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Billy Jackson (EastEnders)
Encyclopedia
Will "Billie" Jackson is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Devon Anderson
from 1993 to 1997, and by Bluey Robinson for a brief return in 2004. The character returned in 2010, along with other members of the Jackson family. It was confirmed in November 2009 that Anderson would reprise the role, 13 years after he was last seen on the soap. He made his return on 4 February 2010. The character was killed off in October 2010, and made his last credited appearance on 14 October.
and Alan Jackson
and he arrives in Walford
in 1993 along with his half brother Robbie
and his half sisters Bianca
and Sonia
. He is very close to his father and when Alan has an affair with the malicious Frankie Pierre
(Syan Blake) and moves out of the family home, Billie takes the separation badly. On Christmas Day 1996, he becomes so upset that Alan is not there for the festivities that he runs away from home, prompting most of the Square's residents to abandon their Christmas dinners to search for him. He is found by Nigel
and Clare Bates (Paul Bradley
and Gemma Bissix
), hiding in a derelict building. They return him to his worried parents and the Jacksons eventually have a happy Christmas together, including Alan.
In February 1997, Billie accompanies his great grandmother Blossom
(Mona Hammond
) on a trip to a local building society
. Whilst there, the building society is held up at gunpoint and robbed by a gang of masked thieves. Billie and Blossom are unharmed, but another man is shot and killed and Billie, the only witness, gets a glimpse of the thieves without their masks on. Billie is asked to provide testimony and help identify the thieves in a police line-up, which leads to several arrests. Carol remains apprehensive about Billie's involvement throughout the ordeal. In September 1997, the Jacksons hear news that the court case to try the suspected robbers is soon to take place. The family then suffer intimidation from the gang, in order to stop Billie from testifying against them. After picking Billie up from school one day, a woman claiming to be a supply teacher approaches Carol and asks if she can talk about Billie's behaviour. Whilst she is distracted, some men jump out of a van, bundle Billie inside, and drive off. After several days of investigation, the police trace Billie and he is reunited with his family. After this, the Jackson family, apart from Bianca, are placed in a witness protection
program and rehoused away from the Square for their own safety. They depart on 16 October 1997.
Following the trial, Robbie and, later, Sonia return to Walford and Carol also returns in 1999 when she splits up with Alan for a second time. Billie remains living with his father and grandmother in Balham
and Carol later returns to live with them. Billie returns to the Square briefly in June 2004 to attend Sonia's wedding to Martin Fowler
(James Alexandrou
), and flirts with Martin's niece, Vicki
(Scarlett Johnson
), at the reception and gets drunk.
Billie returns to Walford on 4 February 2010, calling at Bianca's home, and later attends her wedding. After his cousin Bradley
(Charlie Clements
) dies, Carol and Billie move back to Albert Square and Billie starts seeing Bianca's adopted daughter Whitney Dean
(Shona McGarty
). It is revealed that Billie is hiding a handgun in Bianca's home. He tells his former gang mates, Kylie, Connor and Mitch(Elarica Gallacher
, Arinze Kene
and Theo Barklem-Biggs) that he has disposed of it, but after they arrive in Walford and find the gun, and plan to hold up The Queen Victoria
public house
. However, Billie is unmasked during the raid and it is revealed he used a water pistol. He then chooses Whitney over his former gang members, so Kylie takes revenge by attempting to shoot Billie with his gun, but accidentally shoots his uncle Jack
(Scott Maslen
) instead, who is left critically ill in hospital. Blaming himself, Billie announces his plan to join the army, but Carol is opposed to the idea until she discovers the gun came from Billie and tells him the army is the best place for him. When he is accepted into the army, Whitney promises to make the most of their remaining two weeks together. However, he discovers that Leon Small
(Sam Attwater
) kissed Whitney and is angry when she does not mention it, but she insists she has not cheated on him. Billie apologises, and they reunite before Billie goes away for army training. When Billie is due to return on leave, he tells Carol that the army have denied it. However, Carol, Whitney and Bianca discover that he is taking his leave with friends instead of returning to Walford.
