Adam Best (EastEnders)
Encyclopedia
Adam Best is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by David Proud
, the first adult actor with a visible disability to appear regularly in the soap. Both Proud and his character live with spina bifida
. The character made his first appearance in the episode broadcast on 10 September 2009 and his last in the one broadcast on 19 July 2010.
(Josie Lawrence
) tells her boyfriend Minty Peterson
(Cliff Parisi
) that her son, Adam is on a summer holiday abroad but will return to the UK shortly due to his academic studies. Minty is reluctant when Manda suggests Adam could stay with them in a flat in Walford, because they haven't got any rooms vacant as they have a lodger Darren Miller
(Charlie G. Hawkins
). However, Manda makes arrangements for Adam to stay and he arrives on 10 September 2009. He quickly forms a low opinion of Minty, and takes a liking to Libby Fox
(Belinda Owusu
), the girlfriend of Darren. Libby is due to attend Oxford University, so they become friends. He returns to Oxford at the end of the summer holidays, texting Libby that he will see her there.
Adam returns to Walford unexpectedly and continues to be rude and hostile towards Minty. He is also shocked to discover that Libby and Darren are engaged to be married. Adam soon leaves again, but his car breaks down whilst he is visiting the hospital for a routine health check. Not wanting to worry Manda, Adam phones Minty for assistance, and when Minty arrives, he confronts Adam and asks why he is so rude. Adam tells Minty that he is very wary of his mother's usual choice of men, as many have let her down in the past. However, he agrees to try to be more polite to Minty in future.
He returns to Walford over Christmas and wonders why Libby is with Darren, thinking she cannot see beyond his wheelchair. Following the revelation that Darren fathered a child with Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison
), Adam teases Darren about Libby. He also defends his mother when Minty is angry at her for not telling him about Darren and Heather. He continues to tease a distraught Darren after he spent the night sleeping on a bench, but Manda tells Adam he should know when someone is in need. Adam then takes Darren to a party and agrees to look after him for the night. The next day, Darren wonders what he should say to Libby, who has gone back to Oxford early. Adam tells him he should give her some space, and Darren agrees, but Adam then sends Libby a text message saying he is there for her if she needs a friend.
When Manda comes home one night in tears, she tells Adam she thinks Minty is having an affair. Adam and Libby search for evidence and find a letter that Sam Mitchell
(Danniella Westbrook
) has sent him from prison. Adam decides not to tell his mother but Libby says he should, so he asks her to tell Manda about it, which she does. Manda decides to leave Walford after Minty admits having feelings for Sam. Adam returns to Oxford and when he comes back to Walford again he and Libby are dating. Darren confronts him saying he has probably been bad-mouthing him for months, and Adam hits back by saying that Libby makes up for being unattractive by being good in bed. Adam spots Libby in the cafe where Fatboy
(Ricky Norwood
) starts to flirt with her with dirty sexual remarks. When Libby storms off offended by these comments, Adam punches Fatboy.
Adam is approached by Lucy Beale
(Melissa Suffield
) for help with her exams. She begins to pay Adam money for exam papers, but after Adam is left annoyed by Libby's behaviour during a picnic, he tells Lucy he no longer wants the money, but he wants payment in kind, demanding a kiss as a down payment. Minty sees another kiss between Adam and Lucy but Adam explains that Lucy is just very tactile. After Lucy's final exam, Adam demands sex but she refuses and slams the door on him, saying she has played him at his own game and won. Adam nearly threatens to expose Lucy's tricks, but Lucy says that anything would be better than having sex with him. Lucy tells her brother Peter
(Thomas Law
) that she was blackmailed by Adam, who confronts him and threatens to tell Libby. Adam says that it would not be a good idea as Libby has recently found out her mother Denise Wicks (Diane Parish
) and father Owen Turner
(Lee Ross
) have both died. However, Libby is standing behind him and hears everything, then reveals it to a crowd that gathers after throwing his belongings out on the street. He accuses her of only dating him to make herself look good, and says she will be trying to kill him next. He insults Denise, so Libby slaps him across the face and tells him to leave. Adam gets in his car and drives away.
, played by Josie Lawrence
. Both the character and the actor have spina bifida
and are wheelchair users. He was introduced as part of a series of measures by the BBC to raise the profile of disabled actors. He began filming in June 2009 and appeared on-screen from September 2009.
, said it was "about time" the show cast an adult actor with a disability, as up until Proud's casting, all disabilities in the show had been portrayed by children or able-bodied adults: "In recent years, we've had a number of regular and guest characters with disabilities, some of them children like Janet Mitchell [who has Down's syndrome] and more recently Syd's son, Noah [who is deaf]. We've also told the story of Jean Slater
who suffers from bipolar disorder
. But this is the first time we've had a regular adult character with a visible disability played by an actor with a disability. It's about time."
