Lucas Johnson

Lucas Johnson
File:Lucas johnson.jpg
Portrayed by	Don Gilet
Duration	2008—
First appearance	3 April 2008
Classification	Present; regular
Introduced by	Diederick Santer
Spin-off appearances	EastEnders: E20 (2010)
In-universe information Occupation Community centre manager/Preacher Wife Trina Johnson (1995–2009) Denise Wicks (2009—) Sons Jordan Johnson Daughters Chelsea Fox Stepdaughters Libby Fox

Lucas Aaron Johnson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Don Gilet. He made his first on-screen appearance on 3 April 2008. Lucas is introduced as a preacher and the estranged father of established character Chelsea Fox. He has a son, Jordan, and goes on to marry Chelsea's mother Denise. Gilet has described Lucas as having "Jekyll and Hyde" aspects to his character. Despite his religious convictions, Lucas leaves Trina to die after she is impaled in the neck by a rake, and murders Denise's ex-husband Owen. This multi-faceted personality was further explored in the BBC Three special "EastEnders: The Two Faces of Lucas". The character also appears in the spin-off series EastEnders: E20.

Creation and development

Lucas is the father of Chelsea Fox (Tiana Benjamin), and walked out on her and her mother Denise (Diane Parish) when Chelsea was a baby. His casting in the show was announced in January 2008, when the character was described as "attractive, charismatic, strong and forthright" and "just a dodgy geezer with a murky past." His profile on the official EastEnders website describes him as "an upstanding member of the community, a far cry from the youth he once was." Through the show's narrative, it is revealed that Lucas is a former drug addict and has gone on to become a preacher in a Christian church.

In February 2009, it was announced that Sharon Duncan Brewster had been cast as Lucas' estranged wife Trina. Entertainment website Digital Spy reported: "Trina arrives and surprises Lucas and she makes it very clear she wants to give things another go. Lucas tries to get rid of her but his secret is out when Patrick (Rudolph Walker) sees what's going on. Just how willing will Trina be to let her husband walk into the arms of another woman? And more importantly, will she divorce him to enable him to marry again?" Despite his connection with the church, in September 2009 Lucas attempts to cover up his involvement in Trina's death. Gilet told Soaplife magazine, "When he first appeared someone wrote in saying he was a good character, but somewhere down the line something was going to come unstuck. We've always known there was more to this do-gooder than meets the eye. Things are going to get a lot darker in the build-up to Christmas. [...] It's going to get very dark and I hope I can pull it off." Lucas went on to kill Denise's ex-husband Owen Turner (Lee Ross) when he came close to discovering how Lucas was involved in Trina's death. Gilet explained that although Lucas does not want people dead and has no malice in his heart, he sees killing as a way to stop things from happening. When the show's executive producer Diederick Santer was asked by Digital Spy what was lined up for Lucas in 2010, he said "He's got right on his side, hasn't he? Is the world a better place without Trina? Probably, yes. Is the world a better place without Owen? Well, I don't know about that, but he's not a particularly nice person... Lucas is doing the Lord's work and who knows what that's doing to his head maybe he'll kill again. Lucas's story is 'poised' and we're just trying to work out the exact timing of the long-term story. There's brilliant stuff in the pipeline — it's one for a slow burn really. We have Lucas who's a murderer. Will he murder again? Who's the next person to cross him? He's one dangerous man."

Gilet described Lucas as having "Jekyll and Hyde" aspects to his character, and tries to hide the darker side of his personality from Denise. Gilet commented: "Every actor enjoys playing a character who's flawed – but how long can Lucas continue to hide the dark side of himself before the cracks start to show? I think a lot of people reckon the clock might be ticking. This story has shocked some people! I was getting fan mail where people were saying what a nice guy he was – and, of course, now they know he's not." Gilet has called Lucas "a very good character to play because of his complexity", explaining: "I think that's partly because he's a guy who always strives to do the right thing but his path for doing that gets warped as time goes on. I think his heart started off in the right place but - partly because of his drug-addled years - he has a slightly warped outlook on life." Asked whether he felt Lucas was truly bad, Gilet replied:

On the surface it doesn't seem that bad and he thinks he's got a good moral sense of right and wrong but if you push through and try to find what's at the kernel of who he is, you'll probably find a very angry character. He's got a lot of rage in him and he's using God as a kind of anger management that kicks him on the right track. When he has problems and his world is threatened - something he's worked so hard for over the years and he's an upstanding member of the community, people look to him and respect him - when that's threatened, when people like Trina come back into his life, it's his past returning. That's when the complexity comes in.

