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Julie Cooper (EastEnders)
Encyclopedia
Julie Cooper is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
, EastEnders
, played by Louise Plowright
from 1989-1990. The character was one of Mike Gibbon
's introductions, but she was axed in 1990 at the start of Michael Ferguson
's reign as executive producer. Julie was portrayed as a bubbly, big haired Salford girl, who had a hungry appetite for men.
, and his friend, Trevor Short
, to renovate it, leaving many locals wondering what sort of business Julie was intending to open. Dot Cotton jumped to the wrong conclusion when she saw a flier advertising Julie's "personal services" and assumed she was opening a brothel
. She petitioned against the opening of Julie's business, but was embarrassed when Ethel Skinner
— who had known Julie's mother years ago — discovered that Julie was a hairdresser
and beautician and intended to open a salon
. The salon, named Julie's, was situated at 11 Turpin Road. Michelle Fowler
became the salon receptionist and a young trainee named Marie Davies was also employed but didn't stay long as she regularly clashed with Julie. During her stay in Walford, Julie lived in one of the flats at 43 Albert Square.
Julie was attracted to fellow northerner Paul Priestly and, despite him dating Diane Butcher
, she seduced him and they slept together. Their affair continued for several weeks, much to Diane's annoyance, but ended when Paul began suspecting Julie was using him to get a cheap deal on the work he was doing on the salon. Paul returned to Diane, but Diane could not forgive Julie and played various vengeful tricks, such as sabotaging the opening day of her salon and sending her a male escort
to make her look desperate. Julie responded by flirting with Paul to infuriate Diane, and their feud culminated in a showdown in The Queen Vic one night, which left Diane looking the fool.
Meanwhile, Julie turned her attentions to new market trader, Laurie Bates
, but he was more interested in Kathy Beale. Julie was unperturbed and flirted outrageously with Laurie at every opportunity. Laurie's relationship with Kathy did not progress the way he had hoped and Julie took advantage - letting Laurie know that she could satisfy him in ways Kathy wouldn't. In October 1989, at the Vic's Hallowe'en party, Laurie gave in and went home with Julie as Kathy watched. Julie assumed Laurie wanted a relationship with her, but after receiving Kathy's scorn, he realised it was her he wanted after all. He dumped Julie, telling her their night together was a mistake. Julie tried turning him against Kathy by telling him about her rape but only made him more sympathetic to Kathy and they grew closer as a result.
By 1990, Julie decided that owning her own business was more trouble than it was worth. Her upmarket establishment never really took off, not making enough money even to pay the bills. By March, Julie was facing bankruptcy and having her salon repossessed. While pondering over how to solve her money problems, she caught the eye of brothers Phil
and Grant Mitchell
. They both approached Julie but were unaware that they were trying to chat up the same woman — and Julie flirted with them both. Phil managed to secure a date with her first but opted to follow up a business deal and stood Julie up. When Grant discovered that it was Julie who Phil was supposed to meet, he went to her flat in his brother's place. Grant managed to persuade Julie that he was a better choice than his good for nothing brother, and was eventually invited into her flat, where they shared a bottle of wine
. Their date went well and Julie was so impressed that she shamelessly invited Grant to spend the night with her.
The following day, Phil met Grant and told him about his business meeting the night before. A gangster
associate of his wanted to take over the lease on Julie's salon and he wanted to buy it at a vastly reduced price. Phil had been instructed to scare Julie into selling it. However, Phil realised Julie would not be so easily pushed around. Realising that he had blown his chances with her, he instructed Grant to persuade her to accept the deal. Over the coming weeks, Grant and Julie's fling continued and eventually Julie decided to sell the lease, which was when Phil moved in with his offer. While Julie was waiting to meet Grant in The Vic one night, Phil tried to persuade her to sell him the lease. Julie realised that the Mitchell brothers had been using her, throwing a drink in Phil's face and threatened to castrate Grant when he also tried to coax her into selling.
Despite her hostility towards the Mitchell brothers, Julie still wanted to sell the lease and was forced to do business with them, but in revenge
, insisted on £1000 more than Grant originally offered. Grant agreed reluctantly and the Mitchells lost their cut of the payment from their associate. After securing her victory, Julie closed her salon and returned to Salford in March 1990.
has suggested that 1989 was a year of big change for EastEnders, both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer, Keith Harris, left the show, and co-creators, Tony Holland
and Julia Smith
, both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coinciding with the exit of one of EastEnders most successful characters, Den Watts
(Leslie Grantham
). Producer, Mike Gibbon
, was given the task of running the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale
.
