Dawn Swann
Encyclopedia
Dawn Roxanna Swann is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Kara Tointon
, who first appeared on 26 September 2005. It was reported on 26 March 2009 that Tointon and co-star Ricky Groves
, who plays Garry Hobbs
, would be written out of the soap and the character made her final appearance on 27 August 2009.
's boyfriend Keith
. In 2005, she reacquainted herself with Mike in France
. She moves to Walford
after Mike's property scam fails, and lives with Rosie. Claiming she needs money for a medical operation, she cons her neighbours into paying for her breast implants. Mike comes to Walford, and when his mother Nora dies, she leaves £5,000 to Rosie. Mike persuades Dawn to pose as Rosie to get the money, and tells Dawn they will start afresh in Spain
, but he takes the money and leaves alone.
After a failed attempt at a modelling career, Dawn finds employment as a barmaid. Ian Beale
employs her in 2006, paying her to pose as his wife to impress business associates. During a function, she meets Rob Minter
and they begin dating. She knows he is separated but Rob ends their relationship when his wife wants to give their marriage another chance. Dawn discovers she is pregnant with Rob's child and plans to have an abortion. May, who is unable to conceive, asks Dawn to sell her the baby for £19,000. Dawn agrees, taking extravagant gifts and money in the process, but never intends to give the baby to May, and when Rob rebuffs her advances, she again plans to have an abortion. In order to stop her, May forces Rob to reignite his affair with Dawn, their real plan being to take the baby after Dawn gives birth. Rob eventually cracks under the pressure of the deception, confessing May's plan. In revenge, Dawn tries to force a miscarriage, but is unsuccessful. Rob is forced to prioritise, and leaves May for Dawn. May plays numerous vengeful tricks on them, getting Rob sacked, restricting their money, and evicting them from their flat.
However, Rob and May team up again, and Rob proposes to Dawn, suggesting they move away. He takes her to an empty house where she is handcuffed to a bed while May plans to perform a caesarean section
. Dawn escapes after attacking Rob and returns to Walford, but goes into labour on the London Underground
, later giving birth to a girl, Summer. While Dawn recovers in hospital, May sneaks into her room and tries to abduct Summer but Dawn catches her. Despite Rob's pleas, Dawn refuses to take him back, and May is arrested while attempting to see Summer.
Dawn struggles with parenting initially, leaving the care of Summer to her family, unable to accept the responsibility of being a full-time mother. Garry Hobbs
proves a strong ally, helping Dawn care for Summer. She is happy to take advantage, but when he proposes, she turns him down. Jase Dyer
also shows interest; both men compete for her attention, but she chooses Jase, devastating Garry. Jase proposes in June 2008 and she accepts; however, when Dawn starts favouring Summer over his son Jay
, Jase postpones the wedding.
In the midst of their arguing, Dawn is shocked to discover that May has returned, having had psychiatric treatment. Jase has unwittingly been working for May under her pseudonym Jenny, part of her renewed plan to steal Summer. May breaks into the Millers' house, knocks Dawn's brother Mickey
unconscious and locks Dawn in her bedroom, accusing her of being a bad mother. During a scuffle, Dawn breaks her ankle and May attempts to leave with Summer but Mickey intervenes. Devastated, May deliberately causes a gas explosion, killing herself. Mickey and Summer get out but Dawn passes out from the smoke and is saved by Keith's heroics; he enters the burning building and carries her to safety.
Dawn and Jase struggle financially. Jase begins working for gangster Terry Bates in order to satisfy Dawn's monetary desires. Realising he is involved in criminal activity, Dawn makes no attempt to stop him as she is desperate for money so she can have her dream wedding. The situation climaxes on Dawn's hen night, when Jase is set up by Terry, stabbed and killed. Dawn, who has only just decided that materialistic things are unimportant, discovers Jase's death on the wedding day. Jay blames Dawn for his father's death and rejects her. Dawn is distraught and turns to Garry for support, offering sex to him in a moment of vulnerability, but he turns her down. Dawn nearly leaves Walford following Jase's funeral but Garry convinces her to stay, so she moves in with him. Jay continues to antagonise Dawn, posting petrol soaked rags through her letter box. Dawn eventually manages to convince Jay that she loved Jase and thinks of Jay as family, and they call a truce.
