Bianca Jackson

Bianca Jackson
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Patsy Palmer
Duration	1993–99, 2002, 2008—
First appearance	16 November 1993
Classification	Returning; regular
Created by	Tony McHale
Introduced by	Leonard Lewis (1993) John Yorke (2002) Diederick Santer (2008)
Book appearances	Bianca's Secret Diary
Spin-off appearances	Ricky & Bianca (2002) EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford (2010)
In-universe information Other names Bianca Butcher (married name) Occupation Cleaner (1993–94) Chip shop worker (1994–96) Market trader (1996–99) Fashion student (1999–2002) Barmaid (2002) Café waitress (2008–11) Family Beale/Branning Father David Wicks Mother Carol Jackson Half-brothers Robbie Jackson Billie Jackson Joe Wicks Half-sisters Sonia Fowler Karen Wicks Husband Ricky Butcher (1997–2000, 2010—) Sons Liam Butcher Morgan Jackson-King Daughters Natasha Butcher Tiffany Dean Adoptive daughters Whitney Dean Grandfathers Pete Beale Jim Branning Grandmothers Pat Evans Reenie Branning Uncles Ian Beale Simon Wicks Derek Branning Max Branning Jack Branning Aunts April Branning Suzy Branning Nieces Rebecca Miller

Bianca Butcher (née Branning; previously Jackson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character back for a special spin-off show. She returned to EastEnders as a full time character in April 2008, reintroduced by executive producer Diederick Santer. Palmer took maternity leave in 2010, and Bianca was temporarily written out on 21 January 2011.

During her first run on the show during the 1990s, she was known for her bizarre sense of style, her sharp tongue and fiery temper and for screaming "Rickaaaaaaay!" at her husband. Bianca has been featured in storylines including affairs, feuds, bereavements, family problems, spina bifida and abortion, a problematic marriage to Ricky Butcher and the revelation of her 15-year-old adoptive daughter Whitney Dean being sexually abused by her fiancé Tony King and his subsequent arrest for paedophilia.

Creation

Background

In his book EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration, EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake describes 1994 as 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, created by Tony McHale: 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. It later transpired that David Wicks was Bianca's father.

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 Brake as a "classic problem family".

Casting

Bianca as she appeared in 1993.

Future Spice Girl Emma Bunton auditioned for the role of Bianca, however, it was actress Patsy Palmer who was eventually cast. Hester Lacey of The Independent has described Palmer's casting as an "accident", as she did not formally audition for the role. EastEnders casting director Jane Deitch and writer–director McHale visited her drama class at the Anna Scher Theatre looking for a girl aged 16 or under. Palmer was not on the list of people they wanted to see as she was older, but she caught the attention of Deitch when she was messing around and giggling with friends. At the end of the class, Palmer was asked by McHale to do something so Anna Scher asked her to improvise a monologue based on the line "I can't believe you just said that." The next day Scher contacted Palmer to say she had been offered an audition. When she arrived at the audition, McHale told producers Palmer was 16 as she would have been refused the part. She was offered a three-month contract the same day. In 1996, Palmer commented to Lacey: "I've been a lucky girl. I always used to say I'd love to get in EastEnders, because I used to think 'God, I'll never get a part where I have to speak really posh', – I'm not very good at accents." Palmer was 21 when she first appeared on-screen as 16 year old Bianca.

Personality

Bianca has been classified by Rupert Smith, author of EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square, as a drama queen, a "strong passionate [woman]" and "Walford's trouble-maker-in-chief". She has also been described by Reuters as "feisty" and someone "who never minced her words". In 1996, Palmer described Bianca as someone who deserves "a good slap". She added, "I probably wouldn't like Bianca if I knew her in real-life. But I do love playing the character. She is so cheeky and gets to say outrageous things".

Deemed "a woman you would not want to cross" by James Rampton of The Independent, Bianca is a tenacious foe, but a loyal friend. The way the character is portrayed, as a "person who wouldn't take nonsense from anyone", has led Rampton to comment that she embodies "girl power", a cultural phenomenon of the mid-late 1990s. He added, "Bianca could sulk for Britain – and we adored her for it." However, Rampton also noted that underneath Bianca's bravado, the character is capable of showing "the most affecting vulnerability".

Development

In her first six years in the soap, Bianca's storylines included affairs, feuds, bereavements, abortion, and a problematic marriage to Ricky Butcher.

"Rickaaaaaaay!"

Bianca's relationship with mechanic Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) has been central to her narrative; their affiliation began in 1994. Palmer and Owen already knew each other before working together on the soap, as both attended the Anna Scher theatre school. Owen has said, "We practically grew up together. We'd known each other for years. It was weird when she started on the show and we began playing the 'Ricky & Bianca Get To Know Each Other' bit. I had already spent a lot of time with Patsy. I think we were both seven when we met."

