Clyde Tavernier
Encyclopedia
Clyde Tavernier is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Steven Woodcock
. Introduced in the summer of 1990, Clyde was featured in various prominent storylines including an inter-racial relationship with Michelle Fowler
, and being framed for the murder of publican Eddie Royle
. The character was written out in 1993 and was given a happy ending.
Eddie Royle
. Not long after he starts, Clyde becomes prime suspect for a series of thefts that were occurring in the Vic. As the only black
barman working there, Clyde initially feels that the basis of Eddie's suspicions are purely down to racial prejudice. The fact that the other barstaff are not targeted as suspects angers Clyde, and although he is later cleared of any wrong doing, his working relationship with Eddie is strained.
Clyde desperately misses his son and when he discovers that Kofi's grandparents are planning to take his child to live permanently in Jamaica
he tails them to the airport to stop them. Despite initial uncertainty Clyde is given custody of his son and Kofi moves in with the rest of the Taverniers.
In 1991 Clyde starts a relationship with fellow single parent Michelle Fowler
; their inter-racial relationship causes a stir in the community. Clyde resumes boxing
, spurred on by Phil
and Grant Mitchell
, who hope to exploit him in the ring by pitting him against a superior fighter and betting against him. However their plan backfires when an overfaced Clyde manages to win the fight, despite the odds being severely stacked against him. Clyde is later trained to box by Eddie, but animosity between he and Eddie resurfaces when Eddie attempts to get Clyde to throw a fight in a betting scam. Clyde refuses, but his altercations with Eddie come back to haunt him when he becomes the prime suspect in Eddie's murder soon after.
Clyde discovers Eddie's bloody body in the square and unwittingly picks up the knife that has been used to kill him. Panicking, Clyde leaves the scene and disposes of the murder weapon, but is seen by the real murderer, Nick Cotton
, who proceeds to frame Clyde for the deed. With a clear motive and a key witness, Clyde finds it difficult to convince anyone of his innocence. Clyde feels that he was the victim of a racist conspiracy and sensing his imminent arrest he decides to go 'on the run' with Kofi.
Michelle sticks by him and she and her daughter Vicki
leave Walford with Clyde, with the hope of starting a new life together in France
. Their bid for freedom is not to be as Clyde is apprehended in Portsmouth
before he can leave the country; he is subsequently imprisoned. He only secures release three months later when a witness comes forward and identifies Nick as Eddie's real killer. Upon Clyde's release his relationship with Michelle abruptly ends when he catches her in bed with another man, Jack Woodman.
In 1993 the Taverniers are visited by Gidea Thompson, who is Jules' granddaughter from an adulterous affair he had in his 20s. Clyde and Gidea grow close, and even though they are cousins they embark on a relationship together. Jules disapproves when he finds out but Clyde ignores his protests, and in July 1993 he decides to leave Walford to start a new life with Gidea in Trinidad
.
, who took over from Mike Gibbon
. Ferguson had previously been a producer on ITV
's The Bill
– a hard-hitting, gritty and successful police drama, which seemed to be challenging EastEnders in providing a realistic vision of modern life in London
. Due to his success on The Bill, Peter Cregeen
, the Head of Series at the BBC, poached Ferguson to become executive producer of EastEnders.
Following a relatively unsuccessful inclination towards comic storylines throughout 1989, Ferguson decided to take the soap in a new direction in 1990. Big changes were implemented both off-screen and on-screen. Ferguson altered the way the episodes were produced, changed the way the storylines were conceptualised and introduced a far greater amount of location work than had previously been seen. EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake
said that it was a challenging period, but "the results on-screen were a programme with a new sense of vitality, and a programme more in touch with the real world than it had been for a while".
