List of EastEnders characters (2023)
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera EastEnders in 2023, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's senior executive producer, Kate Oates, and the executive producer, Chris Clenshaw.[1] The first character to be introduced is Brett (Fabrizio Santino), a man from Zack Hudson's (James Farrar) past; he debuts in January. Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit), the estranged mother of Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold), also first appears in January.
Brett
Brett, played by Fabrizio Santino, first appears in episode 6625, originally broadcast on 9 January 2023.[2] The character and Santino's casting details were announced on 29 December 2022.[2] Brett is introduced as someone from Zack Hudson's (James Farrar) past. He is described as "enigmatic".[2] Lewis Knight from the Radio Times reported that Brett would deliver some news to Zack which would "change his life forever".[2] Writers used the character to create problems for Zack, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) and their unborn baby.[2]
Emma Harding
| Emma Harding | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Patsy Kensit | ||||||
| First appearance | January 2023 | ||||||
| Introduced by | Kate Oates and Chris Clenshaw | ||||||
| Classification | Future; guest | ||||||
|
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Emma Harding, played by Patsy Kensit, first appears in January 2023.[3] The character and Kensit's casting details were first reported on 5 November 2022,[4] with further details announced on 20 December 2022.[3] Emma is introduced as the estranged mother of established character Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold), who is terminally ill with a brain tumour.[3] Kensit was contracted for a short stint and began filming in November 2022.[3][4] Chris Clenshaw, the show's executive producer, thought Emma shared some similarities with Lola, including "a striking resemblance; successful, the capacity to hold her own [...] and she's a fighter".[3] He noted that Emma is also "softly spoken and measured", unlike Lola.[3]
The character's backstory states that she left Lola and her father when Lola was three years old.[3] Clenshaw explained that Emma wants to reconcile with her daughter, having felt guilty since she left.[3] Kensit expressed her joy at appearing in the soap and praised the show's cast and production team.[3] Clenshaw called Kensit the "perfect fit" for the character of Emma, who he described as "a long-awaited character that we know very little about".[3] He added, "Patsy's portrayal is bound to set off fireworks in Walford and cause havoc for the Mitchell household."[3]
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