When Billie finally does return to see Whitney, he upsets her by ending their relationship, saying he has changed. He reveals he has started a relationship with a female recruit named Siobhan, and decides he should leave. Whitney's brother Ryan Malloy
(Neil McDermott
) punches him in the face. Carol overreacts as she wipes the blood off him so Billie snaps at her, saying she causes carnage wherever she goes. He then says she does not have to worry about him as he has a new life now. For Billie's birthday, Carol arranges a birthday party, but discovers from Whitney that he is having a party in Southend-on-Sea. Bianca brings him back to Walford on his birthday, and he makes amends with Jack. At the party, Billie's friends bring lots of alcohol and his cousin, Lauren Branning
(Jacqueline Jossa
) brings a bottle of vodka, which Billie drinks in one go. Carol decides to let him keep on drinking as he is an adult and makes his own choices. The next morning, the family think Billie is sleeping on the settee, but Bianca finds him dead when she tries to wake him. His body is later taken away by undertakers. Whitney later discovers a text message on her phone from Billie, saying he still loves her and wants to make a go of things again. Billie's personal possessions are brought home to Carol, one of which is his laptop, on which Carol discovers a video of Billie saying he wishes she would drop dead. Billie's funeral took place on 29 October 2010.
(Lindsey Coulson
), her four children, Bianca
(Patsy Palmer
), Robbie
(Dean Gaffney
), Sonia (Natalie Cassidy
), and Billy (Devon Anderson
), as well as Carol's partner Alan Jackson
(Howard Antony
). Though Carol and Alan were not initially married in the serial, and though Alan was only the biological father of Billy, the whole family took on Alan's surname. The family was created by writer Tony McHale
. None of the actors cast as the Jackson family were matched for appearance or screen compatibility. Cassidy has commented, "it was all decided without doing that. I don't think it particularly mattered that none of us Jackson kids looked like each other because all our characters had different dads!"
Various members of the family began to appear sporadically from November 1993 onwards, but in episodes that aired early in 1994, the Jacksons moved from Walford Towers, a block of flats, to the soap's focal setting of Albert Square
. Their slow introduction was a deliberate attempt by the programme makers to introduce the whole family over a long period. The Jacksons were described by EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake
as a "classic problem family". Anderson was 6 years old when he first appeared on-screen as Billie.
In a 2000 book, author Kate Lock described Billy as "angelic" and a "cheeky, curly-haired cherub whose principal dramatic function seemed to be to generate angst in the bosom of his family". His most notable storyline in his initial stint was also his exit storyline. Following Lyndsey Coulson's decision to quit her role as Carol, the Jackson family were written out of the soap in 1997. In the storyline, Billy was kidnapped after witnessing an armed robbery and the whole family was relocated under a witness protection programme until Billy testified in court.
While the majority of the Jackson family returned to the serial, Billy Jackson was not seen again until 2004. It was announced in April that year that the character would be returning briefly to attend the wedding of his sister Sonia. Producers decided not to bring back the original actor, and Billy was played by Bluey Robinson for several episodes in June 2004.
It was announced in October 2009 that the character, now called Billie, would be rejoining the soap along with the rest of the Jackson clan, excluding Alan and Blossom, for a storyline to mark the 25th anniversary of EastEnders in February 2010. At the time the casting for the character had not been finalised; however, it was confirmed in November 2009 that the original actor, Devon Anderson, would be reprising the role 13 years after he had last been seen in the soap. Anderson commented, "I'm really happy to be back at EastEnders playing the role of Billie Jackson again. It was my first acting role and I can't wait to get started again. It is also very exciting that all of the Jackson family will be reunited and I'm sure that will be eventful for the viewers." Executive producer Diederick Santer
added, "Viewers will remember Devon as the original Billie Jackson, the cute kid with the big hair. Devon, like Billie, is all grown up, and 12 years on, I'm delighted to welcome this talented young actor back to the show." He later described the character as "interesting", saying "He's a troubled soul, torn between being a good son to his mother and trying to have an exciting London life. And when your mother's Carol Jackson, that's quite a feat." A source told the media website Digital Spy
, "Billie's become a young man since the last time we saw him - he might even [be] referred to by his proper name Will. He's still the apple of his mother's eye but is he the angelic family man she wants him to be?"
Talking about the show's 25th anniversary week, Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "That's [...] why we're doing the soap wedding of the year [...] with Ricky and Bianca. [...] The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters – Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie." Anderson said he found it easy to return to the role, saying that "When a child comes into a show, you can't give them a character, so anything that was created for Billie was by me in the early days. Nobody knows Billie like me!" He added that Billie is "clever and very much a dark horse – you never know what you're going to get with him."
