List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2011

The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders during 2011 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer. The first regular character to be announced was Eddie Moon (David Essex), the father of Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd). Poppy Meadow (Rachel Bright) was introduced in January 2011 as the best friend of Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington), and Rob Grayson (Jody Latham) joined the series in February, as did Shenice Quinn (Lily Harvey). Ashley Chubb (Colin Mace) was introduced in March as the father of established character Fatboy (Ricky Norwood). In April, Janine Butcher's (Charlie Brooks) maternal grandmother, Lydia Simmonds (Margaret Tyzack/Heather Chasen), and Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner) and Rainie Cross' (Tanya Franks) mother, Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell), both joined the series and Martin (Alasdair Harvey) was introduced as the new love interest for Jane Beale (Laurie Brett). Eddie's sons Tyler (Tony Discipline) and Anthony Moon (Matt Lapinskas) were announced in May along with Dot Branning's (June Brown) half-sister, Rose Cotton (Polly Perkins) and her son Andrew (Ricky Grover). Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold), the granddaughter of Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) and Julie Perkins (Cathy Murphy), was announced in June along with Norman Simmonds (George Layton), Lydia's son. A fourth Moon brother was introduced in September, Craig (Elliot Rosen), as well as Faith Olubunmi (Modupe Adeyeye), the younger sister of Mercy Olubunmi (Bunmi Mojekwu). In October, Syed (Marc Elliott) and Amira Masood's (Preeya Kalidas) daughter Yasmin arrives and Mark Garland (Chris Simmons) was introduced as a new love interest for Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace).

Poppy Meadow, played by Rachel Bright, was introduced by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood on 11 January 2011 as the best friend of established character Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington) in scenes filling in for those cut from a controversial baby-swap storyline. Poppy returned to the series in June 2011 as a supporting character and comedy element, in a move that was generally welcomed by the tabloid press; her storylines focused on her friendship with Jodie and their intertwined love lives. Both Jodie and Poppy left the series on 14 November 2011, but the possibility was left open for Poppy to return in the future. In June 2012 Bright reprised her role as Poppy, quickly moving into Walford and resuming her employment at the local beauty salon. Bright filmed her final scenes before Christmas 2013 and Poppy departed in the last week of January 2014.

Rob Grayson, played by Jody Latham, is a pimp who exploits Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) for financial gain. His first appearance was on 22 February 2011, and he appeared until a special Comic Relief episode on 18 March 2011. He made a short return from 19 August 2011 until 26 August 2011.

He first appears when he witnesses Whitney attempting to pickpocket a man but ending up with cuts on her face. Rob rescues her from the situation, and buys her a meal. He gives her his number so she can contact him any time she needs to get away from Walford, before taking her home. They stay in contact and Rob is seen showing a friend a photo of Whitney. When Whitney either rejects or is rejected by all her friends and family, she contacts Rob and he takes her to stay with him. After Whitney has been missing for several days, Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) tries to phone her, leaving several messages. When she finally gets a voicemail back, it is from Rob saying if she calls again, there will be trouble.

Lauren tracks Whitney down to Dartford, but Whitney insists she is fine with Rob, and that they are in love. Rob meets Lauren at their bedsit and invites her out with them, but Lauren leaves. Rob then leaves Whitney alone with Chris (Richard Simons) and it is revealed that Rob is using Whitney to pay off his debts. Rob meets Lauren in a café and again invites her out and calls her beautiful. He then threatens her, saying he does not want to see her again. When Rob returns to the bedsit, Whitney is there with Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks), who says she is taking Whitney home. Whitney refuses to go and Rob ejects Janine from the building. Rob then tells Whitney they are going out immediately, and drags her to the car as she refuses to go. Lauren and Janine watch as Rob drives away with Whitney. Rob takes Whitney to a house where she meets Chloe (Georgia Henshaw), another girl being exploited. Whitney realises she is there to have sex with men, so asks Rob if she can leave. Rob says to either be nice to his friends or he will hurt her. He grabs her and locks her in a room. She is unable to open the windows so when she hears people outside the door, she smashes a window, jumps to the ground and runs away with Rob calling after her. She then stops a car and asks for help. She later returns to Walford after being arrested for shoplifting. Whitney's half-brother Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) learns of what happened and wants to find Rob but Whitney says he has moved.

When Whitney starts a relationship with a man named Lee (Mitchell Hunt), it is revealed that he is a friend of Rob's, and when Whitney agrees to meet Lee by text, Rob takes control of Lee's mobile phone. Whitney goes to meet Lee and is shocked to see Rob instead. She is taken in by his charm until she texts Lee not to come, and then sees the message on Rob's phone. She allows Rob to take her home but then tells him to wait outside while she escapes through the back door and hitches a lift to Southend-on-Sea with friends. She leaves Rob a voicemail message not knowing that he has followed her. He finds her in her hotel room and tells her how much he loves her, but when Fatboy (Ricky Norwood) comes in, Rob attacks him, so Whitney tells him to leave. Fatboy calls Ryan, who comes to Southend to look for Rob. When he finds him, they fight and fall over the edge of the pier. A body is recovered from the sea, and is later revealed to be Rob's.

In January 2011, it was announced that Whitney would be part of the sexual exploitation storyline. She is left alone and vulnerable, and falls for Rob, who then exploits her. EastEnders worked alongside charity Comic Relief on the storyline, which started planning in 2010. The storyline culminated during Red Nose Day 2011 on 18 March 2011, in a special 10-minute episode. Gilly Green, Head of UK Grants at Comic Relief, said: "It is vital that we continue to alert young people to the dangers if we are to stop them being exploited and the opportunity to work with EastEnders will make a huge audience aware of this issue. We have been working with the EastEnders script writers and some of the young women from projects we support to ensure the story reflects the reality of young people caught up in sexual exploitation." Kevin Cahill, Chief Executive of Comic Relief, added "We have worked over many years with EastEnders in all kinds of ways. It's been a real pleasure this year to work together on a piece of serious drama, in the best traditions of public service, which will highlight an important issue and also, because it occurs on the night of Comic Relief, actually help raise crucial funds to help young women caught up in it." An EastEnders insider spoke of the storyline leading up to Rob's arrival: "Janine's a terrible influence and is soon dragging Whitney into all sorts of shady schemes. Given that Janine used to be a prostitute, it makes sense that she's part of Whitney's journey. Whitney has no idea what she's letting herself in for. Janine is only part of the problem though. It's when she meets Rob—a deeply unscrupulous man—that her life starts to fall apart in a terrifying way." Rob has been called "evil" by The People and by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood, a "nasty piece of work" by Orange, and "sinister" by Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy.

McGarty hoped the storyline would raise awareness of the issue for young people, and explained that the storyline would be a continuing one, as "Whitney will live in fear that Rob and his gang are going to come after her when she escapes. That's what these people do. They don't just leave you to get on with your life. In their mind they own you." She also added that she hopes that the storyline will lead to better conviction rates as she said that they aren't 'good enough'. Latham revealed after his stint that he hoped to return, saying, "I always say it's better to play the bad guy—everyone remembers the bad guy. They get the best endings. I had an absolutely great time on EastEnders. It was a breath of fresh air. [...] Judging from the way it was left, the door is wide open, so you never know. I would love to come back and cause some trouble."