As a consequence of these changes, a large number of characters were axed in early 1990 as the new production machine cleared way for a new direction and new characters. Among the new characters were the Jamaican Tavernier family, who collectively arrived on-screen in July 1990, composed of grandfather Jules
(Tommy Eytle
), his son and daughter-in-law Celestine
(Leroy Golding
) and Etta
(Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence
), their eldest son Clyde (Steven Woodcock
), and their twins Lloyd (Garey Bridges
) and Hattie
(Michelle Gayle
). Later Clyde's son Kofi Tavernier was introduced. Colin Brake described the Taverniers as the major new additions that year, and it heralded the first time that an entire family had joined the serial all at once. Their introduction was also described as a well-intentioned attempt to portray a wider range of black characters than had previously been achieved on the soap.
It took a long time to cast the complete Tavernier family. Once EastEnders became a success, the producers had no difficulties in finding "good actors" who wanted to join the cast; however, what became hard was finding families—combinations of performers who "look and sound as though they could be related." According to producers Corinne Hollingworth
and Pat Sandys, the Taveriner family were especially difficult as four generations of the family were being featured. Hollingworth has commented "The most difficult job we've had was finding six black actors who fitted the bill for the Tavernier family. Here we needed two teenagers who looked around fifteen but were actually older, had left school and had mature attitudes to work. They had to love music, hanging around in tracksuits and most important, they had to look as if they could be twins. And for Clyde, we needed someone who looked as though he'd been a boxer but also seemed thoughtful."
Author Hilary Kingsley described Clyde as someone who "has never accepted that black people have to tolerate prejudice without protest." She added that "Clyde has good reason to feel bitter, thanks to years of being harassed by the police. Yet he had never broken the law". She suggested that he was a character who sometimes lacked sense.". Rupert Smith has classified Clyde as a "poster boy" the type of character whose principal purpose "seems to be to please the show's sizeable straight female and gay audience". Woodcock was a keen boxer, and this was utilised on-screen in 1991, when Clyde took up the sport. Smith has claimed that this gave the programme-makers the opportunity to allow Clyde to take his shirt off on-screen, which according to Smith, "he did at the drop of a hat".
Clyde's most prominent storyline surrounded his seeming involvement in the murder of publican Eddie Royle
(Michael Melia
). Colin Brake has stated that it was the biggest storyline of the year. In the storyline, Clyde was framed for the murder by the real killer, Nick Cotton
(John Altman). As prime suspect, Clyde decided to flee the country with his son and his girlfriend Michelle. They went to Portsmouth with the hope of catching a private ferry to France
so they could start a new life together, but they were arrested whilst trying to board the boat. Brake has nominated one of the episodes focusing on Clyde's attempted police escape as 1991's "pick of the year". The episode was written by Tony Jordan
and was played as if was the actual last appearance of Michelle, who had been pivotal in the series up until that point. Brake suggested there "was a strong sense of tension as the episode built to the inevitable ending, with Michelle and Clyde arrested by the police on the verge of boarding a private boat that would have taken them to France." The episode was directed by Mike Dormer and aired on 14 November 1991. Brake described it as "the most exciting thriller episodes of EastEnders" and suggested that it "allowed a new side of both Clyde and Michelle to be seen, and put real pressure on their already fragile relationship".
Clyde's time in the soap came to an end in July 1993. The Independent
reported that the character was being written out of EastEnders. Clyde was one of several characters to be written out that year in what the press dubbed the "Albert Square Massacre". Clyde was given a happy ending on-screen; he departed after falling in love with a second cousin, and moved to live in Trinidad
.
Robert Clyde Allen has discussed the Tavernier family in his 1995 book To be continued--: soap operas around the world. He suggested that black characters in EastEnders were incorporated into the working-class culture of the soap as opposed to offering something different from it. He noted that the Taverniers, the focus of black characters in the early 1990s, for a while had the same mixture of generations and attitudes that characterized the Fowlers, one of the soap's core white families who had a dominant position in the series. However he stated that "somewhat typically [...] the family broke up".
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 Steven Woodcock
Steven Woodcock
Steven Woodcock is a British actor, most famous for his role as Clyde Tavernier in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; a role that he played from July 1990 to July 1993....