The dynamics of their relationship were clear from the start, with Bianca portrayed as the dominant, bossy and authoritative partner, while Ricky was shown as the hen-pecked, dim-witted "loser" or "soft touch", comically under the thumb of his female counterpart. James Rampton from The Independent has commented, "to her eternally put-upon husband, Ricky, Bianca was a ferocious reincarnation of H Rider Haggard's 'She Who Must Be Obeyed'." Bianca was notorious for shouting the catchphrase "Rickaaaaaaay!" (a cockney pronunciation of Ricky) at her lover, and Palmer admitted in 2008 that "not a day has gone by in nine years when someone hasn't shouted that from cars and even up at my bedroom window at night." Rampton has suggested that Bianca's catchphrase – "Rickaaaaaaay!" – transitioned, becoming "shorthand for any sort of heinous henpecking." On Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 18 April 2008, Palmer explained that it was actually Ross, as a DJ, who had originally inspired the catchphrase.

File:B r wedding.jpg

The wedding of Ricky and Bianca was watched by 22 million viewers in April 1997.

One of the first notable storylines featuring the couple occurred in 1995, when Ricky embarked on an affair with Bianca's "put-upon sidekick", Natalie Price (Lucy Speed). On-screen Natalie and Ricky found themselves sidelined and bullied by Bianca, forcing them together and leading to their eventual affair, which continued for several weeks on-screen, with Ricky seeing both Natalie and Bianca. The storyline reached its climax on 21 February 1995; 17.0 million viewers tuned in to witness Bianca discovering that her boyfriend was sleeping with her best friend. The characters separated but reconciled later in the year when Ricky supported Bianca through a personal crisis – the revelation that she had unknowingly tried to seduce her estranged father David Wicks (Michael French).

Various crises between the characters were featured over the following years, causing them to break up and reconcile numerous times. In the book Seeing Things: Television in the Age of Uncertainty, author John Ellis uses the couple's combustible relationship as an example of emotional intensity and pathos: "A couple like Ricky and Bianca [...] can have constantly sniped at each other for several episodes, for no apparent dramatic purpose except that it is the nature of their relationship. Then they will suddenly be confronted by a life-changing decision [...] There is suddenly a shift in emotional intensity for the audience. Every word now counts, and all the previous audience attitudes of irritation or even condescension to this 'not very bright couple' [...] become a feeling of utter absorption in their dilemma." The BBC has reported that Bianca and Ricky's on-off romance "captivated millions of fans", and in April 1997 attracted "one of the biggest soap audiences ever", with 22 million viewers tuning in to see them marry. In 2000, Owen stated that the storyline he most enjoyed in EastEnders was the build up and marriage to Bianca, because "the public's enthusiasm for the event was a great motivation". In 2008, the Daily Mail branded Ricky and Bianca "EastEnders' most popular couple".

Spina bifida

In 1997, the character was featured in a storyline about hydrocephalus ("water on the brain") and spina bifida, a developmental birth defect resulting in an incompletely formed spinal cord of the baby. After becoming pregnant with Ricky's baby, a pre-natal scan revealed that her unborn foetus had the conditions. In the storyline, Bianca agonised about whether or not to have an abortion, but eventually decided to terminate her pregnancy at 20 weeks. In scenes shown after the abortion, Bianca and Ricky were given the chance to see and hold their dead daughter, named Natasha, after the birth (Ricky was unable to do this, though Bianca later said her baby had been "perfect"), and a period of heavy grief followed as the characters came to terms with what they had done. The Peterborough-based Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (ASBAH) helped and provided information to the programme makers during the storyline.

Bianca's decision to abort reportedly angered a proportion of viewers, including parents with handicapped children, who rang the BBC to complain that they showed the abortion of a disabled baby. However, many were "moved" by the storyline, and Patsy Palmer received critical acclaim for her acting throughout. Palmer was nominated in the 'Best Actress' category at the Royal Television Society Awards – the first soap actress to ever be nominated.

The storyline was later used to spread a public message. When Bianca became pregnant once again in 1998, the scriptwriters included scenes of a practitioner advising the character to take folic acid, which protects against spina bifida. The ASBAH issued a public plea to EastEnders, urging them to allow Bianca's second baby to be born with spina bifida, in order to show parents that having a baby with spina bifida is "not the end of the world". This did not occur, however, and Bianca was shown to give birth to a premature but healthy baby, Liam, in an episode that aired on Christmas Day 1998.