Garry proposes to Dawn, and she is furious as she is still in love with Jase. Garry steals a car and flees. The police find the car abandoned by cliffs in Dover
, prompting them to speculate that Garry has committed suicide. Dawn realises she is in love with Garry and announces this at his memorial service, only to be startled when he walks in. He gives her an ultimatum: be his girlfriend or he will leave Walford for good; she becomes his girlfriend. She gives evidence at Terry's trial and embarks on a secret affair with Garry's boss, Phil Mitchell
. Minty discovers this, telling Dawn to tell Garry or he will. She decides to spare Garry's feelings and goes to stay with her mother. When Dawn returns, she resumes her affair with Phil, but he later ends the relationship. Minty threatens to tell the truth when Garry suspects that Dawn doesn't love him. Garry and Dawn talk, and return to the Vic, announcing their engagement.
Her affair with Phil is revealed by Minty to Garry, who jilts Dawn on their wedding day and decides to leave Walford for good. Dawn is persuaded to go after him, and sees him sailing off at a canal. She runs alongside him, telling him that she loves him. He lets her and Summer on the boat and they leave together.
's (Joe Swash
) sister. Aged 23, Dawn has been travelling for the last few years and is currently living in France where Mickey goes to see her. A real charmer with a touch of the Footballers' Wives
about her, she oozes charisma and sex appeal." It was revealed that Dawn was to be played by actress Kara Tointon. Of her new role, Tointon said, "EastEnders is my dream job and I feel blessed with this opportunity. Dawn is sexy, independent and has this amazing wardrobe — I can't wait to start filming."
The character was introduced in September 2005, in a special week of off-set episodes, filmed on location in France. In the storyline, Mickey travelled to France to meet Dawn and discovered that she is living with their estranged father Mike — a conman who ultimately lets his family down and flees, resulting in Dawn's return to Walford. Upon moving to Walford, Dawn immediately conned the residents of Albert Square
to fund her breast enhancements. As Dawn's breast size is bigger than Kara's, the actress is required to wear gel-filled padded bras and "chicken fillets".
in October 2005, "I love playing Dawn. She's so flirty and confident — nothing fazes her and she knows how to flutter her eyelashes and make the men do whatever she wants." Tointon has suggested that she models her Dawn on model Jordan aka Katie Price. She said in 2008, "My character is so optimistic. She is a girl who believes in herself and says what she thinks. But sometimes I read the script and think, 'Oh no' - so I look at the way Jordan reacts to stuff. No matter how bad things get, nothing seems to be a problem for her - everything is positive. I’ve watched her on TV and thought, 'Good luck to you, that's how Dawn should be'. It would be great if Dawn was as successful as she is, though."
(Stuart Laing
), and fell pregnant with his baby. In a plot twist, Rob's wife, Dr May Wright (Amanda Drew
), was unable to conceive, facilitating a storyline that saw her attempt to buy Dawn's unborn baby. Over Dawn's pregnancy, a series of events were aired in which Dawn was conned into believing that she and Rob had reunited, when he was really conspiring with May to get custody of the baby and prevent Dawn aborting it. Plots saw the character May grow increasing erratic and obsessed with the unborn child, until the climax in June 2007, when Dawn was kidnapped and held hostage by May and Rob, their intention being to give her a forced caesarean section and take the baby.
The storyline received focus in the British media at the time, due to a reported last-minute rewrite of scripts. Originally, the storyline would have included a child abduction; however, due to the real-life suspected kidnapping of a 3-year old girl, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, the BBC removed the child abduction from the scripts. They commented, "It was felt any storyline that included child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers." Originally, it was intended for Dawn to give birth to a baby and then have the child snatched by May, leaving Dawn bereft. Tointon commented to The Sun
, "We’d finished filming it weeks beforehand and more or less forgot about it. Stuart, who plays Rob, had to come back from his holiday early to film the new scenes. He had to spend ages in make-up because he had a tan and had put weight on while away. But obviously it was necessary and I’m actually chuffed with the way the story-line has worked out. Dawn [...] decided she can be a single mum, and that has brought some light into her life. My character has become much more liked, too. People went from shouting, ‘leave that married man alone’ to saying really lovely things.”