. Introduced in the summer of 1990, Clyde was featured in various prominent storylines including an inter-racial relationship with Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
, and being framed for the murder of publican Eddie Royle
Eddie Royle
Edward "Eddie" Royle is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Melia from 1990 until 1991.-Storylines:...
. The character was written out in 1993 and was given a happy ending.
Backstory
Clyde was the first born son to Etta and Celestine Tavernier. After his birth in Trinidad in 1968, his family moved to the UK. Growing up in London, Clyde was subject to racism and police harassment, which made him angry and somewhat bitter. In adulthood, Clyde struggled to find direction. He lazed around, did odd jobs, and took up boxing. Clyde met a woman named Abigail Chadwick and they had a child together, a son named Kofi. Clyde and Abigail split up and Kofi was taken to Bristol by his mother to live with his grandparents. When Abigail was killed in a car crash, it was agreed that Kofi would remain living with his maternal grandparents.1990-1993
Clyde moves to Albert Square in July 1990 along with the rest of the Taverniers. Clyde gets a job working in The Queen Vic under landlordLandlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
Eddie Royle
Eddie Royle
Edward "Eddie" Royle is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Melia from 1990 until 1991.-Storylines:...
. Not long after he starts, Clyde becomes prime suspect for a series of thefts that were occurring in the Vic. As the only black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
barman working there, Clyde initially feels that the basis of Eddie's suspicions are purely down to racial prejudice. The fact that the other barstaff are not targeted as suspects angers Clyde, and although he is later cleared of any wrong doing, his working relationship with Eddie is strained.
Clyde desperately misses his son and when he discovers that Kofi's grandparents are planning to take his child to live permanently in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
he tails them to the airport to stop them. Despite initial uncertainty Clyde is given custody of his son and Kofi moves in with the rest of the Taverniers.
In 1991 Clyde starts a relationship with fellow single parent Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
; their inter-racial relationship causes a stir in the community. Clyde resumes boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, spurred on by Phil
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
and Grant Mitchell
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...
, who hope to exploit him in the ring by pitting him against a superior fighter and betting against him. However their plan backfires when an overfaced Clyde manages to win the fight, despite the odds being severely stacked against him. Clyde is later trained to box by Eddie, but animosity between he and Eddie resurfaces when Eddie attempts to get Clyde to throw a fight in a betting scam. Clyde refuses, but his altercations with Eddie come back to haunt him when he becomes the prime suspect in Eddie's murder soon after.
Clyde discovers Eddie's bloody body in the square and unwittingly picks up the knife that has been used to kill him. Panicking, Clyde leaves the scene and disposes of the murder weapon, but is seen by the real murderer, Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in February 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of Ashley and...
, who proceeds to frame Clyde for the deed. With a clear motive and a key witness, Clyde finds it difficult to convince anyone of his innocence. Clyde feels that he was the victim of a racist conspiracy and sensing his imminent arrest he decides to go 'on the run' with Kofi.
Michelle sticks by him and she and her daughter 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...
leave Walford with Clyde, with the hope of starting a new life together in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Their bid for freedom is not to be as Clyde is apprehended in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
before he can leave the country; he is subsequently imprisoned. He only secures release three months later when a witness comes forward and identifies Nick as Eddie's real killer. Upon Clyde's release his relationship with Michelle abruptly ends when he catches her in bed with another man, Jack Woodman.
In 1993 the Taverniers are visited by Gidea Thompson, who is Jules' granddaughter from an adulterous affair he had in his 20s. Clyde and Gidea grow close, and even though they are cousins they embark on a relationship together. Jules disapproves when he finds out but Clyde ignores his protests, and in July 1993 he decides to leave Walford to start a new life with Gidea in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
Creation and development
In the latter part of 1989, EastEnders acquired a new executive producer named Michael FergusonMichael Ferguson (director)
Michael Ferguson is a British script writer, television director and television producer. Ferguson has been described as a “long term champion of realistic popular drama”. Ferguson was executive producer of the BBC soap opera, EastEnders between 1989 and 1991...
