quoted and the bookmakers had nearly been "'knocked over' in the rush of punters wanting to place bets of hundreds of pounds on the actor". William Hill decided to reopen the book later in the week after "information from unofficial BBC sources had convinced them that [Gareth Hunt's] character [was] not the killer."

George Hawkins
George Hawkins was a salesman who tried to sell his wares to Ian Beale at his fish and chip shop. He was nicknamed "Cuban Man" by Beppe di Marco, a minicab driver, because he insisted on smoking cigars in his taxi.

Norman Dunn
Norman Dunn was the father of Laura, and appeared in Walford for Laura's wedding to Ian Beale in 2001, along with his wife Edwina. He was very conservative and disapproved of Laura and Ian's marriage, as Ian had been declared bankrupt just a few months earlier. He threatened to disinherit Laura and when she refused to postpone the wedding, he refused to attend.

When Edwina returned to Walford in 2005 for Janine Evans's trial for Laura's murder, she spoke to Pat Evans and said that Norman was very upset about his daughter's death.

Family

 * Wife: Edwina Dunn
 * Daughter: Laura Beale (deceased)
 * Grandson: Bobby Beale

Edwina Dunn
Edwina Dunn was the mother of Laura, and appeared for Laura's wedding to and Ian Beale in 2001, along with her husband, Norman, but did not attend the ceremony as Norman disapproved of Ian being declared bankrupt in the past. She was shown to be very fond of wine, possibly an alcoholic.

She reappeared in December 2005 to attend Janine Evans's trial for the murder of Laura, and unknowingly persuaded Pat Evans to change her testimony, allowing the innocent Janine to walk free.

Family

 * Husband: Norman Dunn
 * Daughter: Laura Beale (deceased)
 * Grandson: Bobby Beale

Gary Bolton
Gary Bolton was the biological father of Robbie Jackson, who lived with his mother Carol Branning as her boyfriend, and her daughter Bianca until a year after Robbie's birth. He left Carol and Robbie when he got another woman pregnant.

He tried to get in touch with Robbie on his eighteenth birthday by phoning Carol's father Jim, but Jim refused to give Gary Carol's number.

In May 2001, Robbie and his half sister Sonia went to Portsmouth to find Gary. They found his number when they saw an advert for a builder called G. Bolton. When they went to his house, Gary gave Robbie a present he had saved from his first birthday and a cheque to make up for "backdated pocket money". Robbie then met his half brother, Gary's son Kevin, and when he realised that Gary had left Carol to be with Kevin's mother, he threw the cheque back at Gary and left.

In June, Gary arrived in Walford to talk to Robbie. He told Robbie he would pay for him to go to college, but Jim told him to leave. Later, in July, Gary returned to Walford and was happy to see old friend Mo Harris. Gary and Mo spent the day reminiscing in The Queen Vic, and when Robbie came in, Gary gave him a cheque for £10,000. This was the last time Gary was seen. Robbie used £1,000 of his money to travel to India, and gave Sonia £9,000 to pay her college fees.

Family

 * Sons: Robbie Jackson, Kevin Bolton

Kevin Bolton
Kevin Bolton was the son of Gary Bolton, and half brother of Robbie Jackson. He appeared when Robbie and his half sister Sonia tracked Gary down to Portsmouth. He was jealous of Robbie's presence in his father's life.

Family

 * Father: Gary Bolton
 * Half brother: Robbie Jackson

Margaret Walker
Margaret Walker began renting a flat from Janine Butcher and Terry Raymond's letting agency in June 2001. Terry and Margaret were attracted to each other and a relationship soon developed.

Janine and Margaret did not get along, which made things awkward for Terry as he and Janine lived together. Janine grew extremely jealous of Margaret and Terry's relationship and she began playing various tricks to split them up. Margaret was not perturbed and vowed to beat Janine at her own game, leading to numerous squabbles. When Janine discovered a photo of Margaret and another man, she immediately assumed the worst and informed Terry that Margaret was cheating on him. Margaret explained that the man in the photo was her brother, who was dying of cancer and she was paying for his placement in a drug trial in America.

After continued hostility, Margaret tried to persuade Terry to throw Janine out, and he eventually gave in and arranged for Janine to move into one of his bedsits. Janine was aware of Terry's paternal feelings towards her, and she began using emotional blackmail to manipulate him. Margaret eventually grew tired of all the game playing and so she and Terry booked a trip to Paris in order to spend some time alone together. Janine was furious and Margaret goaded her further by telling her that she planned to propose to Terry while they were away.

In order to prevent this, Janine went to Margaret's property to steal Terry's passport, and whilst there she witnessed Margaret kissing her supposed brother goodbye. Janine became suspicious and when Terry told her that he was planning to give Margaret £10,000 to help her brother, she told him that Margaret was conning him and informed him about the kiss she'd witnessed. Furious, Terry went to Margaret's to discover the truth, but she refused to let him see her brother and after he insulted her, she slammed the door in his face.