" On-screen, May's plan to take Dawn's baby failed when Dawn had her arrested.
storyline was featured in Dawn's narrative. Garry Hobbs, played by Ricky Groves, continuously attempted to woo Dawn, to no avail. In October 2008, Tointon revealed that she wanted to see Dawn and Garry unite as a couple: "Fingers crossed as I really enjoy working with Ricky Groves. My mum wants [them] to get together. And people come up to me on the street and they’re all rooting for [them]. I think Dawn is coming to realise that Garry has been the one rock who is always there."
(Steve McFadden
), but understood that it was probably right for her contract to not be renewed, as she hadn't had many storylines in 2008, saying "you can only go as far as your storylines take you." Following the axing, executive producer Diederick Santer
said, "Dawn and Garry have some fantastic stuff to come — this spring and summer sees their love truly put to the test — and they go with our thanks and very best wishes." After the exit was aired, Tointon said she did not think it was very good: "Well it was interesting on the boat. Well... it was better than leaving in a black cab. When I watched it, I didn't think it was very good. But I did my best." She later admitted that the show's producers were probably right to axe the character and she was getting annoyed that Dawn did not learn from her past mistakes. However, she has also expressed a keen interest in returning.
A BBC spokesman said, "Last night's episode involving the characters Dawn, May, and Rob reached the climax that many viewers would have been anticipating. We are sorry if some people were offended by this drama unfolding, and will be addressing complaints fully in due course." It was stressed that of the typical 9 million viewers who watched EastEnders, only 80 people complained. However, The Guardian
reported that 200 viewers complained, 183 complaints to the BBC and a further 12 to the media regulator, Ofcom
. The episode garnered an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 42% share to BBC1.
Tointon was awarded the "Sexiest Actress" in 2008 for her role as Dawn Swann; it was the second time she won the award. Tointon was also nominated for a National Television Award in 2007 for "most popular actress".
In 2009, Ruth Deller of entertainment website lowculture.co.uk
, who runs a monthly feature of the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, criticised Dawn, branding her as a 'spare part', also stating: "There is a fair bit of dead wood in Walford at the moment, and most of it is centred around Garry, Minty and their associates. Of all of those, Dawn serves the least purpose. With no family in the square and with Jay living with Billy rather than her, isn't it time she was sent away for some happy ending or other? If she can take Garry with her, so much the better." Upon Dawn's exit, Deller once again criticised her stating: "Thankfully, after several years of hanging around being spare parts (was Dawn ever anything other than a spare part?), Garry and Dawn departed this month in the least plausible exit scene ever."
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 Kara Tointon
Kara Tointon
Kara Louise Tointon is a British actress, best known for playing Dawn Swann in BBC soap opera EastEnders. Tointon was the 2010 winner of BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing.-Early life:...
, who first appeared on 26 September 2005. It was reported on 26 March 2009 that Tointon and co-star Ricky Groves
Ricky Groves
Richard "Ricky" Groves is an English actor best known for playing Garry Hobbs in EastEnders from 2000–09. Before his role in EastEnders he appeared in the series Burnside, a spin-off from The Bill.-Other TV work:...
, who plays Garry Hobbs
Garry Hobbs
Garry Pelé Hobbs is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ricky Groves. He made his first appearance on 18 September 2000...
, would be written out of the soap and the character made her final appearance on 27 August 2009.
Storylines
Dawn's father, Mike Swann, deserted her when she was six. She left home at 16, disapproving of her mother RosieRosie Miller
Rosemary "Rosie" Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gerry Cowper. Her first appearance was 9 September 2004 and she was axed in 2006, with her final scenes airing July 2006....
's boyfriend Keith
Keith Miller (EastEnders)
Keith Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Spinx. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004. It was announced on 25 February 2008 that the characters of Keith and Mickey had been axed by EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer...
. In 2005, she reacquainted herself with Mike 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...
. She moves to 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...
after Mike's property scam fails, and lives with Rosie. Claiming she needs money for a medical operation, she cons her neighbours into paying for her breast implants. Mike comes to Walford, and when his mother Nora dies, she leaves £5,000 to Rosie. Mike persuades Dawn to pose as Rosie to get the money, and tells Dawn they will start afresh in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, but he takes the money and leaves alone.