, who took over from Mike Gibbon
Mike Gibbon
John Michael "Mike" Gibbon is an English television producer and director. Gibbon married Moya McCarthy in July 1976 and they have a daughter, Sophie....
. Ferguson had previously been a producer on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
– a hard-hitting, gritty and successful police drama, which seemed to be challenging EastEnders in providing a realistic vision of modern life in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Due to his success on The Bill, Peter Cregeen
Peter Cregeen
Peter Cregeen is a British television director, producer and executive. He is possibly best known for being the original director of ITV's successful police drama, The Bill, and his substantial contribution to the serial thereafter...
, the Head of Series at the BBC, poached Ferguson to become executive producer of EastEnders.
Following a relatively unsuccessful inclination towards comic storylines throughout 1989, Ferguson decided to take the soap in a new direction in 1990. Big changes were implemented both off-screen and on-screen. Ferguson altered the way the episodes were produced, changed the way the storylines were conceptualised and introduced a far greater amount of location work than had previously been seen. 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...
said that it was a challenging period, but "the results on-screen were a programme with a new sense of vitality, and a programme more in touch with the real world than it had been for a while".
As a consequence of these changes, a large number of characters were axed in early 1990 as the new production machine cleared way for a new direction and new characters. Among the new characters were the Jamaican Tavernier family, who collectively arrived on-screen in July 1990, composed of grandfather Jules
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....
), his son and daughter-in-law Celestine
Celestine and Etta Tavernier
Celestine and Etta Tavernier are fictional characters from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Leroy Golding and Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence respectively. Both appeared primarily in the serial as a married couple between 1990 and 1992...
(Leroy Golding
Leroy Golding
Leroy Golding is a British actor, most famous for playing Celestine Tavernier in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; a role that he played from 1990 to 1992, returning briefly in 1993....
) and Etta
Celestine and Etta Tavernier
Celestine and Etta Tavernier are fictional characters from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Leroy Golding and Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence respectively. Both appeared primarily in the serial as a married couple between 1990 and 1992...
(Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence
Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence
Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence is a British former actress, most famous for playing the role of Etta Tavernier in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She no longer acts and as of 2008 works in criminal law.-Career:...
), their eldest son Clyde (Steven Woodcock
Steven Woodcock
Steven Woodcock is a British actor, most famous for his role as Clyde Tavernier in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; a role that he played from July 1990 to July 1993....
), and their twins Lloyd (Garey Bridges
Garey Bridges
Garey Bridges is a British actor, best known for playing the role of Lloyd Tavernier in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
) and Hattie
Hattie Tavernier
Hattie Tavernier is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Gayle between 1990 and 1993. Hattie and her family were introduced in July 1990 by producer Michael Ferguson. The Taverniers were the first collective black family to join the soap at the same time...
(Michelle Gayle
Michelle Gayle
Michelle Patricia Gayle is a British recording artist, actress and author. Gayle had success as a Soul and R&B singer in the 1990s. She achieved seven Top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart, her two biggest hits to date being "Sweetness" and "Do You Know"...
). Later Clyde's son Kofi Tavernier was introduced. Colin Brake described the Taverniers as the major new additions that year, and it heralded the first time that an entire family had joined the serial all at once. Their introduction was also described as a well-intentioned attempt to portray a wider range of black characters than had previously been achieved on the soap.
It took a long time to cast the complete Tavernier family. Once EastEnders became a success, the producers had no difficulties in finding "good actors" who wanted to join the cast; however, what became hard was finding families—combinations of performers who "look and sound as though they could be related." According to producers Corinne Hollingworth
Corinne Hollingworth
Corinne Hollingworth is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's EastEnders and five's Family Affairs...
and Pat Sandys, the Taveriner family were especially difficult as four generations of the family were being featured. Hollingworth has commented "The most difficult job we've had was finding six black actors who fitted the bill for the Tavernier family. Here we needed two teenagers who looked around fifteen but were actually older, had left school and had mature attitudes to work. They had to love music, hanging around in tracksuits and most important, they had to look as if they could be twins. And for Clyde, we needed someone who looked as though he'd been a boxer but also seemed thoughtful."