Later that day Margaret confronted Terry demanding an apology. However Terry was adamant that she had been conning him for his money all along. She denied this, but he refused to believe her. He branded her a prostitute and ordered her to leave. After having one last fight with a smug Janine, Margaret went home, where it was revealed that the man at her flat really was her brother after all. She put him into a taxi and told him that he was all that mattered to her.

Although sources prior to the filming of this storyline had suggested that Margaret would be a sophisticated conwoman, this was never actually confirmed on-screen. The ending was left ambiguous and although the man at Margaret's flat turned out to be her brother, he did not appear to be dying.

Family

 * Brother: David Walker

Kay Bradshaw
Kay Bradshaw was a woman who Beppe di Marco had a one-night-stand with. It was later revealed that she was Beppe's son Joe's teacher, when Joe walked in on Beppe and Kay lying together on the sofa, and refused to go to school the next day.

Angel Hudson
Angel Hudson the gold-toothed gangster was first seen in June 2001 when he attended a poker game that Steve Owen was holding. His appearance was a huge shock to one of the other gamblers, Paul Trueman, and it soon became clear that the two had unresolved issues. Later during a break from the game, Angel approached Paul and told him that he wanted what he was owed: £30,000.00. He told Paul that he had a week to pay up or he would make sure he disappeared for good!

Paul desperately tried to get the money together by stealing property from his mother, Audrey Trueman, pawning the goods and then gambling the money he was given. Inevitably, this failed and he ended up with less money than he began with. By the end of the week, Angel came to collect his money, and when Paul failed to pay, Angel gave him a severe beating and trashed his mother's bed and breakfast.

After more threats from Angel, Paul decided to blackmail his brother, Anthony, into giving him the money. Anthony was the local GP, a respectable man with a worthy profession, but he had a dark secret. When he was 15 years old, after a heavy drinking session, Anthony had driven a car, hit a pedestrian and then left the scene. Not wanting his brother to ruin his chance of a successful career, Paul had taken the blame for the crime and had subsequently served 18 months in prison. Paul threatened to tell their mother the truth unless Anthony gave him the money he needed. A fearful Anthony felt he had no choice but to oblige, so he took out a loan and Paul paid Angel what he owed him. Satisified, Angel left Walford, but told Paul they would meet again.

Angel returned in June 2002 with more orders for Paul. Angel had been accused of murder and was soon to stand trial. He was using his wife, Precious, as a fake alibi, and he wanted Paul to guard her until she could testify. Paul had no choice but to oblige and so Precious moved into his home on Albert Square. Paul was initially unaware that Precious was Angel's wife, so when she set about trying to seduce him, he had no qualms about taking her to bed. When he discovered the truth, he was petrified of what Angel would do if he found out about the affair. However, he soon had greater problems when Precious decided to do a runner, leaving Paul to face up to a furious Angel. Paul sped off to bring Precious back, whilst Angel held his father, Patrick, and his brother's girlfriend, Zoe Slater, hostage. Luckily, Paul managed to persuade Precious to return before Angel did any real harm. Their affair continued and it soon blossomed into love.

Later in the month, the family of the man that was killed by Angel tried to silence Precious by placing a bomb underneath her car. Luckily, no one was harmed, but a furious Precious told Angel that she'd had enough and would only provide his alibi in court if he promised to divorce her. Angel agreed, but days later Precious was kidnapped by the victim's family. They convinced her that Angel would never let her go and that the only way to get rid of him was to get him locked up. Precious agreed and at the trial she denied being with Angel at the time of the murder. Precious assumed that this would be enough to put Angel away for good, but was shocked to discover that he was found not guilty anyway.

Paul and Precious then decided to flee the country. However, Angel caught up with Precious before she could get away. He told her that her betrayal didn't bother him enough to kill her and he told her she could have her divorce on one condition — she was to stay away from Paul. If he ever found out she and Paul were together again, he promised that he would kill them both. Precious had no choice but to finish with Paul and leave Walford without him. Angel's last appearance was in July 2002.

Family

 * Wife: Precious Hudson

Jan Sherwood
Jan Sherwood was a woman who Steve Owen met when he and his gang attempted a robbery targeting Jan's lover and wealthy businessman Alan Mills. When Steve seduced her, she tricked him and took off with all the money leaving him and his gang with nothing. It was however revealed in a plot twist that she and Steve were both in on the plan for her to take off with all the money and later share it with Steve. Steve fooled his gang into thinking Jan had gone with all the money and their plan had failed. He met up secretly with Jan and took his half of the money and never saw her again.

Sidney Gibbs
Sidney Gibbs was the owner of a cleaning firm, Sid's Scrubbers, who were hired by Sharon Watts in order to get Billy Mitchell to lower the prices of his cleaning firm.

Belinda Peacock
Belinda Peacock (née Slater) is the Slater sister who rejected her working class roots. She likes to think she is superior to her sisters, but is not as classy as she likes to think she is. She is married to Neville Peacock (who has never been seen in the show). Neville is rich and Belinda enjoys showing off her wealth to her sisters. She wears a blonde wig and speaks in an exaggerated voice, but revealed her true self at Lynne's hen night, when she got drunk.