After a failed attempt at a modelling career, Dawn finds employment as a barmaid. Ian Beale
Ian Beale
Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the longest-serving character and the only remaining original character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 19 February 1985...
employs her in 2006, paying her to pose as his wife to impress business associates. During a function, she meets Rob Minter
Rob Minter
Robert "Rob" Minter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Stuart Laing. He made his first appearance on 21 June 2006...
and they begin dating. She knows he is separated but Rob ends their relationship when his wife wants to give their marriage another chance. Dawn discovers she is pregnant with Rob's child and plans to have an abortion. May, who is unable to conceive, asks Dawn to sell her the baby for £19,000. Dawn agrees, taking extravagant gifts and money in the process, but never intends to give the baby to May, and when Rob rebuffs her advances, she again plans to have an abortion. In order to stop her, May forces Rob to reignite his affair with Dawn, their real plan being to take the baby after Dawn gives birth. Rob eventually cracks under the pressure of the deception, confessing May's plan. In revenge, Dawn tries to force a miscarriage, but is unsuccessful. Rob is forced to prioritise, and leaves May for Dawn. May plays numerous vengeful tricks on them, getting Rob sacked, restricting their money, and evicting them from their flat.
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
. Dawn escapes after attacking Rob and returns to Walford, but goes into labour on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
, later giving birth to a girl, Summer. While Dawn recovers in hospital, May sneaks into her room and tries to abduct Summer but Dawn catches her. Despite Rob's pleas, Dawn refuses to take him back, and May is arrested while attempting to see Summer.
Dawn struggles with parenting initially, leaving the care of Summer to her family, unable to accept the responsibility of being a full-time mother. Garry Hobbs
Garry Hobbs
Garry Pelé Hobbs is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ricky Groves. He made his first appearance on 18 September 2000...
proves a strong ally, helping Dawn care for Summer. She is happy to take advantage, but when he proposes, she turns him down. Jase Dyer
Jase Dyer
Jason "Jase" Dyer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Stephen Lord between 2007 and 2008. The character was killed off in the serial, making his final credited appearance on 29 August 2008.-Storylines:...
also shows interest; both men compete for her attention, but she chooses Jase, devastating Garry. Jase proposes in June 2008 and she accepts; however, when Dawn starts favouring Summer over his son Jay
Jay Brown
James "Jay" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jamie Borthwick. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 14 December 2006.-Backstory:...
, Jase postpones the wedding.
In the midst of their arguing, Dawn is shocked to discover that May has returned, having had psychiatric treatment. Jase has unwittingly been working for May under her pseudonym Jenny, part of her renewed plan to steal Summer. May breaks into the Millers' house, knocks Dawn's brother Mickey
Mickey Miller
Michael "Mickey" Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Joe Swash. He made his first appearance on 15 April 2003. Introduced as a guest character, Mickey proved popular and was turned into a regular by executive producer Louise Berridge. The character is...
unconscious and locks Dawn in her bedroom, accusing her of being a bad mother. During a scuffle, Dawn breaks her ankle and May attempts to leave with Summer but Mickey intervenes. Devastated, May deliberately causes a gas explosion, killing herself. Mickey and Summer get out but Dawn passes out from the smoke and is saved by Keith's heroics; he enters the burning building and carries her to safety.
Dawn and Jase struggle financially. Jase begins working for gangster Terry Bates in order to satisfy Dawn's monetary desires. Realising he is involved in criminal activity, Dawn makes no attempt to stop him as she is desperate for money so she can have her dream wedding. The situation climaxes on Dawn's hen night, when Jase is set up by Terry, stabbed and killed. Dawn, who has only just decided that materialistic things are unimportant, discovers Jase's death on the wedding day. Jay blames Dawn for his father's death and rejects her. Dawn is distraught and turns to Garry for support, offering sex to him in a moment of vulnerability, but he turns her down. Dawn nearly leaves Walford following Jase's funeral but Garry convinces her to stay, so she moves in with him. Jay continues to antagonise Dawn, posting petrol soaked rags through her letter box. Dawn eventually manages to convince Jay that she loved Jase and thinks of Jay as family, and they call a truce.
Garry proposes to Dawn, and she is furious as she is still in love with Jase. Garry steals a car and flees. The police find the car abandoned by cliffs in Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, prompting them to speculate that Garry has committed suicide. Dawn realises she is in love with Garry and announces this at his memorial service, only to be startled when he walks in. He gives her an ultimatum: be his girlfriend or he will leave Walford for good; she becomes his girlfriend. She gives evidence at Terry's trial and embarks on a secret affair with Garry's boss, Phil Mitchell
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...