Author Hilary Kingsley described Clyde as someone who "has never accepted that black people have to tolerate prejudice without protest." She added that "Clyde has good reason to feel bitter, thanks to years of being harassed by the police. Yet he had never broken the law". She suggested that he was a character who sometimes lacked sense.". Rupert Smith has classified Clyde as a "poster boy" the type of character whose principal purpose "seems to be to please the show's sizeable straight female and gay audience". Woodcock was a keen boxer, and this was utilised on-screen in 1991, when Clyde took up the sport. Smith has claimed that this gave the programme-makers the opportunity to allow Clyde to take his shirt off on-screen, which according to Smith, "he did at the drop of a hat".
Clyde's most prominent storyline surrounded his seeming involvement in the murder of publican Eddie Royle
Eddie Royle
Edward "Eddie" Royle is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Melia from 1990 until 1991.-Storylines:...
(Michael Melia
Michael Melia
Michael Melia is an established British actor best known for his work on television.Melia was born in Berkshire and attended St. Mary's College, Twickenham, the oldest Roman Catholic college in England. Before taking up acting he was a teacher. At one stage he ran a bar in Spain and thought about...
). Colin Brake has stated that it was the biggest storyline of the year. In the storyline, Clyde was framed for the murder by the real killer, Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in February 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of Ashley and...
(John Altman). As prime suspect, Clyde decided to flee the country with his son and his girlfriend Michelle. They went to Portsmouth with the hope of catching a private ferry to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
so they could start a new life together, but they were arrested whilst trying to board the boat. Brake has nominated one of the episodes focusing on Clyde's attempted police escape as 1991's "pick of the year". The episode was written by Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
and was played as if was the actual last appearance of Michelle, who had been pivotal in the series up until that point. Brake suggested there "was a strong sense of tension as the episode built to the inevitable ending, with Michelle and Clyde arrested by the police on the verge of boarding a private boat that would have taken them to France." The episode was directed by Mike Dormer and aired on 14 November 1991. Brake described it as "the most exciting thriller episodes of EastEnders" and suggested that it "allowed a new side of both Clyde and Michelle to be seen, and put real pressure on their already fragile relationship".
Clyde's time in the soap came to an end in July 1993. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reported that the character was being written out of EastEnders. Clyde was one of several characters to be written out that year in what the press dubbed the "Albert Square Massacre". Clyde was given a happy ending on-screen; he departed after falling in love with a second cousin, and moved to live in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
Reception
Writer Rupert Smith has suggested that Clyde's purpose was "almost entirely decorative" and that Clyde had little else to do in EastEnders except take his clothes off, other than to "dally improbably with Michelle and to do the odd bit of kidnapping." In the 1992 book Come on down?: popular media culture in post-war Britain, the authors have referenced Clyde and the rest of the Tavernier family as non-white characters who appeared to have been integrated into part of the predominantly white communal setting of the soap. However, they suggested that this attempt at inclusion "is the single clue to an understanding of why EastEnders is a development of an old form of representation of working-class life. The ethnic minority households are accepted in the working-class community, but the black, white and Asian families remain culturally distinct." They suggested that there was no attempt to portray hybridity between black-white cultures.Robert Clyde Allen has discussed the Tavernier family in his 1995 book To be continued--: soap operas around the world. He suggested that black characters in EastEnders were incorporated into the working-class culture of the soap as opposed to offering something different from it. He noted that the Taverniers, the focus of black characters in the early 1990s, for a while had the same mixture of generations and attitudes that characterized the Fowlers, one of the soap's core white families who had a dominant position in the series. However he stated that "somewhat typically [...] the family broke up".