Andy O'Brien
Encyclopedia
Andrew "Andy" O'Brien is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by the late Ross Davidson
. One of the original characters created for the series, Andy made his appearance one month after the show first broadcast in March 1985. Portrayed as altruistic and middle-classed, Andy and his partner Debbie were an attempt to represent gentrification of the East End. Despite Davidson claiming that there had been plans for his character, Andy became the first regular character in EastEnders to be killed-off. Davidson claims this was due to an altercation between himself and Executive Producer and show creator, Julia Smith
. His death scene aired in August 1986.
in March 1985 along with his girlfriend Debbie Wilkins
. Andy and Debbie were decidedly 'middle-classed
', in contrast to the working class
locals who inhabited the Square.
Andy and Debbie had a rocky relationship. Andy wanted to settle down and start a family but Debbie wasn't so keen and she soon attracted the attention of policeman Roy Quick. Debbie obviously enjoyed being pursued by Roy so they agreed to have an open relationship
. The pair continued to live together, which was not ideal for Andy, as he still had feelings for Debbie and regularly got jealous when he saw her with other men.
Andy wanted to make a difference in Walford
, so he busied himself with altruistic activities, like campaigning against the demolition of the Square, and racism
. When he discovered Mary Smith was illiterate, he started teaching her to read. This backfired when Mary decided that she was in love with him, forcing him to reject her advances. Mary wasn't impressed at all.
Andy later began an affair with the alcoholic landlady of The Queen Victoria
, Angie Watts
. After tiring of her cheating husband, Den
, Angie made a play for Andy and they ended up in bed together. However, Den came home early and caught them together and furiously chased a half-naked
Andy into the street, which prompted a feud between the pair. It soon emerged that Angie was using Andy to make Den jealous, so their fling was short-lived and Andy soon regretted getting involved in their volatile relationship.
Upon seeing that Andy was in such demand with the ladies, Debbie had a change of heart and she and Andy got back together and were soon engaged. Their happiness was short-lived as in 1986, 37-year-old Andy was mowed down by a lorry
after running into the road to save a child from being hit. He was killed instantly. True to form, Andy was even altruistic in death, as his organ donor card ensured that someone got his kidney
s.
Shortly before his death he had had an argument with Debbie which she ended by telling him to 'drop dead', which ironically, he did.
and Julia Smith
. The character of Andy along with his girlfriend Debbie Wilkins
were an attempt by Holland and Smith to represent the influx of middle-classed people that were opting to move to the usually working-class areas of the East End of London
. Gentrification
of the East End was on the increase in the 1980s, and in Holland's experience, the new, wealthier residents were never welcomed or truly accepted within the community, and this was what he hoped to convey on-screen with these two characters.
Andy's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story
.
Holland required the character of Andy to be somewhere between a wimp and macho; to be on an equal footing with his partner and to represent newish thinking about the male role and equal opportunities. Ross Davidson
, a sporty working-class Scot was eventually given the role, despite Holland and Smith feeling that he came across as a male chauvinist.
According to Smith and Holland, Andy and Debbie were created to represent a young couple with outwardly mobile pretensions, but it was decided that the formula did not work and both characters were eventually written out of the show. Andy ended up being the first main character to be killed off in 1986, just over a year after the show began. During this time, rumours began to circulate in the British press that Ross Davidson was axed because Julia Smith disapproved of the off-screen relationship he was having with Shirley Cheriton
, the actress who played Debbie. This has subsequently been denied by Smith in EastEnders: The Inside Story
.
In 1994, Davidson gave his own account of why Andy was written out of the serial to the American-based fan newspaper, Walford Gazzette. He states that hostility arose between him and Smith following the recording of an EastEnders LP of cockney songs. The producer of that LP thought it would be a great idea if Davidson and Shirley (known to be dating in real life) were to a record of their own. Cheriton refused but Davidson accepted and took on the producer as his manager. BBC Records
were not pleased and following an altercation between the head of BBC Records and the producer, Davidson had an altercation with Julia Smith, who Davidson claims had never been happy that he and Cheriton were dating in the first place. Davidson comments, "I made the mistake of telling off Julia Smith. She was a bit rude to me and I unfortunately reacted like a Celt." Their argument escalated until Smith threatened to write Andy out of EastEnders, and Davidson's angry response was to tell her to kill his character off if she intended to write him out. Andy was subsequently killed in a motor accident shortly after. Davidson commented, "I would have like to have stayed another 6 months to a year, but like a lot of their characters, it was time to move on."