Exit: 1999

The character was featured in various other storylines, including a feud with Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp); a tug-of-love for Ricky's affections with his first wife Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook); a one-night-stand with Lenny Wallace (Des Coleman), causing a sexually transmitted disease scare; and the death of her best friend Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon). In November 1998, the BBC announced that Patsy Palmer had decided to leave EastEnders to spend more time with her family. The BBC said that Bianca would not be killed off, and a spokesman commented: "Bianca has always been an amazingly powerful character and the door is open to her if she wants to return in the future. She has been fantastic in the years she has been in EastEnders and we will miss her." Palmer was one of several high-profile EastEnders stars to announce their departures that year; McCutcheon and Kemp also decided to leave, and Gillian Taylforth left the serial in 1998 after 13 years playing Kathy Mitchell. The BBC said, "no-one is bigger than the show, which is doing extremely well at the moment. We will send her off with all our very best wishes." Richard Stokes, EastEnders' series editor and producer of Palmer's exit storyline commented, "you don't expect people to stay here for ever. But it's a double-edged sword. Yes, it's a shame when a well-loved character announces they're going, but the flipside is that it provides us with the space to do the best possible story. If someone is going, you can up the stakes. The whole of Bianca's story was developed once we knew she was going to go."

Bianca's exit storyline centred upon an extramarital affair with her mother's boyfriend Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass). Lindsey Coulson, who played Bianca's mother Carol, returned to the serial especially to facilitate Palmer's exit. Carol had last been seen on-screen in 1997. When the affair was uncovered, Bianca was disowned by Carol, and her marriage to Ricky ended after Carol forced her to confess the affair to him too. Bianca's exit week was spread out over five episodes, beginning with an hour long special on Sunday 5 September 1999 (at the time the typical weekly broadcast was 3 episodes a week). Mal Young, BBC's Controller of Continuing Drama Series, described the revelatory hour-long Bianca special as a Play For Today, and Kathryn Flett of The Guardian described the week's episodes as a "bravura, edge-of-the-sofa, five-night performance". Commenting on her exit in 1999, Palmer said, "It was really sad. We were all crying our eyes out – the crew as well as the cast. The tears you see on screen are real."

Nicola Methven of the Daily Mirror has described the discovery of Bianca's affair as "one of the truly great emotion-charged scenes in soap history". Bianca left Walford on a train for Manchester with her son Liam, in an episode that aired in September 1999. In 2005, Bianca's exit storyline was voted as one of "Top 20 greatest soap moments of all time". Chosen by thousands of TV viewers, the televised countdown was presented by Dale Winton and aired on ITV in 2001.

Spin-off: 2002

In 2001, the BBC announced that Patsy Palmer and Sid Owen would reprise their roles as Bianca and Ricky, for a special spin-off, entitled EastEnders: Ricky & Bianca. Filmed in Manchester in January 2002, the two part, hour long special reunited the characters for the first time in over two years. The spin-off or "soap bubble" was part of plans by Mal Young, the BBC controller of drama serials, to expand the EastEnders brand. He created a "bubbles unit" to make, at most, six one-off specials a year. EastEnders: Ricky & Bianca aired in May 2002, and proved a ratings winner, with more than 10 million viewers tuning in.

In the spin-off, Bianca had fallen upon hard times, and accidentally got a visiting Ricky embroiled in a drugs heist. Despite talk of reconciling, Bianca opted to leave Ricky behind once again, leaving Liam in his care. The spin-off brought in various characters unrelated to the main serial, including Vince, Bianca's drug dealing boss played by Craig Charles, and Ricky's fiancée Cassie, played by Sally Ann Triplett. Both Ricky and Liam returned to the main serial as regular characters later that year, without Bianca. In an interview, Palmer discussed the spin-off and the reasons why she did not want to return to EastEnders: "I have absolutely no desire to return to EastEnders. Not at all. In fact, I think that brief spin-off of a storyline for Ricky and Bianca was a double-edged sword. On one hand, I don't think we should ever have done it, it was a mistake on my behalf. But on the other, it convinced me that Bianca was someone that I did not want to see again. She was past history as far as I was concerned, I certainly learned that. Don't get me wrong, I had the time of my life when I was in EastEnders in the middle and late nineties and I worked with some terrific people both in front of and behind the camera. But that was then and this is now – the cast has nearly all changed and going back would be worse than foolish." In August 2005, Palmer reiterated that she had no desire to return to EastEnders and branded the show "rubbish".

Return: 2008

"[I'm] really excited about rejoining the cast and working with old friends again [...] I can't wait to explore what Bianca has been doing with her life and seeing what she is going to get up to next"

—Patsy Palmer

Despite Palmer's earlier reservations, it was announced on 29 October 2007 that she would be reprising the role of Bianca. EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer said he was "delighted" that Bianca was returning, commenting: "Millions grew up with her and, like the audience, I can't wait to see her back in the show. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter in her story."