On 18 September 2010, it was reported that the character would be killed off the following month after an alcohol-fuelled birthday celebration. Coulson said that although the storyline had "huge shock value", she felt it was too soon to kill off the character, as "there were lots of stories they could have told about Billie."
. In October 2011, Anderson was nominated for one award, at the Screen Nation Awards which celebrate the best British Black talent. He was nominated for the Emerging Talent award.
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 Devon Anderson
Devon Anderson
Devon Carlo Anderson is an English actor who has been acting since an early age and became a CBBC presenter on BBC One and the CBBC Channel...
from 1993 to 1997, and by Bluey Robinson for a brief return in 2004. The character returned in 2010, along with other members of the Jackson family. It was confirmed in November 2009 that Anderson would reprise the role, 13 years after he was last seen on the soap. He made his return on 4 February 2010. The character was killed off in October 2010, and made his last credited appearance on 14 October.
1993–2010
Billie is the only son of CarolCarol Jackson
Carol Ann Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as part of a new problem family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 as part of a storyline that marked Carol's...
and Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson (EastEnders)
Alan Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Howard Antony. He originally appeared between 1993 and 1997, and returned on 12 October 2010 for three episodes....
and he arrives 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...
in 1993 along with his half brother Robbie
Robbie Jackson
Robert "Robbie" Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Dean Gaffney from 1993 to 2003. The character was axed in 2003 by executive producer Louise Berridge. He made brief returns in 2004 and 2010 for two family weddings.-Backstory:Robbie was the product of a...
and his half sisters Bianca
Bianca Jackson
Bianca Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character...
and Sonia
Sonia Fowler
Sonia Ann Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on 21 December 1993 and she made her final appearance on 2 February 2007...
. He is very close to his father and when Alan has an affair with the malicious Frankie Pierre
Frankie Pierre
Maxine Francesca "Frankie" Pierre is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in a the East End of London. She appeared between 1996 and 1997, played by Syan Blake. Frankie was introduced as a "super-bitch" and home wrecker...
(Syan Blake) and moves out of the family home, Billie takes the separation badly. On Christmas Day 1996, he becomes so upset that Alan is not there for the festivities that he runs away from home, prompting most of the Square's residents to abandon their Christmas dinners to search for him. He is found by Nigel
Nigel Bates
Nigel Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Bradley from 1992 to 1998. Introduced in 1992 by Leonard Lewis, the character was incorporated gradually and brought back as a regular following a brief stint due to a popular reception. He was depicted as a...
and Clare Bates (Paul Bradley
Paul Bradley (actor)
Paul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
and Gemma Bissix
Gemma Bissix
Gemma Bissix is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as Clare Bates in EastEnders and Clare Devine in Hollyoaks ; she was awarded with two British Soap Awards for the latter role...
), hiding in a derelict building. They return him to his worried parents and the Jacksons eventually have a happy Christmas together, including Alan.
In February 1997, Billie accompanies his great grandmother Blossom
Blossom Jackson
Blossom Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Mona Hammond. The character originally appeared from 1994 to 1997. Hammond was installed as a matriarchal figure of the Jackson clan but quit the role in 1997, reportedly because she was suffering from nervous...
(Mona Hammond
Mona Hammond
Mona Hammond OBE is a Chinese Jamaican actress and co-founder of the Talawa Theatre Company. Born in Jamaica, Hammond emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959, where she has remained ever since. Hammond has had a long and distinguished stage career...
) on a trip to a local building society
Building society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially mortgage lending. These institutions are found in the United Kingdom and several other countries.The term "building society"...
. Whilst there, the building society is held up at gunpoint and robbed by a gang of masked thieves. Billie and Blossom are unharmed, but another man is shot and killed and Billie, the only witness, gets a glimpse of the thieves without their masks on. Billie is asked to provide testimony and help identify the thieves in a police line-up, which leads to several arrests. Carol remains apprehensive about Billie's involvement throughout the ordeal. In September 1997, the Jacksons hear news that the court case to try the suspected robbers is soon to take place. The family then suffer intimidation from the gang, in order to stop Billie from testifying against them. After picking Billie up from school one day, a woman claiming to be a supply teacher approaches Carol and asks if she can talk about Billie's behaviour. Whilst she is distracted, some men jump out of a van, bundle Billie inside, and drive off. After several days of investigation, the police trace Billie and he is reunited with his family. After this, the Jackson family, apart from Bianca, are placed in a witness protection
Witness protection
Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during and after a trial, usually by police...
program and rehoused away from the Square for their own safety. They depart on 16 October 1997.