According to Brake, the departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and Angie Watts
(Anita Dobson
), had left a void in the programme, which needed to be filled. In addition several other long-running characters left the show that year including two original cast members, Sue
and Ali Osman
(Sandy Ratcliff
and Nejdet Salih) and their family; Donna Ludlow
(Matilda Ziegler
); Carmel Jackson
(Judith Jacob
) and Colin Russell (Michael Cashman
). Brake has indicated that the production team decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford, commenting, "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start".
At the time the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing
, and according to Brake, the programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in Albert Square
. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted. Such characters included Julie Cooper; Marge Green
— a batty older lady played by veteran comedy actress, Pat Coombs
; Trevor Short
(Phil McDermott
), the "village idiot", and his friend, northern heartbreaker Paul Priestly
(Mark Thrippleton
); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham) and Laurie Bates
(Gary Powell
), who became Pete Beale
's (Peter Dean) sparring partner.
Julie Cooper has been described by author Hilary Kingsley as "a man-mad insatiable flirt, bubbly with a comic but shrewd persona." She was scripted to be sassy but streetwise and she brought "a touch of northern culture to the programme". The relatively unknown Lancashire
actress Louise Plowright
was eventually cast in the role. The casting director was initially dubious about giving her the role, as Plowright, then thirty-three, didn't look "old enough or tough enough to play this serious man eater". In an interview given in Hilary Kingsley's EastEnders Handbook
, Plowright comments: "I really played up the Bette Midler
act...That did it."
Brake suggests that humour was an important element in EastEnders storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. He has classed 1989's changes as a brave experiment, and has suggested that while some found this period of EastEnders entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat. Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence
, drugs, rape
and racism
, Brake reflected that the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".
By the end of the year EastEnders had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson
, who had previously been a successful producer on ITV
's The Bill
. Brake has suggested that Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality, and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, Phil
(Steve McFadden
) and Grant
(Ross Kemp
), successful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year. Among them was Julie, as well as many other characters that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Several of the actors were upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief". Louise Plowright has since revealed that she would have liked to have stayed with the soap longer, but that the split was an amicable one. She commented, "They just didn't know where to go with the character."
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 Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright is a British actress, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera EastEnders from 1989 to 1990....
from 1989-1990. The character was one of 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....
's introductions, but she was axed in 1990 at the start of Michael Ferguson
Michael 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...
's reign as executive producer. Julie was portrayed as a bubbly, big haired Salford girl, who had a hungry appetite for men.
Backstory
Julie was born in Walford then moved to Salford with her mum (who was a prostitute) as a small girl. Described as a "tough nut", who likes "a good time" but is "nobody's plaything", Julie married a man named Billy, who two-timed her and she'd subsequently vowed that no man would ever hurt her again. A further sadness involved her inability to have children, something Billy failed to be supportive about. Julie decided that she needed a new start, so she left Billy and looked into opening her own business in Walford.1989–90
In June 1989, Julie returned to Walford to sell the house (number 55 Victoria Road) left to her by her late grandmother. She leased a vacant property and employed handyman, Paul PriestlyPaul Priestly
Paul Priestly is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Mark Thrippleton.Paul, a builder, came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. He found work around the Square — the money wasn't great but there were benefits — for instance,...
, and his friend, Trevor Short
Trevor Short
Trevor Short is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Phil McDermott.Trevor was the inseparable sidekick of Paul Priestly. He was a well-meaning individual but he wasn't blessed with much intelligence and he managed to mess up almost every job he was given...
, to renovate it, leaving many locals wondering what sort of business Julie was intending to open. Dot Cotton jumped to the wrong conclusion when she saw a flier advertising Julie's "personal services" and assumed she was opening a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. She petitioned against the opening of Julie's business, but was embarrassed when Ethel Skinner
Ethel Skinner
Ethel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
— who had known Julie's mother years ago — discovered that Julie was a hairdresser
Hairdresser
Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
and beautician and intended to open a salon
Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...