— Don Gilet, Digital Spy

Gilet has characterised Lucas as having a "carnal side" with which he is "constantly at odds", explaining: "There are times when that human and carnal side to him, the side that gives in to temptation, is going to come through. As time goes on, that strong moral side to him starts to chip away and this chink of darkness starts to show and unravel. It's a Pandora's box, in a way." Discussing Lucas' relationship with Denise, Gilet refuted the suggestion that Denise was a "token wife" deeming her more reliable than Trina and expanding: "He's found a woman who's strong-willed, strong-minded, a good mother to their shared child and to Libby (Belinda Owusu) and Jordan (Michael-Joel David Stuart). It's kind of ideal and he's worked so hard for it. Nothing, but nothing, should stop that - he deserves to have this. It's one of these situations where he likes the idea that he's earned this relationship. That seems to be more of a priority than the pure love he has for her. He loves what he's earned and he's now this respectable person who wants to hold on to what he has by any means necessary."

Storylines

Lucas's estranged daughter Chelsea, who he abandoned as a baby, tracks him down and arrives at a sermon he is giving. Chelsea reveals she is his daughter, but leaves before Lucas can reply. Two months later, family friend Patrick Trueman invites Lucas to Chelsea's twenty-second birthday party, intending to surprise her. Lucas explains that he was only seventeen when her mother Denise gave birth and neither of them could cope with a baby. At the time, he ran away and become involved with drugs but eventually overcame his drug habit. Chelsea reluctantly agrees to give Lucas a chance and allows him to take her out for a meal. She is unhappy, however, when Lucas introduces her to his son and her half brother Jordan, who is twelve. After an argument, Lucas leaves.

When Patrick discovers that Chelsea has a drug habit, he calls Lucas for help. Chelsea runs away and Lucas tracks her down to the local nightclub, R&R. He rescues her from a gang of men, but when Denise arrives she is furious to see Lucas and tells him to stay away. Eventually she calms down and they talk. Lucas tells her he is now a pastor and runs community groups to help people. He later moves to Albert Square with Jordan. He and Denise become increasingly close, but he tells her he is not prepared to have sex again until he is married. Lucas gives local resident Tony King (Chris Coghill) a job at the community centre, despite the fact he has a criminal conviction. It is later revealed that Tony has been sexually abusing his partner's daughter, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), and a number of residents turn against Lucas for allowing Tony to work with children. Lucas is attacked by two members of the public, but is able to fight them off.

Lucas leaves Walford again, returning in the new year and proposing to Denise. She turns him down as she is still mourning the death of her last husband Kevin (Phil Daniels), so Lucas decides to leave Walford for good with Jordan and start a new life in Leeds. Before he can leave, Denise proposes to him. Jordan then reveals that Lucas is still married to Jordan's mother, Trina. Lucas explains they have been separated for many years as she abandoned Jordan. Trina later visits Walford in the hope of saving their marriage but Lucas tells her to leave. However, she reveals to Patrick that Lucas spent Christmas with her and they slept together. Patrick demands that Lucas come clean to Denise, but Lucas discovers Patrick was arrested in the 1950s for assaulting a minor during a race riot, prompting them both to blackmail each other.

