Blossom Jackson
Encyclopedia
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 exhaustion. She reprised the role on 25 October 2010 for two episodes.
(Howard Antony
). Originally from Tobago
, she came to Britain as a young child and grew up in east London. Her first marriage to Nathan ended after he deserted her, and she spent the latter part of her life living with her common-law husband, Bill, until he died in 1993.
On screen, she comes to live with Alan and his common-law wife Carol
(Lindsey Coulson
) at number 25 Albert Square
in 1994 after her flat in Wapping
is burgled. Blossom is great-grandmother to Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson
) and although she is not blood-related to the other Jackson children, Bianca
(Patsy Palmer
), Robbie
(Dean Gaffney
) and Sonia
(Natalie Cassidy
), she loves them as if she were. Blossom is a great support to Carol during her time living in Albert Square, often providing a sympathetic ear when she needs a shoulder to cry on. She works in Kathy Beale's (Gillian Taylforth
) café and has a brief romance with Walford
lothario
Jules Tavernier
(Tommy Eytle
), even moving in with him temporarily when the Jacksons' house is damaged in a gas explosion. However, their relationship does not progress into anything serious.
She later embarks on a more serious relationship with local barber Felix Kawalski (Harry Landis
). Felix is a Jewish Holocaust survivor who was separated from his family as a child. Even though Felix does not know where his family are or even if they are still alive, he has spent his whole life trying to find them. He eventually tracks his sister down in Israel, and after making contact with her, he decides to live with her there. He later returns for a brief visit to ask Blossom to move there with him, and she accepts his offer and leaves Walford in 1997.
Off screen, Blossom later returns to England to live with Alan and Billie in Balham
. By February 2010, Alan and Carol have apparently split, with Carol and Billie moving to back to Walford and Alan to Forest Hill, leaving the whereabouts of Blossom unknown. However, she returns to Walford in October 2010 with Alan, his wife and their son Kai (Shay Spencer), for Billie's funeral after he dies in his sleep while celebrating his 22nd birthday. When Carol says she cannot go to the funeral, Blossom tells her they are saying goodbye to Billie no matter what. Afterwards, she tries to convince Carol to go to the wake as she has rejected her entire family. At Billie's wake, Blossom realises that Carol's nephew Bradley Branning
(Charlie Clements
) has not attended and is told that he died several months earlier. She mentions that her partner Felix had died in 2006. She and her family return home after the wake.
Blossom was introduced in 1994 as the "no-nonsense" grandmother of Alan Jackson
(Howard Antony
). Author Kate Lock describes Blossom as a "robust Tobagan".
Actress Mona Hammond
, who was in her late 60s at the time, opted to quit playing Blossom in 1997, reportedly because she was suffering from nervous exhaustion due to EastEnders's work schedule. An insider told the Daily Mirror, "Mona's been in almost every episode since she joined back in 1993. It's a phenomenal workload for someone of her age. She was getting so nervous on set that she finally put her foot down and insisted on a break. She said she couldn't cope any more and that it had taken its toll on her nerves. She refused to sign a three-month contract, saying it would finish her off." At the time, the actress was on a 3 month break, and although reports suggested Hammond agreed to return to the soap in the summer of 1997 for four weeks to allow Blossom to have an exit, she did not return.
Following producer Bryan Kirkwood
's decision to kill off Blossom's great grandson Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson
), Hammond was asked to reprise the role of Blossom for a brief stint. Blossom appeared at his funeral in October 2010 and was featured in two episodes.
from rival ITV soap Coronation Street
and suggested that Blossom's scenes with grandson Alan lacked the humour, tension and passion that was seen between other characters in EastEnders, like Peggy Mitchell
and her son Grant
.
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 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...
. 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 exhaustion. She reprised the role on 25 October 2010 for two episodes.
Storylines
Blossom is the grandmother of Alan JacksonAlan 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....
). Originally from Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
, she came to Britain as a young child and grew up in east London. Her first marriage to Nathan ended after he deserted her, and she spent the latter part of her life living with her common-law husband, Bill, until he died in 1993.
On screen, she comes to live with Alan and his common-law wife Carol
Carol 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 :...
) at number 25 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...
in 1994 after her flat in Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
is burgled. Blossom is great-grandmother to Billie Jackson (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...
) and although she is not blood-related to the other Jackson 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,...
) 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...
(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...
), she loves them as if she were. Blossom is a great support to Carol during her time living in Albert Square, often providing a sympathetic ear when she needs a shoulder to cry on. She works in Kathy Beale's (Gillian Taylforth
Gillian Taylforth
Gillian Taylforth is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Kathy Mitchell on the BBC soap opera, EastEnders and as Jackie Pascoe-Webb on ITV's Footballers Wives , but more recently as Sgt. Nikki Wright in ITV's The Bill...
