Robbie Jackson

For Tom Clancy character, see Robby Jackson.

Robbie Jackson
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Dean Gaffney
Created by	Tony McHale
Introduced by	Leonard Lewis (1993) Louise Berridge (2004) Diederick Santer (2010)
Duration	1993–2003, 2004, 2010
First appearance	21 December 1993
Last appearance	18 February 2010
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Date of birth	18 October 1978
Occupation	Call centre manager, road sweeper, taxi controller, waiter, video rental store manager
Family Family Branning Wife Nita Mistry (2004—) Father Gary Bolton Mother Carol Jackson Half brothers Billie Jackson Kevin Bolton Half sisters Bianca Jackson Sonia Fowler Grandfathers Jim Branning Grandmothers Reenie Branning Uncles Derek Branning Max Branning Jack Branning Aunts Suzy Branning April Branning Cousins Bradley Branning Lauren Branning Abi Branning Oscar Branning Penny Branning Rebecca Kevin Amy Mitchell Richard Mitchell Nephews Liam Butcher Morgan Jackson-King Nieces Natasha Butcher Tiffany Dean Rebecca Miller Whitney Dean (adoptive)

Robert "Robbie" Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Dean Gaffney from 1993 to 2003. The character was axed in 2003 by executive producer Louise Berridge. He made brief returns in 2004 and 2010 for two family weddings.

Storylines

Backstory

Robbie was the product of a whirlwind romance between teenagers Gary Bolton and Carol Branning. Carol already had a daughter, Bianca, from a previous relationship and upon discovering that she was pregnant again she and Gary got engaged and began living together before she gave birth to their son at just 16. They were happy for a while, but Gary soon began to feel tied down at such a young age and walked out on Carol and her two children just months after their son's birth. Robbie and his half sister Bianca saw many surrogate father figures during their childhood, one of which led to the birth of their half sister Sonia before Carol entered a relationship with the steady and reliable Alan Jackson in 1987. They became parents to Billie in 1988 and not long afterwards Alan adopted Robbie and his sisters, resulting in them all taking on the name Jackson.

1993–2010

Robbie is the second of Carol Jackson's four children and arrived in the Square in 1993 with the rest of the Jackson clan. Initially a troublesome teen, Robbie had little success at school and was frequently in trouble for his behaviour. As he aged, Robbie became more responsible, but had little success in anything he chose to do. He had several careers in Albert Square including radio control for the Evans' mini cab company, waiter, a job as manager in the local video rental store (which he lost due to Barry Evans' interference) and later as the market road sweeper.

Robbie was generally unsuccessful with women. He had a crush on Sarah Hills and was responsible for taking her virginity in 1997. Although Sarah had initiated the intercourse, she was unable to cope with what had occurred and ran away, leaving her father Ted Hills to assume that Robbie had raped his daughter. Ted assaulted Robbie; he was hospitalised and had to undergo a spleenectomy, before Sarah returned to reveal the truth. Robbie formed a more serious relationship with Kerry Skinner in 2000. They got engaged; however, when Robbie discovered that Kerry had cheated on him, the engagement ended.

Robbie decided to track down his birth father, Gary Bolton in 2001. He found him in Portsmouth, and discovered he had a half brother, Kevin. The meeting ended up being a disappointment for Robbie, when he discovered Gary had left his own mother to be with his half-brother's mother. He left angrily, but Gary later traced Robbie to Walford and gave him a large cheque which allowed him to travel around India, and pay for sister Sonia's nursing training.

When Robbie returned to Walford and met young widow Nita Mistry, they began a slow-burning relationship, despite Nita's initial reticence. Eventually they moved in together with Nita's son Anish, but Nita decided to return to India in 2003 to live with her parents, who could provide for Anish better than she could. Robbie went with her and they now live in Mumbai together. He returned briefly for Sonia and Martin Fowler's wedding in 2004.

Robbie had a dog, called Wellard. He and his friend Kevin found the dog in 1994 and Robbie managed to persuade his owner to relinquish care to him, after he discovered he was being neglected. Wellard remained with Robbie until 2003 when Robbie went to India; he gave Wellard to Gus Smith to look after. On August 15, 2008 Bianca had Wellard put down due to terminal illness.