Trina eventually tells Denise about her Christmas liaison with Lucas, but Lucas denies it. He tells Denise that Jordan was born premature and addicted to heroin, abandoned by his mother while still in an incubator. Trina continues to attempt to come between Lucas and Denise, and although she finally agrees to grant Lucas a divorce, she tells him she is planning on moving to Walford to be with Jordan. Lucas and Trina sleep together again on Jordan's birthday. During a later argument, Lucas pushes Trina away, unintentionally causing her to impale her neck on a rake. Lucas allows her to exsanguinate, then attempts to make it appear that Trina died in an accident while taking drugs. Trina's body is discovered by Jordan and his friend Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald). When police fail to find evidence to the contrary, they give a verdict of accidental death.

In October 2009, Denise's abusive ex-husband Owen Turner (Lee Ross) returns to Walford having been recently released from prison. Lucas dislikes him, and attacks him in an alleyway. Owen shows Denise his bruises from the attack, and though she initially disbelieves him, she discovers the truth and forces Lucas to apologize. Lucas is jealous of the growing relationship between Denise and Owen, and has Owen arrested for breaching the conditions of his release. Owen later returns to Albert Square in an attempt to convince Denise not to marry Lucas, suspicious of Lucas' involvement in Trina's death. Owen confronts Lucas on his wedding day, and when he threatens to go to the police, Lucas strangles him to death. He marries Denise, then buries Owen's body in Albert Square, under a tree planted in Trina's name.

Lucas runs a charity event at the community centre but Denise does not want to go. Lucas leaves a bag behind so Denise takes it there and he introduces her to Loretta, the chair of the fundraising committee. Denise is surprised to see she is a young attractive woman and does not like how tactile she is with Lucas. However, Denise comes up with a plan to get rid of Loretta, and Lucas makes Denise his new fundraising coordinator.

When Jordan's dog Sugar starts sniffing around Trina's tree, Jordan suspects there may be something buried under it. However, Lucas stops him from digging it up, saying that the tree means a lot to them both. Lucas locks the dog in a shed with no water, but Jordan discovers her. That night, he takes Sugar to the canal and returns without her, telling his family that she ran away. Owen's mother Liz Turner returns from Spain worried that she has not heard from him. She discovers he has not used his mobile telephone since November 2009 but Lucas convinces her not to go to the police. For Liz's birthday, Lucas sends her a bunch of flowers in Owen's name, but she is suspicious that they are not the flowers he usually sends. Liz returns to Spain so Patrick and Owen and Denise's daughter Libby steal a security video from the florist. They see Lucas buying the flowers and Lucas is shocked when he, Denise and Chelsea walk in to see his image on the screen.

Lucas convinces his family that he bought the flowers for Liz out of sympathy for Owen's disappearance. Libby is unconvinced, remembering that Lucas lied about getting her father arrested. In a private conversation with her, Lucas admits he feels partially responsible for his friend Jordan's death. Lucas claims that he believes Owen has started drinking again and is isolating himself to protect his family so he sent Liz the flowers to buy Owen more time. Libby believes Lucas and gives him a hug. Later, Lucas panics when he hears that the Square's residents want the council to make over the Square gardens. He is forced to sign a petition but is relieved when he hears the council will not be doing any work. However, he worries when Denise, Charlie Slater and Jean Slater decide to do the work themselves. He attempts to keep them from working near the tree and worries again when Mo Harris's metal detector goes off, though it is just a piece of tin foil. He is relieved when they finish but then Denise says it is not enough and makes arrangements to have a fountain put in the place of Trina's tree.

Lucas arranges for a Gazette photographer to come and take pictures but says they can only make it on Monday. Jean is determined to make everything nice for Stacey's returnb and starts diging at the tree. Lucas manages to calm her down and everyone agrees to delay until Monday. Desperate, Lucas secretly returns in the night and vandalises the gardens himself.

Reception

The BBC received 103 complaints from viewers after it was hinted that Lucas had killed Sugar the dog, compared to "a handful" following his murders of Trina and Owen. The BBC responded saying they do not condone the killing of dogs or people, but iterated that the behaviour was in keeping with the character, adding that "no animals were harmed in the making of this story." The character was nominated in the "Smooth Criminal" and "Killer Secret" categories at the 2010 All About Soap Bubble Awards.

External links

• Lucas Johnson at BBC Online