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List of EastEnders characters introduced in 1996
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List of EastEnders characters introduced in 1996
The following is a list of fictional characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1996, by order of first appearance.
Michael Rose, played by Russell Floyd, first appears in Walford as a Market Inspector in 1996. He initially has very few storylines, but he is chosen to be the best man at Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards)'s wedding (which is later called off). He has a crush on April Branning (Debbie Arnold) but no relationship ever develops between them. Then there is the arrival of his teenage son Matthew (Joe Absolom) and former wife Susan Rose (Tilly Vosburgh) in 1997.
His ex-wife Susan is suffering from multiple sclerosis and Michael ends up caring for her. Eventually he and Susan get back together and seem happy until the arrival of Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin) who is also a Market Inspector. He and Lisa become attracted to each other and have an affair behind Susan's back. Michael ends the affair and decides to leave Walford with Susan and start a new life in Leeds, with Susan unaware of the affair.
He returns occasionally in 1999 when his son Matthew is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor). Michael's last appearance is in December 1999, visiting Matthew in prison.
Dan Zappieri, played by Carl Pizzie, made his first screen appearance on 19 March 1996. Pizzie was out of work and had just opened a bar with fellow actor Nick Pickard when he was cast as Dan. EastEnders was his first major television role. Pizzie relished the chance to play a bad guy role, as he had only ever played "regular guys" before.
Dan was a drug dealer, who befriended Tony Hills (Mark Homer). They sold drugs together and Pizzie commented that Tony was easily drawn into Dan's world as he thought it was exciting and he liked having money. When two of Dan's customers suffered serious side effects from his drugs, he was unconcerned and Pizzie noted that all Dan cared about was money. He said "He likes playing the bad guy, he thinks his life is a bit like an Al Pacino movie." Pizzie found parts of Dan's storylines challenging to play, as he did not touch drugs. But he liked that the show was tackling the subject matter and the negative effects taking drugs had on people. An Inside Soap columnist branded the character "Desperate Dan" and "Walford's latest villain".
Aunt Sal is played by Anna Karen, and has appeared sporadically since 21 March 1996, usually for only one or two episodes at a time. She is Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) sister.
Ben Mitchell has been played by six different actors. Matthew Silver appeared as an infant Ben from 1996 to 1998, and Morgan Whittle played him as a toddler from 1999 to 2000. After a six-year absence from the series, Charlie Jones assumed the role of Ben in 2006. Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood axed Jones as part of a series revamp in 2010; the role was recast to Joshua Pascoe later that year. Pascoe portrayed Ben until 24 August 2012, when he was sent to prison for the murder of Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison). Ben returned to the serial in September 2014, with the role recast to Harry Reid, before departing on 12 January 2018. Havingously appeared as a baby and a toddler, Ben returned to EastEnders in 2006 played by child actor Charlie Jones. Jones was cast alongside Megan Jossa, who would play his cousin Courtney Mitchell. While Ben is partially deaf, Jones is a hearing actor. The Guardian's Rebecca Atkinson suggested that, as only the second disabled character in EastEnders's history, Ben was introduced to fulfil a BBC quota. She criticised Jones' casting, and opined, "The use of able-bodied actors to play disabled characters is endemic. Maybe in theory there's nothing wrong with that, but while real disabled people are invisible it is downright offensive to persistently cast able-bodied people in disabled roles."
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List of EastEnders characters introduced in 1996
The following is a list of fictional characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1996, by order of first appearance.
Michael Rose, played by Russell Floyd, first appears in Walford as a Market Inspector in 1996. He initially has very few storylines, but he is chosen to be the best man at Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards)'s wedding (which is later called off). He has a crush on April Branning (Debbie Arnold) but no relationship ever develops between them. Then there is the arrival of his teenage son Matthew (Joe Absolom) and former wife Susan Rose (Tilly Vosburgh) in 1997.
His ex-wife Susan is suffering from multiple sclerosis and Michael ends up caring for her. Eventually he and Susan get back together and seem happy until the arrival of Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin) who is also a Market Inspector. He and Lisa become attracted to each other and have an affair behind Susan's back. Michael ends the affair and decides to leave Walford with Susan and start a new life in Leeds, with Susan unaware of the affair.
He returns occasionally in 1999 when his son Matthew is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor). Michael's last appearance is in December 1999, visiting Matthew in prison.
Dan Zappieri, played by Carl Pizzie, made his first screen appearance on 19 March 1996. Pizzie was out of work and had just opened a bar with fellow actor Nick Pickard when he was cast as Dan. EastEnders was his first major television role. Pizzie relished the chance to play a bad guy role, as he had only ever played "regular guys" before.
Dan was a drug dealer, who befriended Tony Hills (Mark Homer). They sold drugs together and Pizzie commented that Tony was easily drawn into Dan's world as he thought it was exciting and he liked having money. When two of Dan's customers suffered serious side effects from his drugs, he was unconcerned and Pizzie noted that all Dan cared about was money. He said "He likes playing the bad guy, he thinks his life is a bit like an Al Pacino movie." Pizzie found parts of Dan's storylines challenging to play, as he did not touch drugs. But he liked that the show was tackling the subject matter and the negative effects taking drugs had on people. An Inside Soap columnist branded the character "Desperate Dan" and "Walford's latest villain".
Aunt Sal is played by Anna Karen, and has appeared sporadically since 21 March 1996, usually for only one or two episodes at a time. She is Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) sister.
Ben Mitchell has been played by six different actors. Matthew Silver appeared as an infant Ben from 1996 to 1998, and Morgan Whittle played him as a toddler from 1999 to 2000. After a six-year absence from the series, Charlie Jones assumed the role of Ben in 2006. Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood axed Jones as part of a series revamp in 2010; the role was recast to Joshua Pascoe later that year. Pascoe portrayed Ben until 24 August 2012, when he was sent to prison for the murder of Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison). Ben returned to the serial in September 2014, with the role recast to Harry Reid, before departing on 12 January 2018. Havingously appeared as a baby and a toddler, Ben returned to EastEnders in 2006 played by child actor Charlie Jones. Jones was cast alongside Megan Jossa, who would play his cousin Courtney Mitchell. While Ben is partially deaf, Jones is a hearing actor. The Guardian's Rebecca Atkinson suggested that, as only the second disabled character in EastEnders's history, Ben was introduced to fulfil a BBC quota. She criticised Jones' casting, and opined, "The use of able-bodied actors to play disabled characters is endemic. Maybe in theory there's nothing wrong with that, but while real disabled people are invisible it is downright offensive to persistently cast able-bodied people in disabled roles."