Following the trial, Robbie and, later, Sonia return to Walford and Carol also returns in 1999 when she splits up with Alan for a second time. Billie remains living with his father and grandmother in Balham
Balham, London
Balham is a neighbourhood of south London, England, and is part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Lambeth.-History:...
and Carol later returns to live with them. Billie returns to the Square briefly in June 2004 to attend Sonia's wedding to Martin Fowler
Martin Fowler (EastEnders)
Martin Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by James Alexandrou from 1996 to 2007.The role was previously played by Jon Peyton Price from early life as a baby in 1985 to 1996, just before Martin's teenage years began.-Storylines:Martin is the younger son...
(James Alexandrou
James Alexandrou
James Alekos Alexandrou is an English actor of Greek Cypriot descent, best known for playing Martin Fowler in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Early life:...
), and flirts with Martin's niece, Vicki
Vicki Fowler
Victoria Louise "Vicki" Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Emma Herry from the character's birth in 1986 to 1988, Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995, and Scarlett Johnson from 2003 to 2004. The character was born in the serial, conceived in a...
(Scarlett Johnson
Scarlett Johnson
Scarlett Johnson also known as Scarlett Alice Johnson is a British actress.Johnson attended Highgate Wood School and Performing Arts College where she was spotted by an agent in a production of Guys and Dolls in which she played the lead.The role of Vicki Fowler on the BBC's flagship soap opera...
), at the reception and gets drunk.
Billie returns to Walford on 4 February 2010, calling at Bianca's home, and later attends her wedding. After his cousin Bradley
Bradley Branning
Bradley Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Charlie Clements. He made his first appearance on screen on 24 January 2006 and last appeared on 22 February 2010. Clements has won multiple awards for his portrayal....
(Charlie Clements
Charlie Clements
Charlie Clements is an English actor, best known for the role of Bradley Branning in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from January 2006 to February 2010. He has won several soap and magazine awards for his performance.-Biography:...
) dies, Carol and Billie move back to Albert Square and Billie starts seeing Bianca's adopted daughter Whitney Dean
Whitney Dean
Whitney Dean is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Shona McGarty. The character is the adoptive daughter of long-running character Bianca Jackson , and was introduced in April 2008 when Palmer returned to the series after a six year absence...
(Shona McGarty
Shona McGarty
Shona Bernadette McGarty is an English actress from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, best known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as Whitney Dean.-Career:...
). It is revealed that Billie is hiding a handgun in Bianca's home. He tells his former gang mates, Kylie, Connor and Mitch(Elarica Gallacher
Elarica Gallacher
Elarica Gallacher, born 21 August 1989 in London is a British model and actress, with a mother of African origin and an English father. She is best known for the role of the waitress in the bar of the London Underground in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. She also participated in...
, Arinze Kene
Arinze Kene
-Career:Kene has appeared in stage productions such as playing Simba in The Lion King, Daddy Cool, and in June 2009 played strutting lothario Raymond LeGrendre in the musical Been So Long, based on Ché Walker's 1998 play, which opened at the Young Vic...
and Theo Barklem-Biggs) that he has disposed of it, but after they arrive in Walford and find the gun, and plan to hold up 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:...
public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. However, Billie is unmasked during the raid and it is revealed he used a water pistol. He then chooses Whitney over his former gang members, so Kylie takes revenge by attempting to shoot Billie with his gun, but accidentally shoots his uncle Jack
Jack Branning
Jack Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Scott Maslen. He made his first appearance on 29 October 2007. He is the youngest child of Jim and Reenie Branning and the brother of April Branning, Carol Jackson, Derek Branning, Suzy Branning and Max Branning...
(Scott Maslen
Scott Maslen
Scott Alexander Maslen is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's The Bill and now Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap EastEnders.-Early and personal life:...
