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Billie Jackson
Billie Jackson (also known as Billy) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Devon Anderson from 1993 to 1997, and by Bluey Robinson for a brief return in 2004. The character returned in 2010, along with other members of the Jackson family. It was confirmed in November 2009 that Anderson would reprise the role, 13 years after he was last seen on the soap. He made his return on 4 February 2010. The character was killed-off in October 2010, and made his last credited appearance on 14 October.
1994 was a "historic" year for EastEnders, as in April, a third weekly episode was introduced. Due to the programme's increased frequency, a number of new characters were introduced to the regular cast in the latter part of 1993 and early 1994. Among them were the Jackson family: mother Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), and her four children, Bianca (Patsy Palmer), Robbie (Dean Gaffney), Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), and Billy Jackson (Devon Anderson), as well as Carol's partner, Alan Jackson (Howard Antony). Though Carol and Alan were not initially married in the serial, and though Alan was only the biological father of Billy, the whole family took on Alan's surname. The family was created by writer Tony McHale. None of the actors cast as the Jackson family were matched for appearance or screen compatibility. Cassidy has commented, "it was all decided without doing that. I don't think it particularly mattered that none of us Jackson kids looked like each other because all our characters had different dads!"
Various members of the family began to appear sporadically from November 1993 onwards, but in episodes that aired early in 1994, the Jacksons moved from Walford Towers, a block of flats, to the soap's focal setting of Albert Square. Their slow introduction was a deliberate attempt by the programme makers to introduce the whole family over a long period. The Jacksons were described by EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake as a "classic problem family". Anderson was 6 years old when he first appeared on-screen as Billy.
In a 2000 book, author Kate Lock described Billy as "angelic" and a "cheeky, curly-haired cherub whose principal dramatic function seemed to be to generate angst in the bosom of his family". His most notable storyline in his initial stint was also his exit storyline. Following Lindsey Coulson's decision to quit her role as Carol, the Jackson family were written out of the soap in 1997. In the storyline, Billy was kidnapped after witnessing an armed robbery and the whole family was relocated under a witness protection programme until Billy testified in court.
While the majority of the Jackson family returned to the serial, Billy Jackson was not seen again until 2004. It was announced in April that year that the character would be returning briefly to attend the wedding of his sister Sonia. Producers decided not to bring back the original actor, and Billy was played by Bluey Robinson for several episodes in June 2004.
It was announced in October 2009 that the character, now called Billie, would be rejoining the soap along with the rest of the Jackson clan, excluding Alan and Blossom, for a storyline to mark the 25th anniversary of EastEnders in February 2010. At the time the casting for the character had not been finalised; however, it was confirmed in November 2009 that the original actor, Devon Anderson, would be reprising the role 13 years after he had last been seen in the soap. Anderson commented, "I'm really happy to be back at EastEnders playing the role of Billie Jackson again. It was my first acting role and I can't wait to get started again. It is also very exciting that all of the Jackson family will be reunited and I'm sure that will be eventful for the viewers." Executive producer Diederick Santer added, "Viewers will remember Devon as the original Billie Jackson, the cute kid with the big hair. Devon, like Billie, is all grown up, and 12 years on, I'm delighted to welcome this talented young actor back to the show." He later described the character as "interesting", saying "He's a troubled soul, torn between being a good son to his mother and trying to have an exciting London life. And when your mother's Carol Jackson, that's quite a feat." A source told the media website Digital Spy, "Billie's become a young man since the last time we saw him - he might even [be] referred to by his proper name Will. He's still the apple of his mother's eye but is he the angelic family man she wants him to be?"
Talking about the show's 25th anniversary week, Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "That's [...] why we're doing the soap wedding of the year [...] with Ricky and Bianca. [...] The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters – Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie." Anderson said he found it easy to return to the role, saying that "When a child comes into a show, you can't give them a character, so anything that was created for Billie was by me in the early days. Nobody knows Billie like me!" He added that Billie is "clever and very much a dark horse – you never know what you're going to get with him."
On 18 September 2010, it was reported that the character would be killed off the following month after an alcohol-fuelled birthday celebration. Coulson said that although the storyline had "huge shock value", she felt it was too soon to kill off the character, as "there were lots of stories they could have told about Billie."