On 30 October 2007, a day after the announcement of Bianca's return, it was announced that Sid Owen would also be returning to the show as Ricky. Owen commented: "It will be interesting to see what has been happening to Ricky and Bianca over the last few years. Although, I must admit I'm not looking forward to her nagging me by shouting his name." Santer commented: "First Patsy comes home, now Sid! Ricky and Bianca were a hugely popular and well-loved partnership on the show, spawning one of the best (and perhaps most irritating) of TV catchphrases – Rickaaaaay!"

On 18 March 2008, Mark Jefferies of the Daily Mirror announced that Bianca would return with four children: Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), the fifteen-year-old daughter of Bianca's deceased partner Nathan; Liam Butcher (James Forde), Bianca and Ricky's son who previously appeared in the serial; Tiffany Dean (Maisie Smith), Bianca's five-year-old daughter with Nathan; and Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs), Bianca's three-year-old son who "gets spoilt the most out of all of the kids".

To promote the characters' return, the BBC began airing trailers across the BBC network in March 2008. One trailer utilised Bianca's "trademark holler" of Ricky's name, which is so loud that it smashes the windows of The Queen Victoria public house. The trailer features The Righteous Brothers's "Hung on You". Another trailer sees Bianca singing The Jackson 5 hit "I Want You Back" and performing a dance routine with her four children. The advertisement uses the tag line "Introducing The Jackson 5". Within three days of being posted on the video sharing website YouTube, the trailer had been viewed 52,000 times.

The character returned on-screen on 1 April 2008, but made her first appearance back in the soap's setting of Albert Square the following week, drawing 10.4 million viewers and 42.6% of the total TV viewing audience. In the storyline, Bianca had fallen on hard times, and after being evicted from her flat her children were taken into custody, so Bianca returned to Walford to seek help from her grandmother Pat Evans (Pam St. Clement). In the documentary EastEnders: Ricky and Bianca, which aired to celebrate the character's return, the changes in Bianca's character were noted: "The carefree, wild child of yesterday, has been replaced by the wore-torn and downtrodden single mum of four. Bianca has done what she always wanted to avoid, repeating the mistakes that her mother Carol had made." EastEnders' series consultant Simon Ashdown has commented, "Bianca's still the same Bianca in a way, she still speaks before she thinks, comes out fists flying. She's got that family of misfit kids with different fathers [...] She's like Carol." The BBC described the character's comeback as a "big hit". However, James Walton from The Telegraph accused the Jackson family of being melodramatic and "boring", adding "Perhaps the storyline is meant to be an updated version of [1966 BBC drama] Cathy Come Home – yet if so, the writers have forgotten one important thing. We’re supposed to be rooting for the mother rather than for Social Services."

Relationship with Tony King; paedophilia

Bianca's most notable initial storyline upon her return was a paedophilia plot revolving around Bianca's partner Tony King (Chris Coghill), and her 15 year old step daughter, Whitney. According to the Daily Mail, the storyline has been dubbed as the "most controversial story-line on the show ever". The idea for the storyline was conceptualised by writer Simon Ashdown and other scriptwriters, when they were brainstorming ideas for Bianca's return to EastEnders. They had seen a documentary about homelessness and had been struck by an image of a woman and child at a bus stop with nowhere to go, a scene that was used to similar effect in Bianca and her family's return episode. They considered the homeless family's predicament and were left pondering "What might happen to them? They would be easy prey... What if a paedophile noticed the child, who might be, say, 12, and pretended to be the woman's saviour? She would be too grateful to notice that this was unusual behaviour, that he seemed to have few friends or family". They pitched the idea to John Yorke, controller of BBC drama production, who said that "It drew a sharp intake of breath. Most EastEnders stories that have been good and successful have been the ones that caused the sharp intake of breath, so they're always the kind of stories you look for." However, paedophilia as a storyline had been pitched before, but the idea had been vetoed because they could not find the right storyline and characters to proceed and, as the topic was so controversial, producers had been unwilling to take the risk. Diederick Santer commented, "We knew that something like 16% of under-16s have been sexually abused at some point, but if you can't find a story, it's an issue that sits there, dead, on the show." It has been noted in the media that paedophilia is a subject rarely shown on pre-watershed terrestrial television, and although EastEnders had broached it in 2001 with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and her abusive uncle Harry (Michael Elphick), this was scripted to have happened in the past and focused on the effect it had on the victim as an adult.

Yorke was initially unconvinced at the Jackson paedophilia storyline proposal. He commented to The Guardian in 2008, "My standpoint has always been that there has to be a good editorial justification. If it's just entertainment, or just sensation, or just the bogeyman in this case, then I don't think that's a good enough reason." When asked how she felt about the storyline, Palmer commented: "It would be brilliant if it helped somebody. If one person out there who's been abused saw that [the legal system] go out of their way to make it easier on the victim – Whitney's evidence is given by video link – it will be worth it."