Belinda usually turns up in Albert Square when she is having marriage problems. She has had flings with Jamie Mitchell and her brother-in-law Garry Hobbs.

She lives in Lanzarote, and her grandmother Mo frequently visits her.

Family

 * Father: Charlie Slater
 * Mother: Viv Slater (deceased)
 * Sisters: Kat Moon, Lynne Hobbs, Little Mo Mitchell
 * Husband: Neville Peacock
 * Grandfathers: Frederick Slater (deceased), Stuart Mullins
 * Grandmothers: Mary Slater (deceased), Mo Harris
 * Uncles: Harry Slater (deceased), Billy Harris
 * Aunts: Violet Slater (deceased), Jean Harris
 * Great uncle: Stan Porter
 * Nephew: Freddie Mitchell
 * Nieces: Zoe Slater, Vivienne Hobbs (deceased)
 * Cousins: Brian Slater (deceased), Zoe Slater, Joanne
 * First cousins once removed: Stacey Slater, Sean Slater

John Davis
John Davis was the landlord of 15a Turpin Road. He doubled the rent on the flat, then offered to help Laura with the money, but only if she would have to have sex with him.

Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace was the interior designer who redesigned e20 after a fire there, and had an affair with the manager Beppe di Marco, and caught a sexually transmitted infection from him, leading to her husband Tony discovering the affair and attacking Beppe.

Family

 * Husband: Tony Wallace

Tony Wallace
Tony Wallace was the husband of Chris Wallace, who attacked Beppe di Marco at the e20 Hallowe'en party after Beppe and Chris had an affair and Beppe gave Chris a sexually transmitted infection.

Family

 * Wife: Chris Wallace

Louise Mitchell
Louise Mitchell (née Fowler) is the daughter of Phil Mitchell and Lisa Fowler, though Mark Fowler is listed as her father on her birth certificate. Mark and Lisa got married and Mark knew that Louise wasn't his daughter, but he registered himself as her legal father to hide the fact that Phil was her biological father. Louise is named after Mark's grandmother, Lou Beale. When Sharon Watts informed Phil that Louise was his daughter, and Lisa and Mark split, Lisa and Louise went to live with Phil and his mother Peggy, who was very controlling over Lisa and even hired a nanny, Joanne Ryan, without consulting Lisa.

After a few months, Lisa grew tired of Phil and Peggy, so left Walford with Louise to live in Portugal with her best friend Melanie Owen. They left on the day of a party that Peggy held, celebrating the fact that Louise's name had been changed from Fowler to Mitchell.

Phil went after Lisa and returned to Albert Square with baby Louise. It was suspected that he had murdered Lisa, and the police sent a honeytrap officer, Kate "Helen Tyler" Mitchell, to get a confession from him. It turned out that Phil had mentally intimidated Lisa into giving Louise back to Phil.

Phil went on to marry Kate, and Lisa returned on their wedding day, with a plan to get Louise back. Lisa tried to shoot Phil a second time, but failed. After Lisa turned to alcohol, Den Watts took her under his wing, and framed Phil for an armed robbery. When Phil was arrested, Kate returned Louise to her mother, and they left Walford for a second time. They have not been seen or heard from since.

In 2007, Phil suggested to his son, Louise's elder half-brother Ben, that they should track down Louise, but Ben expressed dislike to the idea of finding her.

According to Tina Baker, Louise will be returning to EastEnders in 2008.

Family

 * Father: Phil Mitchell
 * Mother: Lisa Fowler
 * Half brother: Ben Mitchell
 * Grandfather: Eric Mitchell (deceased)
 * Grandmother: Peggy Mitchell
 * Great grandfather: Phil Mitchell (deceased)
 * Great grandmother: Sandra Mitchell (deceased)
 * Great great grandfather: Edward Mitchell (deceased)
 * Great great grandmother: Betty Mitchell (deceased)
 * Uncle: Grant Mitchell
 * Aunt: Sam Mitchell
 * Great uncles: Clive Mitchell, Archie Mitchell
 * Great aunt: Sal Martin
 * Great great uncle: Kenneth Mitchell (deceased)
 * Cousins: Courtney Mitchell, Mark Fowler Jr.
 * First cousins once removed: Roxy Mitchell, Ronnie Mitchell
 * First cousins twice removed: Steven Mitchell (deceased), Ted Mitchell
 * Second cousin once removed: Billy Mitchell, Charlie Mitchell (deceased)
 * Third cousins: Jamie Mitchell (deceased), Janet Mitchell, William Mitchell

Roxy Drake
Roxy Drake was a pimp who groomed Zoe Slater, who had run away from home and was living on the streets. Roxy found Zoe a flat, then forced her to prostitute herself. Roxy and fellow prostitute Kelly Taylor dressed and made-up Zoe, but Zoe got drunk on whiskey and vomited on her first client. Some time Later, Kat, Zoe's mother, along with Anthony Trueman, came to take Zoe home, but Roxy tried to prevent her taking Zoe, and ended up being headbutted in the face by Kat.