) instead, who is left critically ill in hospital. Blaming himself, Billie announces his plan to join the army, but Carol is opposed to the idea until she discovers the gun came from Billie and tells him the army is the best place for him. When he is accepted into the army, Whitney promises to make the most of their remaining two weeks together. However, he discovers that Leon Small
Leon Small
Leon Small is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders and its Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20, played by Sam Attwater. He made his first appearance in EastEnders on 5 January and appears in all twelve episodes of the first series of EastEnders: E20...
(Sam Attwater
Sam Attwater
Samuel "Sam" Attwater is an English actor and singer best known for playing Leon Small in the British soap opera EastEnders and its online spin-off EastEnders: E20...
) kissed Whitney and is angry when she does not mention it, but she insists she has not cheated on him. Billie apologises, and they reunite before Billie goes away for army training. When Billie is due to return on leave, he tells Carol that the army have denied it. However, Carol, Whitney and Bianca discover that he is taking his leave with friends instead of returning to Walford.
When Billie finally does return to see Whitney, he upsets her by ending their relationship, saying he has changed. He reveals he has started a relationship with a female recruit named Siobhan, and decides he should leave. Whitney's brother Ryan Malloy
Ryan Malloy
Ryan Malloy is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Neil McDermott. From his arrival on 28 April 2009, the character remained a mystery in the show for a number of months until he was revealed as the half brother of established character Whitney Dean...
(Neil McDermott
Neil McDermott
Neil McDermott is a British stage and television actor who is best known for portraying Ryan Malloy in the BBC television soap opera EastEnders from April 2009 until 2011.-Career:...
) punches him in the face. Carol overreacts as she wipes the blood off him so Billie snaps at her, saying she causes carnage wherever she goes. He then says she does not have to worry about him as he has a new life now. For Billie's birthday, Carol arranges a birthday party, but discovers from Whitney that he is having a party in Southend-on-Sea. Bianca brings him back to Walford on his birthday, and he makes amends with Jack. At the party, Billie's friends bring lots of alcohol and his cousin, Lauren Branning
Lauren Branning
Lauren Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She first appeared in the show on 3 July 2006 played by Madeline Duggan, was absent from 23 June to 27 September 2010, and returned as played by Jacqueline Jossa.-Storylines:...
(Jacqueline Jossa
Jacqueline Jossa
Jacqueline Mary Jossa is an English actress from Bexley, London, best known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lauren Branning.Jossa was born in the London Borough of Bexley...
) brings a bottle of vodka, which Billie drinks in one go. Carol decides to let him keep on drinking as he is an adult and makes his own choices. The next morning, the family think Billie is sleeping on the settee, but Bianca finds him dead when she tries to wake him. His body is later taken away by undertakers. Whitney later discovers a text message on her phone from Billie, saying he still loves her and wants to make a go of things again. Billie's personal possessions are brought home to Carol, one of which is his laptop, on which Carol discovers a video of Billie saying he wishes she would drop dead. Billie's funeral took place on 29 October 2010.
Creation and development
1994 was a "historic" year for EastEnders, as in April, a third weekly episode was introduced. Due to the programme's increased frequency, a number of new characters were introduced to the regular cast in the latter part of 1993 and early 1994. Among them were the Jackson family: mother CarolCarol Jackson
Carol Ann Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as part of a new problem family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 as part of a storyline that marked Carol's...
(Lindsey Coulson
Lindsey Coulson
Lindsey Coulson is an English actress, best known for her role as Carol Jackson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.- Career :...
), her four children, Bianca
Bianca Jackson
Bianca Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character...
(Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer is an English actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson in the popular British television soap opera EastEnders. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in...
), Robbie
Robbie Jackson
Robert "Robbie" Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Dean Gaffney from 1993 to 2003. The character was axed in 2003 by executive producer Louise Berridge. He made brief returns in 2004 and 2010 for two family weddings.-Backstory:Robbie was the product of a...
(Dean Gaffney
Dean Gaffney
Dean Martin Gaffney is an English actor most notable for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC1 soap opera Eastenders from 1993 to 2003, when his character was axed. He has since made guest appearances in the soap in 2004 and 2010. Gaffney went on to appear in various reality television shows,...
), Sonia (Natalie Cassidy
Natalie Cassidy
Natalie Ann Cassidy is a British actress, most commonly known for appearing in the television soap EastEnders where she played Sonia Jackson for many years. She has also appeared in the BBC Two sitcom Psychoville and was a contestant on the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing.-Career:As a...