) café and has a brief romance with 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...
lothario
Lothario
Lothario is a male first name which came to connote an unscrupulous seducer of women.In The Impertinent Curiosity, a story-within-the-story in Don Quixote , by Miguel de Cervantes, a man named Anselmo coerces Lothario, his faithful friend, to test the virtue of Anselmo's wife, Camila...
Jules Tavernier
Jules Tavernier (EastEnders)
Jules Tavernier is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tommy Eytle between 1990 and 1997. Jules was depicted as a flirtatious older gentleman. He was introduced in 1990 and remained in the show after the departures of all of his on-screen family...
(Tommy Eytle
Tommy Eytle
Tommy Daniel Hicks Eytle was a Guyanese musician and actor. Although born in Guyana, Eylte's career was based in the United Kingdom, where he lived after emigrating in 1951....
), even moving in with him temporarily when the Jacksons' house is damaged in a gas explosion. However, their relationship does not progress into anything serious.
She later embarks on a more serious relationship with local barber Felix Kawalski (Harry Landis
Harry Landis
Harry Landis is a British actor. He has had a long career in British television and film and is known for playing cockney-Jewish roles....
). Felix is a Jewish Holocaust survivor who was separated from his family as a child. Even though Felix does not know where his family are or even if they are still alive, he has spent his whole life trying to find them. He eventually tracks his sister down in Israel, and after making contact with her, he decides to live with her there. He later returns for a brief visit to ask Blossom to move there with him, and she accepts his offer and leaves Walford in 1997.
Off screen, Blossom later returns to England to live with Alan and Billie 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:...
. By February 2010, Alan and Carol have apparently split, with Carol and Billie moving to back to Walford and Alan to Forest Hill, leaving the whereabouts of Blossom unknown. However, she returns to Walford in October 2010 with Alan, his wife and their son Kai (Shay Spencer), for Billie's funeral after he dies in his sleep while celebrating his 22nd birthday. When Carol says she cannot go to the funeral, Blossom tells her they are saying goodbye to Billie no matter what. Afterwards, she tries to convince Carol to go to the wake as she has rejected her entire family. At Billie's wake, Blossom realises that Carol's nephew Bradley Branning
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:...
) has not attended and is told that he died several months earlier. She mentions that her partner Felix had died in 2006. She and her family return home after the wake.
Creation and development
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....
). Author Kate Lock describes Blossom as a "robust Tobagan".
Actress 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...
, who was in her late 60s at the time, opted to quit playing Blossom in 1997, reportedly because she was suffering from nervous exhaustion due to EastEnders's work schedule. An insider told the Daily Mirror, "Mona's been in almost every episode since she joined back in 1993. It's a phenomenal workload for someone of her age. She was getting so nervous on set that she finally put her foot down and insisted on a break. She said she couldn't cope any more and that it had taken its toll on her nerves. She refused to sign a three-month contract, saying it would finish her off." At the time, the actress was on a 3 month break, and although reports suggested Hammond agreed to return to the soap in the summer of 1997 for four weeks to allow Blossom to have an exit, she did not return.
Following producer Bryan Kirkwood
Bryan Kirkwood
Bryan Kirkwood may refer to:*Bryan Kirkwood , Scottish television producer for British soap operas Hollyoaks and EastEnders *Bryan and Denny Kirkwood, one of a pair of identical twin American actors...
's decision to kill off Blossom's great grandson Billie Jackson (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...
), Hammond was asked to reprise the role of Blossom for a brief stint. Blossom appeared at his funeral in October 2010 and was featured in two episodes.
Reception
Author Stephen Bourne criticised EastEnders for wasting the talent of their black actors, using Mona Hammond and her portrayal of Blossom as an example of this, suggesting that much of Blossom's cultural history and personal life remained undisclosed and questioned why she was never seen talking with another black woman of her age. He suggested that after her arrival she became the "invisible woman", adding, "the scriptwriters gave her little to do except serve in the cafe and say one line: 'you want another cup of coffee?'". Bourne suggested that Blossom should have become a matriarchal figure to compare to Ena SharplesEna Sharples
Ena Sharples is one of the original characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street, and was played by Violet Carson.-Development:...
from rival ITV soap Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and suggested that Blossom's scenes with grandson Alan lacked the humour, tension and passion that was seen between other characters in EastEnders, like Peggy Mitchell
Peggy Mitchell
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in the series on a recurring basis over several weeks. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast and was then played by...
and her son Grant
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
Grant Anthony Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. Grant first appeared in 1990, introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show. Kemp remained until 1999 when he opted to leave...
.