Heather Trott
| Heather Trott | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Duration | 2007— | ||||||||
| First appearance | 26 June 2007 | ||||||||
| Created by | Diederick Santer | ||||||||
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Heather Peterson (née Trott) is a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She is played by Cheryl Fergison and made her first appearance on 26 June 2007.
Character creation and development
Heather Trott, played by Cheryl Fergison, was originally only meant to be a guest character, but Fergison's contract was extended to six months after the character proved popular.[1] She was introduced as the sidekick of Shirley Carter, played by Linda Henry.[1] After the success of her initial guest appearance, the character officially became "semi-regular", meaning she would show up on-screen occasionally;[1] however, in episodes that aired in September 2007, the character became a regular, moving to the soap's setting of Albert Square. Fergison has spoken of her surprise at winning the role, stating that "On my first day on set, I went an took a seat on Arthur's bench. My mum had passed away, so I wanted to have a little chat with her. I sat there and said 'I can't believe we're finally here, Mum - this is just amazing'. It was a strange experience, because I knew she was there with me. She'd be so proud now."[2] Fergison has also discussed her relationship with the cast members she works with most closely, declaring that: "We're being called 'The Famous Five'. That's me, Cliff, Linda Henry [Shirley], Bobby Davro (Vinnie) and Ricky Groves (Garry). Linda and I laugh all day, every day - this is the best job in the world. [...] Being on EastEnders is a privilege."[2] Fellow cast member Kara Tointon has named Heather as her favourite character in the soap, explaining of her choice: "I think she brings something really great to the show, and not just the comedy - she's good at emotional scenes too. I love watching her."[3]
Discussing the storyline which sees Heather become romantically involved with Minty Peterson, Fergison has expressed her support for their relationship, stating that: "This is Heather's only chance in life to have a dream come true. She's always such a kind, positive person, and is always willing to try. I call her 'Heather Hopeful'!"[2]
Storylines
Heather was introduced as the life-long best friend of Shirley Carter, who loves cheese and karaoke and is a fan of George Michael. She lived with her controlling mother Queenie until she moved in with Shirley. Her parents' marriage broke down when she was young, and Queenie told her that her father had left because he couldn't stand living with Heather. Heather grew up being mentally abused by her mother, who called her "Pig".
Heather first appeared in June 2007, when she attended a party at Shirley's flat. That night Heather slept in the same bed as Garry Hobbs, but they didn't have sex. She was later seen collecting sponsors for a sponsored silence, and after Ian Beale and Jay Brown made fun of her (calling her "Cake Moss"), Ian's fiancée Jane sponsored her on behalf of all of Ian's businesses. She befriended Jane, who was bullied for being overweight in her childhood, and acted as a witness at Ian and Jane's wedding.
Heather later developed an infatuation with Garry, following him on a holiday to Brighton, where she discovered that he was in love with Dawn Swann. Shirley took her out for a drink, and she ended up kissing a man in a club, who then turned around to his friends and boasted about "pulling the pig". Heather ran out crying, while Shirley punched the man in the groin. They hitched a lift back to Walford with drag queen Charity Kase and Shirley sung George Michael's "I'm Your Man" to Heather to cheer her up.
When Heather decided to move away from home, her controlling mother Queenie tried to manipulate her into staying. Heather relented, but later moved in with Shirley when she heard Queenie boasting about her manipulation of her. After she moved in with Shirley, she got jobs at both the local launderette and the Minute Mart, becoming friends with Dot Branning and Patrick Trueman. She also became friends with Garry's mother, Hazel, who asked her to be the bridesmaid at her wedding to Minty Peterson. She accepted, and entered them into a wedding competition to win money to spend on the wedding of their dreams. When Hazel left Minty, Heather pretended to be Hazel so that they could remain in the competition. She and Minty decided to split the prize money so that Minty could use some to get Hazel back and Heather could use some to get liposuction.
Heather and Shirley moved in with Garry and Minty, and Queenie arrived to meet Minty. Queenie bullied Heather and tried to control her flatmates, but Minty encouraged Heather to finally stand up to her mother, which she did, prompting Queenie to leave. Minty and Heather seemed to grow closer, and nearly kissed in March 2008. On the day of their stag and hen parties, Heather realised that she had fallen in love with Minty for real. On the morning of the wedding, Hazel arrived back in Walford and proposed to Minty. A heartbroken Heather decided to leave the Square and return to her mother, but before she could depart, was stopped by Minty who proposed to her for real. They later married, after Queenie tried to stop the wedding, revealing Heather's true identity.
However, the wedding continued, and Minty and Heather became a married couple. Afterwards, Heather faced up to her mother again, and forced her to go home.
After their honeymoon abroad, Heather and Shirley had a party at the The Queen Victoria and got drunk, because Christian Clarke was in charge.
In the streets, the 2 drunken women were arrested. In the slammer, Shirly admitted that she didn't love Vinnie Monks, and loved Phil Mitchell. Heather revealed that when she was badly bullied in school, and even had her knickers stolen. She also revealed that she used to skip school and hide in the boiler room.
Reception
The character of Heather has been hailed by Mark Wright of The Stage as the "[television] stand out of 2007". He has described her as "the divine, the wonderful, the brilliant Heather Trott, played to absolute perfection by actress Cheryl Fergison [...] we have somebody new who the writers can engage with and, if they play it right, create a new soap legend."[1] She has also been described as a "legend" by Digital Spy's Kris Green[4] and was nominated for 'Best Newcomer' at the Digital Spy Soap Awards.[5]
Garry Bushell, TV critic for the Daily Star, has dubbed the character "Heffer". He has criticised her appearance, questioning why Minty would fall for her: "What shock, what horror. You watched with mounting disbelief as the nightmare unfolded. Yes, Minty really did snog Heather Trott. Why? Why would he? Why would anybody? She’s not exactly a F.I.L.F. (Fatty I’d Like to [Fuck]) She’s not even his type – Minty’s love-life has turned into an episode of Supersize v Superskinny [Heather v Hazel]".[6]
References
- ^ a b c d "Shout it out for Heather!", The Stage. URL last accessed 2008-04-13. Cite error: The named reference "stage" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c Woodward, Kate (15 April 2008), "People keep trying to set me up on dates!", Inside Soap, England, pp. 18–19
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|publication-date=(help) - ^ "You ask... Kara Tointon", Inside Soap, England, pp. 42–43, 15 April 2008
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|publication-date=(help) - ^ "The end is nigh, Digital Spy. Last accessed 2008-04-13.
- ^ "Digital Spy Soap Awards", BBC. URL last accessed 2008-04-13.
- ^ "ENDERS TROTTS OUT OLD PLOTS", Daily Star. URL last accessed 2008-04-13.