Robbie returns for Bianca's wedding to Ricky Butcher in February 2010, and is upset to hear of Wellard's death. When asked about Nita he reveals that she cannot attend the wedding as she is six months pregnant. Robbie walks Bianca down the aisle on her wedding day and returns to India after the wedding. When Robbie's half brother Billie suddenly dies several months later, Robbie, Nita and Sonia are unable to attend his funeral due to the flight costs, their newborn baby and the fact that Sonia is visiting Robbie and Nita in Mumbai.

Creation and development

Background

1994 was a "historic" year for EastEnders, as in April, a third weekly episode was introduced. Due to the programme's increased frequency, a number of new characters were introduced to the regular cast in the latter part of 1993 and early 1994. Among them were the Jackson family: mother Carol (Lindsey Coulson), her four children, Bianca (Patsy Palmer), Robbie (Dean Gaffney), Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), and Billie (Devon Anderson), as well as Carol's partner Alan Jackson (Howard Antony). Though Carol and Alan were not initially married in the serial, and though Alan was only the biological father of Billie, the whole family took on Alan's surname.

Various members of the family began to appear sporadically from November 1993 onwards, but in episodes that aired early in 1994, the Jacksons moved from Walford Towers, a block of flats, to the soap's focal setting of Albert Square. Their slow introduction was a deliberate attempt by the programme makers to introduce the whole family over a long period. The Jacksons have been described by EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake as a "classic problem family".

Robbie as he appeared in the early 1990s.

Personality

Robbie has been described as "unlucky-in-life". Introduced as a 15 year old school boy, Robbie was initially portrayed as troublesome; frequently playing truant, occasionally shoplifting and, as author Kate Lock suggests, "generally making a nuisance of himself". However, Lock observes that this aspect of the character was toned down eventually, and "the unfortunate Robbie became less of a lout and more of a [...] prat, forever mucking things up and being the fall guy."

Departure: 2003

In November 2002, executive producer Louise Berridge announced that Robbie Jackson was being axed from EastEnders, along with his screen girlfriend Nita Mistry (Bindya Solanki). The decision was allegedly a "mutual one" taken by producers, writers and actors. Executive producer Louise Berridge said: "Dean and Bindya have contributed an enormous amount to the programme. However, we do feel that the characters have reached the end of their natural course in the show, and they will both be leaving in Spring 2003. It is always sad to be saying goodbye to a good double act, and especially to a long-running character like Robbie Jackson, so we will be leaving the door open for both characters. I would like to thank Dean for his 11 years of devotion to EastEnders, and Bindy for transforming our loveable loser into a winner at last. They will both be personally greatly missed by the cast and crew of EastEnders." Robbie and Nita departed together on-screen in the spring of 2003.

Brief returns: 2004 and 2010

Gaffney reprised the role briefly in 2004, when he returned as Robbie to attend his sister Sonia's wedding. A BBC source is quoted as saying, "[Dean] is very excited [...] After ten years in the show he was disappointed to leave. But he’s really pleased to be going back to Albert Square and seeing his old pals. He particularly missed working with Natalie [Cassidy]." The character's return was only scripted for a couple of episodes. Gaffney has expressed an interest in returning, commenting in 2006, "never say never [...] the scriptwriters have always been very complimentary about the character and Robbie could make a return next week, next year, or maybe never."

On 25 October 2009, it was announced that Gaffney would once again reprise his role, along with other Jackson family members Carol, Sonia and Billie. Gaffney is quoted as saying "I am really looking forward to returning to EastEnders for what looks set to be a really exciting storyline. I was thrilled when Diederick [Santer, executive producer] called me personally to ask for Robbie to return once more and working alongside Lindsey [Coulson], Natalie [Cassidy] and Patsy [Palmer] again makes it all the more special. I'm sure with the family being reunited it will mean that there must be a lot of drama in store." A source told entertainment website Digital Spy: "Everything's being kept hush-hush about the Jacksons' return at the moment, but there are certainly a load of questions to be answered. Will the frosty relationship between Carol and Bianca thaw? Are Sonia and Martin still together? And how will Robbie react when he learns of his beloved Wellard's death? Everyone's so pleased to have them back." The family will return for Bianca's second wedding to Ricky Butcher as part of the show's 25th anniversary. Executive producer Diederick Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters – Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie."

Reception

In 2009, Robbie Jackson came sixth in a poll by British men's magazine Loaded for 'Top Soap Bloke'.

External links

• Robbie Jackson at BBC Online