Reunion with Ricky Butcher

In November 2009 it was announced that coinciding with the return of her on-screen family and the 25th anniversary of EastEnders, Bianca and Ricky would remarry in February 2010. Entertainment website Digital Spy reported that: "Show producers have confirmed that the divorced pair's latest love twist will begin at Christmas when Ricky [...] decides to pop the question to his childhood sweetheart. Their wedding will take place in February to coincide with the Walford soap's 25th anniversary celebrations." A spin-off DVD focusing on preparations for the wedding, EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford, was released in February 2010. It features Tiffany arranging a comeback for Bianca's family, plus archive footage and interviews. Palmer told What's on TV magazine: "I prefer it when Ricky and Bianca are not together but it's great too when they are. I'm looking forward to the return of her family. Bianca hasn't spoken to her mum since the whole Dan thing so it'll be good stuff."

Talking about the 25th anniversary week, Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "That's [...] why we're doing the soap wedding of the year – and perhaps the soap wedding of the decade – with Ricky and Bianca. The romance played against the thriller story is a great balance, which I hope the audience will be both gripped by and satisfied with. The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters – Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie."

Temporary departure: 2011

On 1 August 2010, the News of the World reported that Palmer was pregnant with her fourth child and that she would take maternity leave from EastEnders later in the year. It also noted that she was already showing a baby bump. To facilitate the departure, Bianca will feature in a major storyline, which executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said was the only possible reason Bianca would have for leaving her family. In December 2010, it was announced that Natalie Cassidy would return as part of Bianca's departure storyline which will start in January 2011. Bianca's departure was broadcast on 21 January 2011. Palmer gave birth earlier than expected, meaning that she started leave three weeks before she planned to. A departure scene and several other key moments were therefore not filmed, and changes had to be made to the storyline to accommodate her absence. Bianca is scheduled to reappear in 2012, though Palmer stated in February 2011 that she was in no hurry to return, did not miss it and did not know when she would be back.

Storylines

Backstory

Bianca was conceived by Carol Branning (Lindsey Coulson) and David Wicks (Michael French) in 1976, when they were fourteen. David tried to persuade Carol to have an abortion and fled, not knowing that she kept the baby. Bianca had no contact with her father and she and her half siblings eventually found a stable father figure in Alan Jackson (Howard Antony); all the family took on his surname.

At school, Bianca became close friends with Natalie Price (Lucy Speed) and Tiffany Raymond (Martine McCutcheon). She developed a penchant for older men, dating Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) for a time, without telling him she was underage.

1993–99

Bianca first appears in November 1993. She initially works at Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) fish and chip shop, before becoming the market assistant of Sanjay Kapoor (Deepak Verma). Later on she branches out, running her own clothing stall on Bridge Street market.

Bianca has a short relationship with an older man called Richard Cole (Ian Reddington) in 1994, and when he breaks up with her, she and her friend Natalie harass him with prank calls, rearrange the furniture in his flat and steal his credit card. When Richard discovers that they were behind the trouble, Bianca and Natalie blackmail him, telling him that Bianca is fifteen and that they will inform the police that he slept with an underage girl if he does not leave them alone. Bianca then sets her sights on David Wicks, unaware that he is her father. She and David flirt with each other, until Carol tells David the truth – that Bianca is his daughter. After this, David keeps his distance from Bianca, who remains unaware of their biological relationship.

Bianca enters into a relationship with Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen). They move into a bedsit together, however, things do not go smoothly for the couple. Bianca spends a lot of time clubbing with her friend Tiffany, and Ricky starts an affair with Natalie. When Bianca discovers the affair she breaks up with Ricky and drives Natalie out of Walford. When a drunk Bianca is nearly assaulted, David takes care of her, but Bianca tries to kiss him. He is forced to tell that he is her father and she spends several weeks coming to terms with the revelation.

Ricky and Bianca reunite and get engaged in June 1995, however in July 1996, she sleeps with Lenny Wallace (Des Coleman). She soon regrets this when she fears she is pregnant with his child. It is a false alarm, but the shock makes her realise how much Ricky means to her and so in 1997 they marry. Later that year, Bianca becomes pregnant with Ricky's baby, however, a pre-natal scan confirms that the unborn child is affected with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Distraught, Bianca opts to abort her unborn child, a decision which puts a massive strain on her marriage. More problems arise in 1998, when Bianca's infidelity with Lenny is finally revealed to Ricky following an STD scare. Ricky considers ending their marriage, but Bianca convinces him to give her another chance and in 1998 she becomes pregnant a second time. She gives birth to baby Liam on Christmas Day in The Queen Vic, helped by her enemy Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) – the volatile husband of her best friend Tiffany. Days later, Tiffany is run over and killed by Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) and Bianca spends the early part of 1999 trying to force Tiffany's mother Louise (Carol Harrison) to leave Walford, having discovered that she slept with Grant.

