List of EastEnders characters (1991)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1991, by order of first appearance.

Eibhlin O'Donnell

Eibhlin O'Donnell
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Mary Conlon
Duration	1991
First appearance	22 January 1991
Last appearance	19 September 1991
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Tourist Board Representative
Family Sisters Maureen O'Donnell

Eibhlin O'Donnell, played by Mary Conlon, is an Irish woman who met and dated Eddie Royle (Michael Melia) in the early 80s, when her job for the Irish tourist board in Dublin took her to a London office for a six month stint. Eddie likes her intelligence and sense of fun, and they always have good times together whenever Eibhlin is in London. However, Eddie is temporarily attached to the police PR department, and Eibhlin is committed to her close-knit Catholic family (especially her widowed father and her marijuana-smoking sister Maureen) and so, when Eibhlin's work placement ends, she returns to Dublin and their relationship ends. She is first seen in Walford in January 1991, when Eddie's father, John Royle, brings her over to London to visit. Eddie is overjoyed to see her, but the timing of her arrival, upon seeing them together, Eddie's current girlfriend, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), decides to call off their relationship. Eibhlin is now in her mid thirties, and is thinking about settling down. She hopes to rekindle something with Eddie, but he opts to try and win Kathy back instead and so, she returns to Ireland. When Eddie is badly beaten up by Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) in April that year, Eibhlin returns to Walford to visit him in hospital. It seems that Eddie's brush with death has made him think twice about settling down, and he decides to ask her to marry him. Eibhlin accepts and in August 1991 she manages to transfer her job to a London office. She moves in with Eddie at The Queen Victoria public house, and the pair begin to plan a future together in Walford. A part of Eibhlin is not convinced that their marriage will work and they don't get a chance to put it to the test as Eddie is murdered by Nick Cotton (John Altman) in September that year. A devastated and heartbroken Eibhlin then returnd to Ireland.

Rachel Kominski

Rachel Kominski
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Jacquetta May
Duration	1991–93
First appearance	19 March 1991
Last appearance	4 March 1993
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Date of birth	7 July 1959
Occupation	University lecturer
Family Father Joseph Kominski Mother Lilian Kominski Sisters Hannah Kominski

Rachel Kominski, played by Jacquetta May, owned number 55 Victoria Road. Her ex-boyfriend Russell Nash arrived at number 55 when she unknowingly hired his friend to put some shelves up for her. Russell tried to convince her to get back together with him, until Rachel told him that she had hated the three years they had spent together.

Michelle Fowler became her lodger. Rachel saw potential in Michelle, and encouraged her to apply to college, which she did.

She met Michelle's brother, Mark, and dated him for six months. When the university course she taught on was dropped, she had to work in the Bridge Street café. She later had a bric-a-brac market stall, and slept with market inspector Richard Cole.

She left Walford when she got a job outside London.

Peggy Mitchell

Main article: Peggy Mitchell

Russell Nash

Russell Nash
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Ray Ashcroft
Duration	1991
First appearance	14 May 1991
Last appearance	16 May 1991
Classification	Former; guest

Russell Nash was the ex-boyfriend of Rachel Kominski, who turned up in Walford after she unknowingly hired one of his friends to put some bookshelves up for her. He attempted to reconcile with her, but she did not want to get back together with him, and ended up telling him that she had hated their three years together, especially the sex.

Kevin Masters

Kevin Masters
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Colin McCormack
Duration	1991
First appearance	23 May 1991
Last appearance	27 June 1991
Classification	Former; guest

Kevin Masters owned a minicab firm. Peggy Mitchell went to work for him and they began an affair; however, Peggy was forced to end it when her husband Eric developed cancer. Kevin came back into Peggy's life promptly after Eric's death, but her children took against him, particularly her daughter Sam. Peggy and Kevin remained together until 1994, when Peggy discovered that he had been cheating on her with another woman.

