Aaron Monroe

Aaron Monroe is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Charlie Wernham. Wernham auditioned for the role over Zoom and was cast as Aaron, the son of established character Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) and older brother of Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith). He first appeared in episode 6363, broadcast on 21 October 2021. Wernham was open about his joy to be cast in EastEnders, as it had been a childhood dream of his. Across his stint, Aaron's storylines have included his relationship with Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith), involvement with a far-right terrorist organisation, and his eventual arrest and struggles in prison.

Initially billed as a suave, opinionated, and cocky businessman, Aaron was soon revealed to be involved in an Islamophobic hate group. The storyline required advisors on-set to ensure accuracy. Despite acknowledging the seriousness of the plot, Wernham was happy to play a villain. Aaron saw an unannounced exit, which was confirmed after his last appearance in episode 6475, broadcast on 26 April 2022. Aaron's character was generally disliked by viewers, but Wernham often received supportive messages online for his portrayal.

In August 2021, it was announced that actor Charlie Wernham had been cast as Aaron, the son of Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) and older brother of Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith). Wernham auditioned for the part over Zoom and received the news that he won the role a few days later. Wernham commented that it was "always a childhood dream" of his to be on EastEnders as it is "constantly on TV in [his] household as [his] family are massive fans", adding that the show was "close to [his] heart". He later added that gaining a role on the show was on his "acting bucket list" since his childhood, as he watched it growing up and was often told by peers that he would fit the show. The actor continued by calling the role "perfect" for him, and was particularly impressed as "Aaron has got a lot of layers and a lot of stuff to do". He said that his new role was one that, in his words: "[he] would have bitten your hand off to get". Executive producer Jon Sen expressed excitement to welcome Wernham to the series, stating: "We're very happy to be welcoming Charlie to Walford. His character Aaron joins the Monroes, our newest family set to move into the Square with connections to the Beales". Wernham began filming in August 2021.

Aaron's arrival was initially set to occur in the Autumn of 2021. It was later announced that Aaron would arrive on 21 October, to Dana's chagrin. While Aaron would initially plan for a short visit, it was teased that he would eventually decide "to hang around a while longer". Wernham commented that Aaron's arrival would "kick up a bit of a storm". The character's arrival teased a romance between Aaron and Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) after the two go out on a date. It was later revealed that Aaron would play a role in a storyline about casual racism his father was at the centre of, with Aaron set to "cause some big waves" in the storyline. He made his first appearance in the episode broadcast on 21 October 2021.

Aaron was billed as a "confident", "fiercely loyal" man who "likes to get his own way". Sen teased that "there's more to Aaron than his bravado lets on". Wernham called his character a wealthy, and "very confident" young man who likes to "splash" his money about. The actor teased viewers could expect "quite a lot of fun scenes" with Aaron at first, where he would try to be the "life and soul" and start "winding people up". Wernham noted the character enjoyed "having a laugh with people" and being "flirty". Despite Aaron's positive traits, Wernham warned that his character was very opinionated and "likes to have the last word". As Harvey was involved in a storyline about casual racism, Wernham teased that Aaron's opinionated nature would become apparent, as his character would "definitely give his opinion" on the matter and would "try to take control of the situation", despite it apparently coming from "a good place". Wernham commented that Aaron has a divisive personality amongst the residents of Walford, explaining "a few people will like him and there's a few people who he'll rub up the wrong way".

The third and final member of the Monroe family to be introduced, Aaron's backstory states that he was raised by his father in Walford before leaving to pursue his career in finance. He was said to be "close" with his father Harvey, despite being "nothing" like him, but his relationship with Dana was "strained" as she "often feels shut out by him". Sen observed that the character was the "opposite" of his sister. Wernham described Aaron as being "protective" and "quite dominating" over Dana, tending to see himself as "the man of the house" as he wanted to protect his family, keep them safe, and for others to respect them.

In November 2021, the show teased that Harvey would "make a disturbing discovery" about Aaron. The announcement followed a scene where Aaron is Islamophobic towards Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) and would involve Harvey finding one of Aaron's shirts covered in blood. It was later revealed that Aaron was involved in a terrorist attack against a Muslim taxi driver and is affiliated with an Islamophobic gang. In early December 2021, it was announced that the soap would tackle how Aaron's actions impacted the Square over the upcoming Christmas. Set to involve a bomb plot, the BBC teased: "EastEnders has a huge winter ahead with plenty of drama in store for the viewers". A new character, Neil Hughes (Thomas Coombes) was set to be introduced for the story and viewers were set to see how Aaron was "entrenched" in the group. The show consulted with experts, including Exit UK's founder Nigel Bromage, during production to depict the plot as accurately as possible. Sen stated that EastEnders intends to tackle "challenging yet prescient" stories, with Aaron's being tackled as the show aimed to portray "the faulty logic" of far-right ideologies and extremists.

Wernham considered the story to be a "really tough", but necessary one to portray, with the actor admitting he felt "privileged" to play an antagonist. In response to Aaron's "shocking" New Year's Eve plot, Harvey was teased to be "horrified" by the revelation. After choosing not to go through with the plot, the show teased a "police shock" for Aaron and his gang. When Aaron is threatened into remaining with the group, it was announced that he would be cornered into leading a terror attack in Manchester. Having had enough of the situation, Harvey reported Aaron to the police.