In an interview with magazine Disability Now
, Proud said he was offered the part of Adam at the same time as wondering whether a regular part would come up: "It was spooky the way it all worked out." He went on to say "To move representation of disability in the media forward is something I take a lot of pride in. It is one of those lovely bonuses of doing what I do, you feel like hopefully if you do it right you're encouraging more disabled people to get into acting and not just increasing people's awareness of disability," and said he is not worried about the inevitable narrow-mindedness of some of the EastEnders audience: "Someone once said, 'If you can't laugh at yourself you're missing the joke of the century'. You will always get some people that disagree with the majority but I don't think it's their opinions that would matter to me." Proud also said that the programme's sets may cause problems for the character, but will serve to highlight them: "We haven't tackled the height of the Queen Vic
bar yet! But it's all representative, I mean, the world isn't accessible, and it's important that the set highlights this for my character." Although the character's spina bifida is not the focus of his storyline, he still has to deal with other people's reactions to his disability.
student," though Proud disagrees with this assessment of the character's personality, saying, "The word I would use is 'spiky'. He's lovely and refreshing, not a stereotype, a very unique character. There's lots of potential with him. He does ruffle feathers and stuff but I think the response [to him] is going to be good." He added that the character is ambitious and driven by success, and that he is "hard to be friends with." He told British newspaper The Sun
that his own independent nature was used to shape the scriptwriters' characterisation of Adam, and said he was happy about this and the fact that the character was not "too nice". Santer said that the character would be "interesting, but possibly irritating".
as part of a plan to "breathe new life into the show". On his departure, Proud said: "I have had a wonderful time at EastEnders and loved every minute of it over the last year. It has been fantastic to play such a complex character like Adam. I have made some great friends amongst the cast and crew and wish the show all the best for future." His final episode was broadcast on 19 July 2010.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by David Proud
David Proud
David Proud is an English actor. He was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. He only began his acting career during his early twenties, having previously believed that it would be impossible for him to have a career in that field. His first professional acting role was as a wheelchair...
, the first adult actor with a visible disability to appear regularly in the soap. Both Proud and his character live with spina bifida
Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...
. The character made his first appearance in the episode broadcast on 10 September 2009 and his last in the one broadcast on 19 July 2010.
Storylines
Adam's introduction to the show begins when Manda BestManda Best
Amanda "Manda" Best is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Josie Lawrence. Manda was introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer, and made her first appearance on 6 March 2009....
(Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence is a British comedienne and actress best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and more recently her role as Manda Best in EastEnders....
) tells her boyfriend Minty Peterson
Minty Peterson
Richard "Rick" Peterson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Cliff Parisi. He made his first appearance on 11 March 2002. His nickname was given to him because he was always late for work, turning up "after eight" when he was an apprentice mechanic...
(Cliff Parisi
Cliff Parisi
Cliff Parisi is an English actor of Italian descent, largely recognised for his performance as Rick 'Minty' Peterson in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
) that her son, Adam is on a summer holiday abroad but will return to the UK shortly due to his academic studies. Minty is reluctant when Manda suggests Adam could stay with them in a flat in Walford, because they haven't got any rooms vacant as they have a lodger Darren Miller
Darren Miller
Darren Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Charlie G. Hawkins. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004 and departed in the episode broadcast on 20 September 2011.-Storylines:...
(Charlie G. Hawkins
Charlie G. Hawkins
Charlie George Hawkins is an English actor. He was raised in Islington where he has lived since birth.His most notable role is Darren Miller in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has starred in since 2004, although he has had other roles in films, dramas, documentaries and advertisements...
). However, Manda makes arrangements for Adam to stay and he arrives on 10 September 2009. He quickly forms a low opinion of Minty, and takes a liking to Libby Fox
Libby Fox
Elizabeth "Libby" Fox is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Belinda Owusu. She made her first appearance on 22 May 2006 and left in 2010. She is the daughter of Denise Fox and Owen Turner, and half sister of Chelsea Fox. The Fox family were introduced by executive...
(Belinda Owusu
Belinda Owusu
Belinda Ruth Owusu is a British actress, who rose to prominence in 2006, aged 17, when she won the role of Libby Fox in BBC's EastEnders.-Career:...
), the girlfriend of Darren. Libby is due to attend Oxford University, so they become friends. He returns to Oxford at the end of the summer holidays, texting Libby that he will see her there.