Gill Fowler

Gill Fowler
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Susanna Dawson
Duration	1991–92
First appearance	28 May 1991
Last appearance	25 June 1992
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Date of death	25 June 1992
Family Husband Mark Fowler (1992)

Gill Fowler (née Robinson), played by Susanna Dawson from 1991 to 1992, was the first wife of Mark Fowler. Gill met Mark in Newcastle during 1989 and they lived together until 1990 when Gill tested positive for HIV and moved to London. Mark discovered that he was HIV positive as well and returned to Walford.

The following year, Gill was diagnosed as having AIDS and visited Mark to ask if he had been tested for HIV. At first Mark denied that he had the virus but later admitted to her that he was HIV positive. They were never certain which of them had contracted the virus first.

They soon rekindled their relationship and Gill married Mark on 23 June 1992, but she died in a hospice the following day.

Susanna Dawson who played Gill found the experience of playing a person living with and dying from AIDS so intense that she co-produced an educational video based on the subject for use in schools and wrote a book, The Gill and Mark Story, to accompany it.

In October 1999, All About Soap magazine placed Mark and Gill's wedding at number six on their twenty greatest soap weddings list. The magazine said "Knowing Gill was so close to dying from AIDS, Mark decided his final act of commitment would be to marry her. Sadly, she died in his arms later that afternoon in what remains one of soap's most tear-jerking weddings of all time."

Joe Wallace

Joe Wallace
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Jason Rush
Duration	1991, 1993
First appearance	30 July 1991
Last appearance	19 January 1993
Classification	Former; recurring
Profile
Date of death	28 July 1994
Occupation	Chef
Family Mother Jackie Wallace

Joe Wallace was a young, gay chef who was HIV-positive. He arrived in Walford in July 1991 and got a job at Ian Beale's restaurant, The Meal Machine. He encouraged Mark Fowler to tell his parents that he was HIV-positive. When Ian discovered that Joe had HIV, he sacked him and disinfected his whole kitchen. Joe then left Walford to live with his parents and was the last person to see Eddie Royle alive before Eddie was murdered by Nick Cotton in September that year.

At the trial of Eddie's murder in 1993, Joe briefly returned as a witness. Joe saved Clyde Tavernier from being convicted of the crime, by testifying that he saw Nick Cotton climb down his drainpipe the night Eddie was murdered. This implicated him as a suspect and provided enough reasonable doubt to secure Clyde's release from custody.

His mother wrote to Mark telling him he was dying in a hospice in 1994. Joe's death of HIV shocked Mark, but it was visiting the hospice that led him to meet his future wife, Ruth Aitken.

Dave Carter

Dave Carter
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	David Cheeseman
Duration	1991
First appearance	13 August 1991
Last appearance	15 August 1991
Classification	Former; guest
Family Wife Irene Carter

Dave Carter and his wife Irene wanted to buy Dot Cotton's flat, which her son Nick had put up for sale in order to collect deposits from prospective buyers and keep them. The Carters gave Nick £300, and two days later, Dave arrived with some furniture for the flat, which Nick disposed of.

Irene Carter

Irene Carter
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Karen Murden
Duration	1991
Appears on	13 August 1991
Classification	Former; guest
Family Husband Dave Carter

Irene Carter and her husband Dave wanted to buy Dot Cotton's flat, which her son Nick had put up for sale in order to collect deposits from prospective buyers. He managed to con the Carters out of £300.

George Lawler

George Lawler
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Edward Kente
Duration	1991
First appearance	29 August 1991
Last appearance	3 September 1991
Classification	Former; guest

George Lawler was a business associate of Ian Beale, whose catering business had failed, so he sold his client base and equipment to Ian for his catering business, The Meal Machine.

He recognised The Meal Machine's chef Joe Wallace, as he had previously sacked Joe when he found out that he had HIV. He demanded that Joe quit his job, but when he failed to do so, George informed Ian about Joe's HIV, and Ian sacked Joe.