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Billie Jackson
Billie Jackson (also known as Billy) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Devon Anderson from 1993 to 1997, and by Bluey Robinson for a brief return in 2004. The character returned in 2010, along with other members of the Jackson family. It was confirmed in November 2009 that Anderson would reprise the role, 13 years after he was last seen on the soap. He made his return on 4 February 2010. The character was killed-off in October 2010, and made his last credited appearance on 14 October.
1994 was a "historic" year for EastEnders, as in April, a third weekly episode was introduced. Due to the programme's increased frequency, a number of new characters were introduced to the regular cast in the latter part of 1993 and early 1994. Among them were the Jackson family: mother Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), and her four children, Bianca (Patsy Palmer), Robbie (Dean Gaffney), Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), and Billy Jackson (Devon Anderson), as well as Carol's partner, Alan Jackson (Howard Antony). Though Carol and Alan were not initially married in the serial, and though Alan was only the biological father of Billy, the whole family took on Alan's surname. The family was created by writer Tony McHale. None of the actors cast as the Jackson family were matched for appearance or screen compatibility. Cassidy has commented, "it was all decided without doing that. I don't think it particularly mattered that none of us Jackson kids looked like each other because all our characters had different dads!"
Various members of the family began to appear sporadically from November 1993 onwards, but in episodes that aired early in 1994, the Jacksons moved from Walford Towers, a block of flats, to the soap's focal setting of Albert Square. Their slow introduction was a deliberate attempt by the programme makers to introduce the whole family over a long period. The Jacksons were described by EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake as a "classic problem family". Anderson was 6 years old when he first appeared on-screen as Billy.
In a 2000 book, author Kate Lock described Billy as "angelic" and a "cheeky, curly-haired cherub whose principal dramatic function seemed to be to generate angst in the bosom of his family". His most notable storyline in his initial stint was also his exit storyline. Following Lindsey Coulson's decision to quit her role as Carol, the Jackson family were written out of the soap in 1997. In the storyline, Billy was kidnapped after witnessing an armed robbery and the whole family was relocated under a witness protection programme until Billy testified in court.
While the majority of the Jackson family returned to the serial, Billy Jackson was not seen again until 2004. It was announced in April that year that the character would be returning briefly to attend the wedding of his sister Sonia. Producers decided not to bring back the original actor, and Billy was played by Bluey Robinson for several episodes in June 2004.
It was announced in October 2009 that the character, now called Billie, would be rejoining the soap along with the rest of the Jackson clan, excluding Alan and Blossom, for a storyline to mark the 25th anniversary of EastEnders in February 2010. At the time the casting for the character had not been finalised; however, it was confirmed in November 2009 that the original actor, Devon Anderson, would be reprising the role 13 years after he had last been seen in the soap. Anderson commented, "I'm really happy to be back at EastEnders playing the role of Billie Jackson again. It was my first acting role and I can't wait to get started again. It is also very exciting that all of the Jackson family will be reunited and I'm sure that will be eventful for the viewers." Executive producer Diederick Santer added, "Viewers will remember Devon as the original Billie Jackson, the cute kid with the big hair. Devon, like Billie, is all grown up, and 12 years on, I'm delighted to welcome this talented young actor back to the show." He later described the character as "interesting", saying "He's a troubled soul, torn between being a good son to his mother and trying to have an exciting London life. And when your mother's Carol Jackson, that's quite a feat." A source told the media website Digital Spy, "Billie's become a young man since the last time we saw him - he might even [be] referred to by his proper name Will. He's still the apple of his mother's eye but is he the angelic family man she wants him to be?"
Talking about the show's 25th anniversary week, Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "That's [...] why we're doing the soap wedding of the year [...] with Ricky and Bianca. [...] The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters – Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie." Anderson said he found it easy to return to the role, saying that "When a child comes into a show, you can't give them a character, so anything that was created for Billie was by me in the early days. Nobody knows Billie like me!" He added that Billie is "clever and very much a dark horse – you never know what you're going to get with him."
On 18 September 2010, it was reported that the character would be killed off the following month after an alcohol-fuelled birthday celebration. Coulson said that although the storyline had "huge shock value", she felt it was too soon to kill off the character, as "there were lots of stories they could have told about Billie."