List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2016

EastEnders is a BBC soap opera that first aired on 19 February 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2016, in order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, or his successor Sean O'Connor.

In January, Kyle Slater's close friend Sophie Dodd (Poppy Rush) and Stacey Branning's (Lacey Turner) psychiatric nurse Dr. Delia Forde (Carolyn Pickles) were both introduced. Joel Reynolds' (Cavan Clerkin) brother Tim Reynolds (Charlie Baker), Jay Brown's (Jamie Borthwick) love interest Linzi Bragg (Amy-Leigh Hickman), Linzi's mother Thelma Bragg (Lorraine Stanley), Jordan Johnson's (Joivan Wade) son JJ Johnson (Zayden Kareem) and Claudette Hubbard's (Ellen Thomas) foster son Linford Short (Leon Lopez) all made their first appearances in February. March saw Linford's friend, Andy Flynn (Jack Derges), arrive. Kyle's mother, Alison Slater, played by Denise Welch, Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi), the son of Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford) and brother of Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), and Belinda Peacock's (Carli Norris) husband Neville (Gary Webster) all made their first appearances in May, while Paul Coker's (Jonny Labey) estranged mother Jenny Rawlinson (Amy Marston) arrived in July along with Simon Atmore (Tom Palmer), one of Paul's killers. August saw the arrival of Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Michelle Fowler's (Jenna Russell) son Mark Fowler (Ned Porteous). The rest of Paul's killers and Geraldine Clough (Gwyneth Strong) arrived in September, Lee Carter's (Danny Hatchard) friend, Moose (Sam Gittins) arrived in October and Lee's colleague Oz Bolat (Noah Maxwell-Clarke) arrived in November. However, Shakil and Andy were the only new regular characters to be introduced in 2016; both have since departed the serial. Additionally, multiple minor characters appeared throughout the year.

Sophie Dodd, played by Poppy Rush, appears in seven episodes between 4 and 19 January 2016 and four episodes between 27 April and 2 May 2016.

Sophie is the best friend of Kyle Slater (Riley Carter Millington), and along with Ricksy Hicks (Joel Phillimore) and another friend, they arrive in Walford when Kyle decides to meet his half-sister Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner). While Kyle is meeting her, Sophie and Ricksy discuss their friendship with Kyle, and it is revealed that she has stood by him while during an event in his life (later revealed to be his transition from female to male). After Kyle meets Stacey, he tells Sophie that she is a bit weird, and Sophie says she is proud of him and asks if he has told her his secret; he says he does not want her to know. They go to The Queen Victoria pub, and Sophie and Ricksy wait there while Kyle visits Stacey again, and when they order food, it is too salty because it has been sabotaged by Babe Smith (Annette Badland). They leave later when Kyle says things with Stacey were complicated.

Eventually, Kyle moves in with Stacey and gets a job at Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) restaurant. Sophie comes to Walford to support Kyle when the restaurant hosts the Pride of Walford Awards. She meets Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) and they both end up waitressing at the restaurant. Through Kyle and Sophie's conversation, it is revealed that they used to date when Kyle was Sarah. Sophie encourages Tina to get drunk at the event, and when Tina humiliates her girlfriend Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), she confides in Sophie, who kisses Tina. She apologises but then Tina kisses her back. They then have sex and afterwards, Sophie says Tina is not really her type and she has feelings for someone else, so Tina encourages her to find that person again but Sophie says she has changed too much. They then exchange phone numbers. Sophie talks to Kyle, saying she was in love with Sarah, but Kyle just wants to be friends and he says he does not want to "go backwards", so she asks if she is part of his past that he wants to forget, and she leaves, though Kyle wants her in his life. Sophie then texts Tina but Tina ignores her, so Sophie goes to Tina's home and tells Sonia what has happened. This results in Sonia forcing them both to leave, and outside, Sophie insults Tina. She then speaks to Kyle again, saying he should go back to Blackpool with her, and she has been talking to his mother, Alison Slater (Denise Welch) and she would take him back. Kyle says Alison will only accept him as Sarah. Sophie says she loves and misses Sarah as she cared about other people but calls Kyle selfish and says he made the wrong choice to become a man. She then leaves.

Rush's performance was praised by her mother, Coronation Street actress Debbie Rush, on Twitter. While Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap observed, "Kyle's mate Soph is a fast mover isn't she? Not many Walford newbies manage to bag themselves a job and a one-night stand in the space of a single episode. Respect!"

Dr Delia Forde, played by Carolyn Pickles, appears in four episodes between 22 January and 22 February 2016.

Dr Forde is a psychiatrist who assesses Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) when her boyfriend Martin Fowler (James Bye) convinces her to go to hospital. She and her colleague, Eve Igwe (Emmanuella Cole), inform Martin that there are no mother and baby unit places, and when Martin says that Stacey will not want to stay because of this, she explains that Stacey would likely be sectioned. After this is done, Dr Forde asks Stacey about her visions of God, and Stacey confirms that she started speaking to God only after the birth of her son Arthur Fowler, so Dr Forde concludes that Stacey is suffering from postpartum psychosis. Despite Stacey's pleas to see Arthur, Dr Forde sends Martin home to take care of him.