Jackie Wallace

Jackie Wallace
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Ann Lynn
Duration	1991, 1994
First appearance	10 September 1991
Last appearance	28 July 1994
Classification	Former; recurring
Family Sons Joe Wallace

Jackie Wallace was the mother of Joe Wallace, who was originally seen picking him up from the Fowlers' house to take him home in 1991. In 1994, she wrote a letter to Mark Fowler telling him that her son was dying of HIV. Mark went ot visit Joe in a hospice, but arrived too late, and Jackie informed him that Joe had died shortly before he arrived.

Steve Elliot

Main article: Steve Elliot

Lorraine Salter

Lorraine Salter
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Linda Henry (1991–92) Victoria Alcock (2012—)
Introduced by	Leonard Lewis (1991) Bryan Kirkwood (2012)
Duration	1991–92, 2012—
First appearance	28 November 1991
Classification	Former; recurring (returning)
Profile
Occupation	Prostitute
Family Daughters Mandy Salter

Lorraine Salter, originally played by Linda Henry and to be played by Victoria Alcock, was first seen on-screen in November 1991 and was last seen in March 1992. Lorraine will return on 1 March 2012.

Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) and Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) were going through a bad patch in their marriage. One night, Pat went to a bar, intending to pick up another man for sex, where she met Lorraine. Pat helped Lorraine out when a man started to harass her, claiming to have spent money on her the night before and implying Lorraine was a prostitute. Shortly after, Lorraine turned up at the Butchers' house, requesting a place to stay. She outstayed her welcome and when she was asked to leave, she threatened to inform Frank that Pat had been cruising for other men in bars, causing some difficulty in the Butchers' marriage. Seeing Lorraine's existence was enough to make Pat realise that she'd left her promiscuous lifestyle behind her. In March 1992, Lorraine contacted Pat from hospital. She'd been severely beaten by her boyfriend Gary (Thomas Craig) and needed Pat to take care of her 15 year old daughter Mandy (Nicola Stapleton). Mandy had been taken into care by the social services in the past, and Lorraine wanted to prevent this from happening again. Pat was initially unwilling to help Lorraine due to her past trouble making, but she eventually relented and Mandy came to stay at the Butchers' B&B. Lorraine was released from hospital the following week, and she abandoned her troublesome daughter in Pat's care. Mandy ended up homeless and sleeping on the streets. On Christmas Eve 1992, she contacted Mandy and told her she was coming to visit. She didn't arrive, so Mandy travelled to her flat on Christmas Day to reunite. Lorraine wasn't there and Mandy was instead greeted by Gary. After getting into a fight with Gary, Mandy fled from her mother's tower block with Mark Fowler (Todd Carty).

Return

On 23 January 2012, Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy reported Lorraine would be returning to EastEnders the following month. Actress Victoria Alcock was cast in the role, taking over from Henry (who now plays Shirley Carter in the series). Of her casting, Alcock said, "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the cast of EastEnders and am looking forward to working with my good friends Linda Henry and Nicola Stapleton again. I can't wait to see people's reaction when Lorraine arrives on the Square!" Kilkelly said Lorraine has remained "a brash character and certainly hasn't grown up." Lorraine will return for a few episodes from 2 March 2012, before appearing again later in the year. Alcock later predicted that viewers will be "shocked" by the actions of Lorraine. Speaking of Lorraine's arrival, Alcock told TV Choice: "There will be a collective intake of breath from viewers because just when you think she couldn't stoop any lower, she goes full-steam ahead." Alcock added that the residents of Albert Square will discover why Mandy is such a leech as she get's it from Lorraine. Alcock added: "Allegedly she let some awful things happen to Mandy, which may come out in time. I think viewers are interested in the broken shells of a character and she's definitely a broken shell." Alcock also said she wants Lorraine to be more than just a villain. She said that people are not made this way, something happens to make people the abuser, and that's from being abused. Alcock thinks that Lorraine was abused as a child.

Others

Date(s)	Character	Actor	Circumstances
31 January–28 February	Lorna	Cathy Murphy	Lorna meets Mark Fowler in a club and tries to start a relationship with him. Mark knocks her back as he had recently been diagnosed HIV positive.