. The salon, named Julie's, was situated at 11 Turpin Road. 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...
became the salon receptionist and a young trainee named Marie Davies was also employed but didn't stay long as she regularly clashed with Julie. During her stay in Walford, Julie lived in one of the flats at 43 Albert Square.
Julie was attracted to fellow northerner Paul Priestly and, despite him dating Diane Butcher
Diane Butcher
Diane Maureen Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Lawrence. Diane appeared as a regular character between 1988 and 1991, when Lawrence decided to leave. The character made several brief returns in 1993, 1994, and 1997...
, she seduced him and they slept together. Their affair continued for several weeks, much to Diane's annoyance, but ended when Paul began suspecting Julie was using him to get a cheap deal on the work he was doing on the salon. Paul returned to Diane, but Diane could not forgive Julie and played various vengeful tricks, such as sabotaging the opening day of her salon and sending her a male escort
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
to make her look desperate. Julie responded by flirting with Paul to infuriate Diane, and their feud culminated in a showdown in The Queen Vic one night, which left Diane looking the fool.
Meanwhile, Julie turned her attentions to new market trader, Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Gary Powell. Laurie was introduced by producer Mike Gibbon in September 1989 as a rival to the long-established character Pete Beale – he opened up a business in direct competition to him and then dated his...
, but he was more interested in Kathy Beale. Julie was unperturbed and flirted outrageously with Laurie at every opportunity. Laurie's relationship with Kathy did not progress the way he had hoped and Julie took advantage - letting Laurie know that she could satisfy him in ways Kathy wouldn't. In October 1989, at the Vic's Hallowe'en party, Laurie gave in and went home with Julie as Kathy watched. Julie assumed Laurie wanted a relationship with her, but after receiving Kathy's scorn, he realised it was her he wanted after all. He dumped Julie, telling her their night together was a mistake. Julie tried turning him against Kathy by telling him about her rape but only made him more sympathetic to Kathy and they grew closer as a result.
By 1990, Julie decided that owning her own business was more trouble than it was worth. Her upmarket establishment never really took off, not making enough money even to pay the bills. By March, Julie was facing bankruptcy and having her salon repossessed. While pondering over how to solve her money problems, she caught the eye of brothers 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...
. They both approached Julie but were unaware that they were trying to chat up the same woman — and Julie flirted with them both. Phil managed to secure a date with her first but opted to follow up a business deal and stood Julie up. When Grant discovered that it was Julie who Phil was supposed to meet, he went to her flat in his brother's place. Grant managed to persuade Julie that he was a better choice than his good for nothing brother, and was eventually invited into her flat, where they shared a bottle of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. Their date went well and Julie was so impressed that she shamelessly invited Grant to spend the night with her.
The following day, Phil met Grant and told him about his business meeting the night before. A gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
associate of his wanted to take over the lease on Julie's salon and he wanted to buy it at a vastly reduced price. Phil had been instructed to scare Julie into selling it. However, Phil realised Julie would not be so easily pushed around. Realising that he had blown his chances with her, he instructed Grant to persuade her to accept the deal. Over the coming weeks, Grant and Julie's fling continued and eventually Julie decided to sell the lease, which was when Phil moved in with his offer. While Julie was waiting to meet Grant in The Vic one night, Phil tried to persuade her to sell him the lease. Julie realised that the Mitchell brothers had been using her, throwing a drink in Phil's face and threatened to castrate Grant when he also tried to coax her into selling.
Despite her hostility towards the Mitchell brothers, Julie still wanted to sell the lease and was forced to do business with them, but in revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
, insisted on £1000 more than Grant originally offered. Grant agreed reluctantly and the Mitchells lost their cut of the payment from their associate. After securing her victory, Julie closed her salon and returned to Salford in March 1990.
Creation and development
Writer Colin BrakeColin 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...
has suggested that 1989 was a year of big change for EastEnders, both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer, Keith Harris, left the show, and co-creators, Tony Holland
Tony Holland
Anthony John "Tony" Holland was an English television screenwriter best known as a writer and co-creator of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early career:...
and Julia Smith
Julia Smith
Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
, both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coinciding with the exit of one of EastEnders most successful characters, Den Watts
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
(Leslie Grantham
Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. He is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal...