In mid-1999, Bianca's mother, Carol, returns to Albert Square with her new fiancée Dan Sullivan unaware of Bianca's past relationship with Dan. Bianca and Dan rekindle their affair behind their partners' backs until Carol discovers she is pregnant with Dan's child. Bianca and Ricky make plans to move away to Manchester so Bianca can attend fashion college there. After finding an old photo of Bianca and Dan together, Carol demands to know their history. Dan tells Carol that they once had a romance that ended years ago, and swore on the life of his unborn child that it was over. Carol questions an unsuspecting Bianca about this. Unaware that Dan has lied to Carol about the current affair, Bianca confesses. Carol decides she wanted nothing more to do with Bianca, and Bianca leaves for Manchester with Liam in September 1999, after informing Ricky that she no longer loves him.

2002–07

In May 2002, Ricky visits Bianca in Manchester to discuss custody of Liam. Bianca has been expelled from her university and is working in a nightclub. Struggling to support her child, Bianca becomes desperate and is caught up in a plan to steal £50,000 from her drug-dealing boss, Vince. Ricky persuades her to return the money, but Vince catches them and forces them to become his drug couriers. However, Vince sets them up, the drug-dealers turn violent, and Bianca and Ricky are only saved when armed police raid the establishment. Ricky and Bianca flee and spend the night in a hotel room, where they sleep together and decide to reunite. Ricky breaks the news to his fiancée Cassie, but she is unwilling to let him go. She convinces Bianca that a life with Ricky will bore her and pleads with her to let Ricky have custody of Liam. Bianca decides this is the right thing to do. Ricky looks on heartbroken as she hitches a ride in a car and departs for a destination unknown.

Off-screen, unbeknown to Ricky, Bianca was pregnant with his child. Bianca started a relationship with trucker Nathan Dean soon after in 2002, who believed Bianca's unborn child was his. Bianca acted as stepmother to Nathan's daughter Whitney (Shona McGarty) but the family was devastated when Nathan was killed in a traffic accident in December 2002. Bianca took on guardianship of Whitney and gave birth to a daughter Tiffany in 2003, but she struggled financially. She fell pregnant again in 2004, but did not remain with the father. While pregnant, she started dating Tony King (Chris Coghill) who appeared to be a good fatherly figure to her children; however, Bianca was unaware that he was a paedophile. Tony groomed 12-year old Whitney and they began a sexual relationship. After giving birth to her third child Morgan, Bianca was given custody of Liam once again in 2006 when Ricky settled with a woman named Melinda, who did not like children. Tony and Whitney's relationship continued in secret until Tony was imprisoned in 2007 for assaulting a boy who propositioned Whitney.

2008–11

In events shown on-screen in April 2008, Bianca is evicted for non-payment of rent and her children are taken into care. Homeless, Bianca moves in with her grandmother Pat Evans (Pam St. Clement) in Walford and, with Ricky's help, she gets her children back and finds employment waitressing. She rebuffs Ricky's declaration of love, deciding to stick by her imprisoned lover Tony, who is released in September 2008. Tony resumes his affair with Whitney while an unsuspecting Bianca pesters him to marry her; he eventually relents after winding down his affair with Whitney, whom he is no longer attracted to. Sensing Tony's growing disinterest, Whitney tells a disbelieving Bianca of their relationship. After the ensuing fight, Tony leaves but is apprehended by the police and arrested on suspicion of rape of a minor. In the aftermath, Bianca and Whitney's relationship is tested while they both come to terms with what has happened, but they eventually bond again and Bianca supports Whiney through Tony's trial.

Following a DNA test, Ricky is confirmed as Tiffany's father. Slowly, Bianca starts to realise that she is still in love with Ricky; however her attempt to rekindle their romance is ruined when Ricky announces his engagement to his former wife, Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook). Knowing Sam is evading a police sentence, Bianca reports her whereabouts and Sam is arrested. A rift forms between Bianca and Ricky when the truth is revealed. However, Bianca's discovery that Sam is cheating on Ricky ends the engagement, and Bianca and Ricky subsequently reunite on Christmas Day 2009, when Ricky accepts her marriage proposal.