Adam returns to Walford unexpectedly and continues to be rude and hostile towards Minty. He is also shocked to discover that Libby and Darren are engaged to be married. Adam soon leaves again, but his car breaks down whilst he is visiting the hospital for a routine health check. Not wanting to worry Manda, Adam phones Minty for assistance, and when Minty arrives, he confronts Adam and asks why he is so rude. Adam tells Minty that he is very wary of his mother's usual choice of men, as many have let her down in the past. However, he agrees to try to be more polite to Minty in future.
He returns to Walford over Christmas and wonders why Libby is with Darren, thinking she cannot see beyond his wheelchair. Following the revelation that Darren fathered a child with Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison
Cheryl Fergison
Cheryl Fergison is a British actress most notable for playing Heather Trott in the long running BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
), Adam teases Darren about Libby. He also defends his mother when Minty is angry at her for not telling him about Darren and Heather. He continues to tease a distraught Darren after he spent the night sleeping on a bench, but Manda tells Adam he should know when someone is in need. Adam then takes Darren to a party and agrees to look after him for the night. The next day, Darren wonders what he should say to Libby, who has gone back to Oxford early. Adam tells him he should give her some space, and Darren agrees, but Adam then sends Libby a text message saying he is there for her if she needs a friend.
When Manda comes home one night in tears, she tells Adam she thinks Minty is having an affair. Adam and Libby search for evidence and find a letter that Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (EastEnders)
Samantha Margaret Priscilla "Sam" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. The third member of the Mitchell family to be introduced, Sam entered as a 15-year-old school girl in July 1990, played by Danniella Westbrook. Westbrook quit in 1993, but was reintroduced...
(Danniella Westbrook
Danniella Westbrook
Danniella Westbrook is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for being the original actress to play Samantha Mitchell in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1990–93, 1995–96, 1999–2000 and 2009–10. Away from EastEnders she has presented various shows, and was also a...
) has sent him from prison. Adam decides not to tell his mother but Libby says he should, so he asks her to tell Manda about it, which she does. Manda decides to leave Walford after Minty admits having feelings for Sam. Adam returns to Oxford and when he comes back to Walford again he and Libby are dating. Darren confronts him saying he has probably been bad-mouthing him for months, and Adam hits back by saying that Libby makes up for being unattractive by being good in bed. Adam spots Libby in the cafe where Fatboy
Fatboy (EastEnders)
Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders and its Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20, played by Ricky Norwood. He made his first appearance in EastEnders on 5 January 2010 before appearing in the spin-off...
(Ricky Norwood
Ricky Norwood
Richard Colin "Ricky" Norwood is a British actor who plays Fatboy in the soap opera EastEnders and its online spin-off EastEnders: E20. He was born in Tower Hamlets, London, and lives in Forest Gate. From the age of 12 he attended the Theatre Royal Stratford East's Youth Theatre, and he also...
) starts to flirt with her with dirty sexual remarks. When Libby storms off offended by these comments, Adam punches Fatboy.
Adam is approached by Lucy Beale
Lucy Beale
Lucy Katherine Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Eva Brittin-Snell from 1993 to 1996, Casey Anne Rothery from 1996 until 2004, Melissa Suffield from 2004 to 2010 and Hetti Bywater from 2012 onwards. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the newborn baby...
(Melissa Suffield
Melissa Suffield
Melissa Hollie Suffield is a British actress from London, best known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lucy Beale. Her first appearance on the show was 28 October 2004 and her last on 27 August 2010.-Career:...
) for help with her exams. She begins to pay Adam money for exam papers, but after Adam is left annoyed by Libby's behaviour during a picnic, he tells Lucy he no longer wants the money, but he wants payment in kind, demanding a kiss as a down payment. Minty sees another kiss between Adam and Lucy but Adam explains that Lucy is just very tactile. After Lucy's final exam, Adam demands sex but she refuses and slams the door on him, saying she has played him at his own game and won. Adam nearly threatens to expose Lucy's tricks, but Lucy says that anything would be better than having sex with him. Lucy tells her brother Peter
Peter Beale
Peter Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He was played by Thomas Law from 2006 until 2010. The character has previously been portrayed by James Martin, Joseph Shade, Alex Stevens and Francis Brittin-Snell. Law took over the role on 31 August 2006...
(Thomas Law
Thomas Law
Thomas John Law is a British actor. He is the fourth actor to play Peter Beale in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders...
) that she was blackmailed by Adam, who confronts him and threatens to tell Libby. Adam says that it would not be a good idea as Libby has recently found out her mother Denise Wicks (Diane Parish
Diane Parish
Diane Parish is a British actress best known for her role as Denise Johnson in the BBC Soap EastEnders and DC Eva Sharpe in The Bill.-Career:...