According to Davidson, the decision to kill Andy lead to various script changes as he claims that it had been the original plan for Andy to marry Angie Watts
(Anita Dobson
), whom he had a brief affair with on-screen. He also claims that Andy would have left the nursing profession to run The Dagmar winebar, which was instead given to a different character, James Willmott-Brown
(William Boyde
).
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 the late Ross Davidson
Ross Davidson
William Russell "Ross" Davidson was a British actor best known for his role as Andy O'Brien in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
. One of the original characters created for the series, Andy made his appearance one month after the show first broadcast in March 1985. Portrayed as altruistic and middle-classed, Andy and his partner Debbie were an attempt to represent gentrification of the East End. Despite Davidson claiming that there had been plans for his character, Andy became the first regular character in EastEnders to be killed-off. Davidson claims this was due to an altercation between himself and Executive Producer and show creator, Julia Smith
Julia Smith
Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
. His death scene aired in August 1986.
Storylines
Nurse Andy O'Brien moved to Albert SquareAlbert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
in March 1985 along with his girlfriend Debbie Wilkins
Debbie Wilkins
Deborah "Debbie" Wilkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shirley Cheriton.Debbie was Walford's first upwardly mobile character...
. Andy and Debbie were decidedly 'middle-classed
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
', in contrast to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
locals who inhabited the Square.
Andy and Debbie had a rocky relationship. Andy wanted to settle down and start a family but Debbie wasn't so keen and she soon attracted the attention of policeman Roy Quick. Debbie obviously enjoyed being pursued by Roy so they agreed to have an open relationship
Open relationship
An open relationship is an interpersonal relationship in which the parties want to be together but agree to a form of a non-monogamous relationship. This means that they agree that a romantic or sexual relationship with another person is accepted, permitted, or tolerated...
. The pair continued to live together, which was not ideal for Andy, as he still had feelings for Debbie and regularly got jealous when he saw her with other men.
Andy wanted to make a difference in Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
, so he busied himself with altruistic activities, like campaigning against the demolition of the Square, and racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. When he discovered Mary Smith was illiterate, he started teaching her to read. This backfired when Mary decided that she was in love with him, forcing him to reject her advances. Mary wasn't impressed at all.
Andy later began an affair with the alcoholic landlady of The Queen Victoria
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:...
, Angie Watts
Angie Watts
Angela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out....
. After tiring of her cheating husband, Den
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
, Angie made a play for Andy and they ended up in bed together. However, Den came home early and caught them together and furiously chased a half-naked
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
Andy into the street, which prompted a feud between the pair. It soon emerged that Angie was using Andy to make Den jealous, so their fling was short-lived and Andy soon regretted getting involved in their volatile relationship.
Upon seeing that Andy was in such demand with the ladies, Debbie had a change of heart and she and Andy got back together and were soon engaged. Their happiness was short-lived as in 1986, 37-year-old Andy was mowed down by a lorry
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
after running into the road to save a child from being hit. He was killed instantly. True to form, Andy was even altruistic in death, as his organ donor card ensured that someone got his kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
s.
Shortly before his death he had had an argument with Debbie which she ended by telling him to 'drop dead', which ironically, he did.
Creation and development
Andy O'Brien was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony HollandTony Holland
Anthony John "Tony" Holland was an English television screenwriter best known as a writer and co-creator of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early career:...
and Julia Smith
Julia Smith
Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
. The character of Andy along with his girlfriend Debbie Wilkins
Debbie Wilkins
Deborah "Debbie" Wilkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shirley Cheriton.Debbie was Walford's first upwardly mobile character...
were an attempt by Holland and Smith to represent the influx of middle-classed people that were opting to move to the usually working-class areas of the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. Gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of the East End was on the increase in the 1980s, and in Holland's experience, the new, wealthier residents were never welcomed or truly accepted within the community, and this was what he hoped to convey on-screen with these two characters.