. Minty discovers this, telling Dawn to tell Garry or he will. She decides to spare Garry's feelings and goes to stay with her mother. When Dawn returns, she resumes her affair with Phil, but he later ends the relationship. Minty threatens to tell the truth when Garry suspects that Dawn doesn't love him. Garry and Dawn talk, and return to the Vic, announcing their engagement.
Her affair with Phil is revealed by Minty to Garry, who jilts Dawn on their wedding day and decides to leave Walford for good. Dawn is persuaded to go after him, and sees him sailing off at a canal. She runs alongside him, telling him that she loves him. He lets her and Summer on the boat and they leave together.
Creation
In June 2005, an official BBC press report announced the upcoming arrival of the character — Dawn Swann, a member of the Miller family: "Dawn Swann is Mickey MillerMickey Miller
Michael "Mickey" Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Joe Swash. He made his first appearance on 15 April 2003. Introduced as a guest character, Mickey proved popular and was turned into a regular by executive producer Louise Berridge. The character is...
's (Joe Swash
Joe Swash
Joseph Adam Swash is an English actor and presenter. He once played Mickey Miller in the British television soap opera EastEnders. He is the older brother of Shana Swash, who played his on-screen younger sister Demi Miller until July 2006. He also won the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me...
) sister. Aged 23, Dawn has been travelling for the last few years and is currently living in France where Mickey goes to see her. A real charmer with a touch of the Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives is a British television drama surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006...
about her, she oozes charisma and sex appeal." It was revealed that Dawn was to be played by actress Kara Tointon. Of her new role, Tointon said, "EastEnders is my dream job and I feel blessed with this opportunity. Dawn is sexy, independent and has this amazing wardrobe — I can't wait to start filming."
The character was introduced in September 2005, in a special week of off-set episodes, filmed on location in France. In the storyline, Mickey travelled to France to meet Dawn and discovered that she is living with their estranged father Mike — a conman who ultimately lets his family down and flees, resulting in Dawn's return to Walford. Upon moving to Walford, Dawn immediately conned the residents 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...
to fund her breast enhancements. As Dawn's breast size is bigger than Kara's, the actress is required to wear gel-filled padded bras and "chicken fillets".
Personality
Dawn has been described as the soap's "tart with a heart" character. Discussing her character, Tointon told the Sunday MirrorSunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
in October 2005, "I love playing Dawn. She's so flirty and confident — nothing fazes her and she knows how to flutter her eyelashes and make the men do whatever she wants." Tointon has suggested that she models her Dawn on model Jordan aka Katie Price. She said in 2008, "My character is so optimistic. She is a girl who believes in herself and says what she thinks. But sometimes I read the script and think, 'Oh no' - so I look at the way Jordan reacts to stuff. No matter how bad things get, nothing seems to be a problem for her - everything is positive. I’ve watched her on TV and thought, 'Good luck to you, that's how Dawn should be'. It would be great if Dawn was as successful as she is, though."
Love triangle; pregnancy and mad May
Dawn's first prominent storyline began airing in 2006, when she started dating a married man, Rob MinterRob Minter
Robert "Rob" Minter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Stuart Laing. He made his first appearance on 21 June 2006...
(Stuart Laing
Stuart Laing
Stuart Laing is an English actor. He is probably best known for his role of Rob Minter in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders.Laing trained at Drama Centre, London, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London....
), and fell pregnant with his baby. In a plot twist, Rob's wife, Dr May Wright (Amanda Drew
Amanda Drew
Amanda Drew is a British actress. Drew is best known for her role as the psychotic Dr. May Wright in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Biography:...
), was unable to conceive, facilitating a storyline that saw her attempt to buy Dawn's unborn baby. Over Dawn's pregnancy, a series of events were aired in which Dawn was conned into believing that she and Rob had reunited, when he was really conspiring with May to get custody of the baby and prevent Dawn aborting it. Plots saw the character May grow increasing erratic and obsessed with the unborn child, until the climax in June 2007, when Dawn was kidnapped and held hostage by May and Rob, their intention being to give her a forced caesarean section and take the baby.