) and father Owen Turner
Owen Turner
Owen Turner is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lee Ross. He originally appeared in the show in 2006, and then returned in 2009. His character left in 2009 after being murdered by Lucas Johnson.-Storylines:...
(Lee Ross
Lee Ross (actor)
Lee Ross is an English professional actor best known for his role as Dodger in Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest. He has also starred in, Press Gang, Secrets & Lies, The Catherine Tate Show and most recently as Owen Turner in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:His first acting role was as Fat Sam in...
) have both died. However, Libby is standing behind him and hears everything, then reveals it to a crowd that gathers after throwing his belongings out on the street. He accuses her of only dating him to make herself look good, and says she will be trying to kill him next. He insults Denise, so Libby slaps him across the face and tells him to leave. Adam gets in his car and drives away.
Creation and development
Adam is the son of character Manda BestManda Best
Amanda "Manda" Best is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Josie Lawrence. Manda was introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer, and made her first appearance on 6 March 2009....
, played by Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence is a British comedienne and actress best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and more recently her role as Manda Best in EastEnders....
. Both the character and the actor have spina bifida
Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...
and are wheelchair users. He was introduced as part of a series of measures by the BBC to raise the profile of disabled actors. He began filming in June 2009 and appeared on-screen from September 2009.
Casting
Speaking of his casting, Proud said he is "delighted and honoured to be joining such a talented cast [and] very excited and looking forward to bringing the character to life." The show's executive producer, Diederick SanterDiederick Santer
Diederick Santer is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010...
, said it was "about time" the show cast an adult actor with a disability, as up until Proud's casting, all disabilities in the show had been portrayed by children or able-bodied adults: "In recent years, we've had a number of regular and guest characters with disabilities, some of them children like Janet Mitchell [who has Down's syndrome] and more recently Syd's son, Noah [who is deaf]. We've also told the story of Jean Slater
Jean Slater
Jean Elaine Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Wright. She appeared in December 2004 briefly and in December 2005. She returned as a recurring character in June 2006 and returned again as a regular character from November 2006...
who suffers from bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
. But this is the first time we've had a regular adult character with a visible disability played by an actor with a disability. It's about time."
In an interview with magazine Disability Now
Disability Now
Disability Now is a UK magazine for disabled people, published by UK disability charity Scope.It was first published in 1984 as a newspaper and continued in that form until 2008, when it was redesigned as an A4 magazine with a greater emphasis on lifestyle and features...
, Proud said he was offered the part of Adam at the same time as wondering whether a regular part would come up: "It was spooky the way it all worked out." He went on to say "To move representation of disability in the media forward is something I take a lot of pride in. It is one of those lovely bonuses of doing what I do, you feel like hopefully if you do it right you're encouraging more disabled people to get into acting and not just increasing people's awareness of disability," and said he is not worried about the inevitable narrow-mindedness of some of the EastEnders audience: "Someone once said, 'If you can't laugh at yourself you're missing the joke of the century'. You will always get some people that disagree with the majority but I don't think it's their opinions that would matter to me." Proud also said that the programme's sets may cause problems for the character, but will serve to highlight them: "We haven't tackled the height of the Queen Vic
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
bar yet! But it's all representative, I mean, the world isn't accessible, and it's important that the set highlights this for my character." Although the character's spina bifida is not the focus of his storyline, he still has to deal with other people's reactions to his disability.
Personality
The character is described as "a 20-year-old self-obsessed, snobbish Oxford UniversityUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
student," though Proud disagrees with this assessment of the character's personality, saying, "The word I would use is 'spiky'. He's lovely and refreshing, not a stereotype, a very unique character. There's lots of potential with him. He does ruffle feathers and stuff but I think the response [to him] is going to be good." He added that the character is ambitious and driven by success, and that he is "hard to be friends with." He told British newspaper The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
that his own independent nature was used to shape the scriptwriters' characterisation of Adam, and said he was happy about this and the fact that the character was not "too nice". Santer said that the character would be "interesting, but possibly irritating".
Departure
In April 2010 it was announced that the character had been axed along with five others by the new executive producer Bryan KirkwoodBryan Kirkwood (producer)
Bryan Kirkwood is a Scottish-born British television producer. He was the producer of teen Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2006 until 2009 and has been the executive producer of the BBC soap EastEnders since 2010.- Personal life :...
as part of a plan to "breathe new life into the show". On his departure, Proud said: "I have had a wonderful time at EastEnders and loved every minute of it over the last year. It has been fantastic to play such a complex character like Adam. I have made some great friends amongst the cast and crew and wish the show all the best for future." His final episode was broadcast on 19 July 2010.