Chantelle Atkins

Chantelle Atkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jessica Plummer. She first appears in episode 5991, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2019. Chantelle is introduced as the eldest daughter of Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and had been referenced on-screen since the family's arrival in 2017. The character was created with a family unit consisting of Chantelle, husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) and two children Mia Atkins (Mahalia Malcolm) and Mackenzie Atkins (Isaac Lemonius). Chantelle is characterised as a loving and vivacious hairdresser with the same fiery attitude as her family. Her backstory states that after marrying Gray, she established a perfect life for herself away from her family. The character's early stories focus on her relationships with her parents, Karen and Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths), and a feud with Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) after moving into her former home.

The characters of Chantelle and Gray were used to highlight the topic of domestic abuse. Producers wanted to explore the idea that "you don't know what goes on behind closed doors". To achieve this, the story was not announced prior to transmission and the first portrayed attack also marks the first time viewers see inside the family home. EastEnders worked with charities Refuge and Women's Aid throughout the plot. Writers developed the story over multiple months and explored the relationship, in private and public. They portrayed Chantelle being isolated from friends and family, falling pregnant and suffering a miscarriage, and developing a growing awareness of her situation.

The story concludes with Chantelle's death, a decision made to reflect real-life cases of domestic abuse. Plans for the character's exit were delayed by the show's three-month production break, but the story team used the break to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence. Chantelle dies after challenging Gray and announcing her plans to leave. Plummer and Smith filmed the 15 minute-long scene in one take under strict filming restrictions. The character departs in episode 6134, originally broadcast on 22 September 2020. Plummer was proud of her work on the storyline and felt it was important to end it with Chantelle's death.

For her portrayal of Chantelle, Plummer was nominated for and won multiple awards. In 2020, she won the Best Actress award at the Inside Soap Awards and the Best Soap Female Actor accolade at the Digital Spy Reader Awards. The domestic abuse plot led to an increase in calls experienced by Women's Aid. The character and the domestic abuse story was praised by television critics and the audience alike. Claire Crick from What's on TV called Chantelle's death "some of the toughest scenes EastEnders has ever aired". Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy praised Plummer's "astonishing" portrayal of her character's "agonising and unforgettable final scenes".

In 2017, the Taylor family - consisting of matriarch Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and her children, Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), Keegan Baker (Zack Morris), Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris), Riley Taylor (Tom Jacobs) and Chatham Taylor (Alfie Jacobs) - were created and introduced to EastEnders. The family, and the concept of Chantelle, were announced on 12 May 2017. Chantelle is Karen's eldest child and lives nearby with her boyfriend and two children. While most of the children have different fathers, Chantelle and Keegan share the same father, Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths). Morris expressed an interest in introducing the character in a September 2017 interview with Inside Soap. Mitch was introduced to the series in March 2018.

The character was referenced on-screen on several occasions prior to her introduction. Laura Morgan, writing for entertainment website Digital Spy, did not believe the family had made an impact on the soap following their arrival and thought that introducing Chantelle and her family would help them achieve this. She believed that casting a capable actress would benefit the family and establish Chantelle as a "standout character", such as Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) in the Slater family and Max Branning (Jake Wood) in the Branning family. Morgan noted that Chantelle could be portrayed as "a chip off the old block and as mouthy as her mum" or characterised in contrast to her family.

On 20 December 2018, it was confirmed that the character would be introduced to EastEnders in 2019 and that the role was in the process of being cast. Kate Oates, the show's senior executive producer, stated that Chantelle's arrival would "complete" the Taylor family and added, "Things are set to get a whole lot louder in Walford in 2019." Stanley was excited about Chantelle's introduction and wanted to explore the character as well as Chantelle and Karen's relationship. It was announced on 5 March 2019 that actress and singer Jessica Plummer had been cast as Chantelle, and further details about the character and Plummer's casting were announced on 11 March 2019.

When she joined the cast, Plummer was mentored by experienced cast member Tony Clay (who portrays Callum Highway). She felt fortunate to have Clay as her mentor and called her "a calming presence". The character was created with a family unit consisting of Chantelle, husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) and two children Mia Atkins (Mahalia Malcolm) and Mackenzie Atkins (Isaac Lemonius). The actors began filming in early 2019. Oates expressed her excitement at the family's introduction and Plummer called it "an absolute honour" to join the cast. The family were previewed in promotional images featuring them with Karen and Mitch.