Andy's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story
EastEnders books
This is a list of books about or relating to the British soap opera EastEnders.-Non-fiction books:* EastEnders: The Inside Story* Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience* EastEnders Special...
.
- "Debbie and Andy are living together, they're not married — but it's a serious relationship... Andy, a Scot, has a very practical contented element in his make-up... A succession of foster-parents... He always seemed to be part of families that genuinely wanted him. It's made him very secure, a little smug, perhaps? Student Nurse at Glasgow Royal Infirmary... Unlike Debbie, who's an ambitious woman working in a traditionally male world, Andy is a very unambitious man working in a traditionally female world... They became in love with the idea that everyone thought they were the perfect couple... The decision to attempt the experiment of living together: A "domestic" relationship, was a difficult one, and they agonised over it for months. Wouldn't they get bored? Would they feel imprisoned? How would they fill the hours, with only the two of them?... They want to knock down walls, put in double-glazing, and all the rest of it.... Forced to move into a different class... They're not habitat/Guardian East-end, and they're certainly not nouveau-riche, but they are, to a lot of people, a possible sign of a shape of things to come in the Borough..." (page 62)
Holland required the character of Andy to be somewhere between a wimp and macho; to be on an equal footing with his partner and to represent newish thinking about the male role and equal opportunities. Ross Davidson
Ross Davidson
William Russell "Ross" Davidson was a British actor best known for his role as Andy O'Brien in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
, a sporty working-class Scot was eventually given the role, despite Holland and Smith feeling that he came across as a male chauvinist.
According to Smith and Holland, Andy and Debbie were created to represent a young couple with outwardly mobile pretensions, but it was decided that the formula did not work and both characters were eventually written out of the show. Andy ended up being the first main character to be killed off in 1986, just over a year after the show began. During this time, rumours began to circulate in the British press that Ross Davidson was axed because Julia Smith disapproved of the off-screen relationship he was having with Shirley Cheriton
Shirley Cheriton
Shirley Cheriton is a British actress and performer, best known for her roles as Debbie Wilkins in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and her portrayal of Miss Prescott in the Are You Being Served? follow up, Grace & Favour...
, the actress who played Debbie. This has subsequently been denied by Smith in EastEnders: The Inside Story
EastEnders books
This is a list of books about or relating to the British soap opera EastEnders.-Non-fiction books:* EastEnders: The Inside Story* Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience* EastEnders Special...
.
In 1994, Davidson gave his own account of why Andy was written out of the serial to the American-based fan newspaper, Walford Gazzette. He states that hostility arose between him and Smith following the recording of an EastEnders LP of cockney songs. The producer of that LP thought it would be a great idea if Davidson and Shirley (known to be dating in real life) were to a record of their own. Cheriton refused but Davidson accepted and took on the producer as his manager. BBC Records
BBC Records
BBC Records is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation founded in the 1960s to exploit the corporation's audio archive for both educational and commercial purposes....
were not pleased and following an altercation between the head of BBC Records and the producer, Davidson had an altercation with Julia Smith, who Davidson claims had never been happy that he and Cheriton were dating in the first place. Davidson comments, "I made the mistake of telling off Julia Smith. She was a bit rude to me and I unfortunately reacted like a Celt." Their argument escalated until Smith threatened to write Andy out of EastEnders, and Davidson's angry response was to tell her to kill his character off if she intended to write him out. Andy was subsequently killed in a motor accident shortly after. Davidson commented, "I would have like to have stayed another 6 months to a year, but like a lot of their characters, it was time to move on."
According to Davidson, the decision to kill Andy lead to various script changes as he claims that it had been the original plan for Andy to marry Angie Watts
Angie Watts
Angela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out....
(Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
), whom he had a brief affair with on-screen. He also claims that Andy would have left the nursing profession to run The Dagmar winebar, which was instead given to a different character, James Willmott-Brown
James Willmott-Brown
James Sebastian Willmott-Brown is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by William Boyde.- Background :Willmott-Brown was an ex-army officer, arriving in Albert Square in March 1986 as area manager for 'Luxford and Copley', the brewery that owned The Queen Vic...
(William Boyde
William Boyde
William Boyde is a British actor, best known for his work on British television. He has appeared in Just William ; the BBC drama Secret Army ; Bergerac and the detective series Dempsey & Makepeace...
).