The storyline received focus in the British media at the time, due to a reported last-minute rewrite of scripts. Originally, the storyline would have included a child abduction; however, due to the real-life suspected kidnapping of a 3-year old girl, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, the BBC removed the child abduction from the scripts. They commented, "It was felt any storyline that included child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers." Originally, it was intended for Dawn to give birth to a baby and then have the child snatched by May, leaving Dawn bereft. Tointon commented to The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, "We’d finished filming it weeks beforehand and more or less forgot about it. Stuart, who plays Rob, had to come back from his holiday early to film the new scenes. He had to spend ages in make-up because he had a tan and had put weight on while away. But obviously it was necessary and I’m actually chuffed with the way the story-line has worked out. Dawn [...] decided she can be a single mum, and that has brought some light into her life. My character has become much more liked, too. People went from shouting, ‘leave that married man alone’ to saying really lovely things.”
" On-screen, May's plan to take Dawn's baby failed when Dawn had her arrested.
Relationship with Garry Hobbs
An unrequited loveUnrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
storyline was featured in Dawn's narrative. Garry Hobbs, played by Ricky Groves, continuously attempted to woo Dawn, to no avail. In October 2008, Tointon revealed that she wanted to see Dawn and Garry unite as a couple: "Fingers crossed as I really enjoy working with Ricky Groves. My mum wants [them] to get together. And people come up to me on the street and they’re all rooting for [them]. I think Dawn is coming to realise that Garry has been the one rock who is always there."
Exit
In March 2009 it was announced that Tointon, along with Groves, had been axed from the show, as producers had decided not to renew her contract. Tointon said she was excited about her exit storylines, but was also reportedly upset by the axing, saying "I was heartbroken when they told me and I have to admit I did cry. I just have to dust myself down and get back out there. I've already told them that if they do plan to kill Dawn, I will refuse to close my eyes in the dying scenes." She said she felt sad for Dawn after hearing she would embark on an affair with Garry's boss, Phil MitchellPhil 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...
(Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden is an English actor, known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has played since1990.-Early life:...
), but understood that it was probably right for her contract to not be renewed, as she hadn't had many storylines in 2008, saying "you can only go as far as your storylines take you." Following the axing, 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...
said, "Dawn and Garry have some fantastic stuff to come — this spring and summer sees their love truly put to the test — and they go with our thanks and very best wishes." After the exit was aired, Tointon said she did not think it was very good: "Well it was interesting on the boat. Well... it was better than leaving in a black cab. When I watched it, I didn't think it was very good. But I did my best." She later admitted that the show's producers were probably right to axe the character and she was getting annoyed that Dawn did not learn from her past mistakes. However, she has also expressed a keen interest in returning.
Reception
In June 2007, 80 people complained to the BBC following the airing of a storyline that saw a pregnant Dawn chained to a bed by Dr May Wright, with her intention being to give her a forced Caesarean section. It has been noted by the media that no specific warning about the content of the episode was given by the broadcaster; however, a continuity announcer said before the episode began, "Dramatic EastEnders now on BBC1 - it's misery for poor Dawn as mad May puts her evil plan into action."A BBC spokesman said, "Last night's episode involving the characters Dawn, May, and Rob reached the climax that many viewers would have been anticipating. We are sorry if some people were offended by this drama unfolding, and will be addressing complaints fully in due course." It was stressed that of the typical 9 million viewers who watched EastEnders, only 80 people complained. However, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported that 200 viewers complained, 183 complaints to the BBC and a further 12 to the media regulator, Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
. The episode garnered an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 42% share to BBC1.
Tointon was awarded the "Sexiest Actress" in 2008 for her role as Dawn Swann; it was the second time she won the award. Tointon was also nominated for a National Television Award in 2007 for "most popular actress".
In 2009, Ruth Deller of entertainment website lowculture.co.uk
Lowculture
lowculture.co.uk is a UK television website founded in January 2003 by Paul Lang, who currently works as the art director of Doctor Who Adventures.-Purpose:...
, who runs a monthly feature of the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, criticised Dawn, branding her as a 'spare part', also stating: "There is a fair bit of dead wood in Walford at the moment, and most of it is centred around Garry, Minty and their associates. Of all of those, Dawn serves the least purpose. With no family in the square and with Jay living with Billy rather than her, isn't it time she was sent away for some happy ending or other? If she can take Garry with her, so much the better." Upon Dawn's exit, Deller once again criticised her stating: "Thankfully, after several years of hanging around being spare parts (was Dawn ever anything other than a spare part?), Garry and Dawn departed this month in the least plausible exit scene ever."