The couple's second wedding occurs in February 2010. During the ceremony, her mother Carol arrives uninvited and attempts to stop the proceedings. She and Bianca brawl, but they finally manage to settle their differences and begin to rebuild their relationship following the wedding. Liam is refused a place at his first choice of school so Ricky and Bianca attempt to appeal this but are unsuccessful. Bianca decides to homeschool Liam but she ends up arguing with Carol and Liam says he will go to the school he has been assigned. When Pat tells Bianca she is fed up of being treated as a slave, she decides to move out, and Bianca calls her selfish as she has nobody to babysit. Bianca reveals to Whitney and Carol that she and Ricky have not been intimate for two months. Her subsequent attempts to entice Ricky are thwarted. Carol then notices that Bianca has bought new underwear, and Bianca wishes her mother would stay out of her private life, yet Carol moves in with Bianca's family, encroaching on Bianca's privacy further. Bianca starts going out and speaks to someone called Bobby on the phone. Carol suspects Bianca of cheating and announces it to Bianca, Ricky and their children and neighbours by showing Ricky Bianca's new underwear as evidence. Bianca reveals that Bobby is actually Ricky and they are simply role playing to spice up their marriage. She asks Carol to apologise or leave so Carol decides to pack her things, but eventually says sorry for everything.

Bianca learns that Sam is pregnant and Ricky could be the father, but says she would not stop Ricky being a father to his boy after the baby is born. Sam insists that the baby is Ricky's even though she had an affair with Bianca's uncle Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), and she names the baby Richard after Ricky. However, Bianca insists that Ricky and Jack take paternity tests, to which Sam agrees. Sam reveals that the baby is Ricky's, which leaves Bianca upset. She orders Ricky to leave and be with Sam but he insists he wants nothing to do with Sam, though he cannot turn his back on his child. Bianca then realises they have taken Sam's word for it and finds out for herself, revealing that Jack is the father.

On Billie's birthday, Carol arranges a party and Bianca secretly brings him home from Southend-on-Sea where he is partying with friends. Billie gets extremely drunk at the party, and Carol decides not to stop him as he is old enough to make his own choices. The next morning, Bianca tries to wake Billie but discovers he has died. She phones Carol, who comes home. Bianca and the rest of the family then watch as doctors, paramedics, police and undertakers arrive and Billie's body is taken away. Bianca is forced to tell Alan his son has died, as Carol refuses to speak to him. Bianca overhears Liam saying that Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) kissed Ricky at Billie's party and takes it out on both Ricky and Kim, but Whitney makes her realise that she's not really angry, but just missing Billie. Kim and Bianca then become friends. Bianca then discovers that Carol has hit Liam and when an argument breaks out, Carol blames Bianca for Billie's death and bans everyone from attending his funeral. Carol does not attend the wake and Bianca sees Billie's friend Connor Stanley's (Arinze Kene) bicycle outside Carol's house, but inside finds him not there. Bianca then finds a suicide note from Carol. Carol explains that the note means she is moving out and apologises to Bianca. However, she later tells her the truth but says it was just a moment's thought and she will never feel that way again. She then says she is moving in with her colleague Glenda Mitchell (Glynis Barber).

Bianca and Ricky discover that the company they were saving with for Christmas has gone bust, and tell the children that they cannot have many presents that year. They open their only present before Christmas leaving Bianca annoyed that Christmas will not be fun. At the café, Bianca steals money from the till. Tiffany and Liam steal perfume from a stallholder (Christian Jenner) for Bianca's Christmas present, which Bianca decides to return. However, once there, she changes her mind and another buyer tells the stallholder that Bianca has taken some perfume. Two police officers, one of them PC Lance (Giles New) go to Bianca's house and search for the stolen perfume. Bianca spots stolen jewellery hidden behind the settee that Whitney is holding for Connor and panics. She accidentally slaps one of the officers and is arrested. The next day she returns home and confronts Whitney about the jewellery. Bianca dumps it into a drain and Whitney explains she was keeping it for Connor, and it belongs to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Bianca tells Phil that Connor used Whitney to hide the jewellery, and asks Phil to deal with Connor directly.

When Tiffany starts acting strangely, locking herself in her room and telling people that Carol has died, Bianca suspects she is being abused. However, Carol confesses that she is seeing Connor and that Tiffany saw them together. Whitney is left heartbroken at the revelation, so Bianca attacks Connor, leaving him hospitalised. Bianca eventually decides to hand herself into the police and refuses bail.

Reception

Awards and nominations

Palmer's portrayal of Bianca earned her a nomination for "Best Actress" at the 1997 Royal Television Society Awards – being the first soap actress to ever be nominated – and in 2000 she was awarded "Best Actress" at The British Soap Awards, a prize voted for by viewers. She commented on her role in her acceptance speech: "It's completely changed my life. It just turned it around. I have had my ups and downs as you all know. I just want to warn all the young people. Be careful because it really does change your life." The role has also garnered Palmer nominations as "Most Popular Actress" at the 1996 National Television Awards, "Best Actress" at the 1999 British Soap Awards, "TV Soap Personality" at the 2009 Television and Radio Industries Club Awards, "Best On-Screen Partnership" (with Sid Owen) in the 2001 British Soap Awards, and "I'm a Survivor" at the 2009 All About Soap Bubble Awards.