), and Billy (Devon Anderson
Devon Anderson
Devon Carlo Anderson is an English actor who has been acting since an early age and became a CBBC presenter on BBC One and the CBBC Channel...
), as well as Carol's partner Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson (EastEnders)
Alan Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Howard Antony. He originally appeared between 1993 and 1997, and returned on 12 October 2010 for three episodes....
(Howard Antony
Howard Antony
Howard Antony is a British actor, best known for playing the role of Alan Jackson, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1993 - 1997....
). Though Carol and Alan were not initially married in the serial, and though Alan was only the biological father of Billy, the whole family took on Alan's surname. The family was created by writer Tony McHale
Tony McHale
Tony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
. None of the actors cast as the Jackson family were matched for appearance or screen compatibility. Cassidy has commented, "it was all decided without doing that. I don't think it particularly mattered that none of us Jackson kids looked like each other because all our characters had different dads!"
Various members of the family began to appear sporadically from November 1993 onwards, but in episodes that aired early in 1994, the Jacksons moved from Walford Towers, a block of flats, to the soap's focal setting of Albert Square
Albert 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...
. Their slow introduction was a deliberate attempt by the programme makers to introduce the whole family over a long period. The Jacksons were described by EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake
Colin Brake
Colin Brake is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programs such as Bugs and EastEnders. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series Doctor Who...
as a "classic problem family". Anderson was 6 years old when he first appeared on-screen as Billie.
In a 2000 book, author Kate Lock described Billy as "angelic" and a "cheeky, curly-haired cherub whose principal dramatic function seemed to be to generate angst in the bosom of his family". His most notable storyline in his initial stint was also his exit storyline. Following Lyndsey Coulson's decision to quit her role as Carol, the Jackson family were written out of the soap in 1997. In the storyline, Billy was kidnapped after witnessing an armed robbery and the whole family was relocated under a witness protection programme until Billy testified in court.
While the majority of the Jackson family returned to the serial, Billy Jackson was not seen again until 2004. It was announced in April that year that the character would be returning briefly to attend the wedding of his sister Sonia. Producers decided not to bring back the original actor, and Billy was played by Bluey Robinson for several episodes in June 2004.
It was announced in October 2009 that the character, now called Billie, would be rejoining the soap along with the rest of the Jackson clan, excluding Alan and Blossom, for a storyline to mark the 25th anniversary of EastEnders in February 2010. At the time the casting for the character had not been finalised; however, it was confirmed in November 2009 that the original actor, Devon Anderson, would be reprising the role 13 years after he had last been seen in the soap. Anderson commented, "I'm really happy to be back at EastEnders playing the role of Billie Jackson again. It was my first acting role and I can't wait to get started again. It is also very exciting that all of the Jackson family will be reunited and I'm sure that will be eventful for the viewers." Executive producer Diederick Santer
Diederick 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...
added, "Viewers will remember Devon as the original Billie Jackson, the cute kid with the big hair. Devon, like Billie, is all grown up, and 12 years on, I'm delighted to welcome this talented young actor back to the show." He later described the character as "interesting", saying "He's a troubled soul, torn between being a good son to his mother and trying to have an exciting London life. And when your mother's Carol Jackson, that's quite a feat." A source told the media website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
, "Billie's become a young man since the last time we saw him - he might even [be] referred to by his proper name Will. He's still the apple of his mother's eye but is he the angelic family man she wants him to be?"
Talking about the show's 25th anniversary week, Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "That's [...] why we're doing the soap wedding of the year [...] with Ricky and Bianca. [...] The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters – Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie." Anderson said he found it easy to return to the role, saying that "When a child comes into a show, you can't give them a character, so anything that was created for Billie was by me in the early days. Nobody knows Billie like me!" He added that Billie is "clever and very much a dark horse – you never know what you're going to get with him."
On 18 September 2010, it was reported that the character would be killed off the following month after an alcohol-fuelled birthday celebration. Coulson said that although the storyline had "huge shock value", she felt it was too soon to kill off the character, as "there were lots of stories they could have told about Billie."
Reception
Billie's death was nominated in the 'Best Single Episode' category at the 2011 British Soap AwardsBritish Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event took place in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to...
. In October 2011, Anderson was nominated for one award, at the Screen Nation Awards which celebrate the best British Black talent. He was nominated for the Emerging Talent award.