Critical response

EastEnders' executive producer Diederick Santer has described Bianca as "one of the most popular characters EastEnders has ever had", while James Rampton, journalist for The Independent, has commented that she is "adored". Palmer has suggested that viewers "rooted" for Bianca because "people love a stroppy girl". In 2000, she commented, "[Bianca] makes them laugh. A character like that is about living out your fantasies. Everybody would love to be like Bianca and really say what they think." Following her exit from the serial in September 1999, Palmer said that members of the public would approach her to plead with her to return to EastEnders, as they missed her character and relationship with Ricky. She commented in 2000, "It makes me feel bad. I sometimes think I should go back [to EastEnders] for everyone else's sake." When the character departed the serial in 1999, Molly Blake of the Birmingham Evening Post said "Good riddance!" She described Bianca as a "king-sized pain in the backside [...] A screeching and screaming virago with a big mouth and pea-sized brain" and a "prize slapper [who] tormented all those whose paths [she] crossed."

In 1995, Chris Barker carried out television research on post-transmission perspectives of British Asian teenage viewers of EastEnders, using the character Bianca as one of the focus points. He discovered that the participants were both active and implicit in the reproduction of ideology about family relationships and gender. The males regarded Bianca as a "saucy cow", with implications of unacceptable assertiveness in women. They disliked that Ricky was pushed around by Bianca and treated as a subordinate by her friends. The author comments that "such a relationship appears to these boys as the world turned upside down." Girls also viewed Bianca unfavourably in 1995, and the author noted that tensions in "girl-culture" – attraction to the traditional private world of interpersonal relationships and the desire to take up more assertive characteristics in public – manifested themselves in discussions about Bianca and her friend Natalie Price. Natalie was constructed as a "nice person" in contrast to Bianca, "she can relate to Ricky [...] cares for other people and doesn't just think about herself [like Bianca does]", qualities that were said to be constitutive of the traditional identity of women.

"Previous returns have been all about the numbers and not about the story, which is the cardinal sin in this game. While there is, of course, the resultant publicity that comes with any new or returning soap character being announced, the storyline possibilities for Ricky and Bianca arriving back in the Square are good. [...] All very well thought through and positive. This sounds like a soap getting back in touch with its roots".

—Mark Wright of The Stage on Ricky and Bianca's 2008 return

In 2008, when it was announced that both Ricky and Bianca were being reintroduced, Santer described them as "a hugely popular and well-loved partnership on the show", and Reuters branded them two of "the most popular characters on the soap". However, Hazel Davis of The Guardian was critical about their reintroduction. She commented, "It's a no-brainer on the show's part. Last year, ratings for EastEnders were at an all-time low. But, just for once, wouldn't it be nice if a soap opera actually introduced new characters with verve and staying power rather than digging up the oldies?" Conversely, Mark Wright from The Stage said that the decision to bring these much-loved character back "is very welcome". Ruth Deller of entertainment website Lowculture praised Bianca stating: "Bianca and Ricky’s return has been one of the best things about [EastEnders] in the past year [...] and even when Bianca and co don't have storylines as big as the Whitney/Tony one, they still give good telly."

In March 2010, Bianca was voted the 'Most Popular TV Mum' in an online poll conducted by Yahoo!, gaining 26% of votes. Yahoo!'s TV editor Paul Johnston commented "As loud and garish as Bianca can be, she also has a huge heart when it comes to her children and would do anything to protect them. You certainly wouldn't want her turning up on your doorstep if your kids had been fighting with hers!"

In popular culture and other media

In 1999, BBC Books published a book about the character, entitled Bianca's Secret Diary. The paperback details the affair between Bianca and her mother Carol's lover, Dan. A BBC source reportedly told the Sunday Mirror: "We've recently dethroned Coronation Street at the top of the viewing charts, and this book has the potential to make No.1 in the best-sellers list." It was released on 10 September 1999, just as the TV storyline reached its conclusion.

The character was spoofed in the BBC comedy sketch show The Real McCoy. One of the show's recurring sketches featured a spoof version of EastEnders, with black comedians taking over roles of well known EastEnders characters, who frequent a pub called Rub-a-Dub. Actress and comedian Judith Jacob played the role of Bianca in the sketches. Jacob had previously appeared as a regular character in EastEnders between 1986 and 1989, as health visitor Carmel Jackson (unrelated to Bianca's family).

External links

• Bianca Jackson at BBC Online