). Producer, 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....
, was given the task of running the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and 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...
.
According to Brake, the departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and Angie Watts
Angie Watts
Angela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out....
(Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
), had left a void in the programme, which needed to be filled. In addition several other long-running characters left the show that year including two original cast members, Sue
Sue Osman
Susan "Sue" Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sandy Ratcliff. She was one of the serial's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 19 February 1985 and departing on-screen in May 1989. Created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, Sue was...
and Ali Osman
Ali Osman
Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original EastEnders cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly five years afterwards, making his final appearance on 10 October...
(Sandy Ratcliff
Sandy Ratcliff
Alexandria "Sandy" Ratcliff is an English former actress. Ratcliff made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she is best known for being one of the original cast members in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in the 1980s...
and Nejdet Salih) and their family; Donna Ludlow
Donna Ludlow
Donna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Matilda Ziegler between 1987-1989. Donna was scripted as a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her...
(Matilda Ziegler
Matilda Ziegler
Matilda Ziegler is a British television, stage and film actress best known for her roles as Irma Gobb in Mr. Bean and as Donna Ludlow in the long-running BBC1 serial EastEnders and Ruth in the BBC Three sitcom Swiss Toni.-Television career:Matilda Ziegler's first screen role remains her most...
); Carmel Jackson
Carmel Jackson
Carmel Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Judith Jacob. Carmel, a Health Visitor, was introduced in a recurring, minor role in 1986. Producers saw potential in the character. Script writers were asked to develop more promienent storylines, and Carmel...
(Judith Jacob
Judith Jacob
Judith Jacob , is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor Carmel Roberts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role she played from 1986 to 1989. During her stint in Albert Square, her character suffered from severe marital abuse and her husband's attempted murder and eventual...
) and Colin Russell (Michael Cashman
Michael Cashman
Michael Maurice Cashman is a British former actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.- Acting :...
). Brake has indicated that the production team decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford, commenting, "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start".
At the time the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, and according to Brake, the programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in 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...
. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted. Such characters included Julie Cooper; Marge Green
Marge Green
Marjorie "Marge" Green is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Pat Coombs. Introduced in 1989, elderly Marge was scripted as comical and timid. The character was one of many to be axed in 1990 when the show changed Executive Producer.-Storylines:Marge first...
— a batty older lady played by veteran comedy actress, Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs was an English actress. Coombs was considered one of Britain's great character actresses, specialising in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female — comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms...
; Trevor Short
Trevor Short
Trevor Short is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Phil McDermott.Trevor was the inseparable sidekick of Paul Priestly. He was a well-meaning individual but he wasn't blessed with much intelligence and he managed to mess up almost every job he was given...
(Phil McDermott
Phil McDermott
Phil McDermott is a British actor. Before turning to acting he was a trainee priest, a scrap metal worker, a weighbridge operator and a carpenter. He is most famous for playing a regular character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He played the dim-witted odd-job man, Trevor Short from 1989-1990...
), the "village idiot", and his friend, northern heartbreaker Paul Priestly
Paul Priestly
Paul Priestly is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Mark Thrippleton.Paul, a builder, came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. He found work around the Square — the money wasn't great but there were benefits — for instance,...
(Mark Thrippleton
Mark Thrippleton
Mark Thrippleton is an English actor from Leeds.Thrippleton worked as a roofer and tiler before taking up acting in the 1980s.In 1984 he appeared in How We Used to Live — a British educational drama tracing the lives and fortunes of fictional Yorkshire families from Ewardian times...
); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham) and Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Gary Powell. Laurie was introduced by producer Mike Gibbon in September 1989 as a rival to the long-established character Pete Beale – he opened up a business in direct competition to him and then dated his...
(Gary Powell
Gary Powell (actor)
Gary Powell is a British actor. He is possibly best known for playing the character Laurie Bates in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Laurie made his first screen appearance in September 1989 as a love interest for Kathy Beale , but the character was one of many to be written out of the serial early...
), who became Pete Beale
Pete Beale
Peter "Pete" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Peter Dean. He made his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was created by Tony Holland, one of the creators of EasEnders; he was based on a member of...
's (Peter Dean) sparring partner.
Julie Cooper has been described by author Hilary Kingsley as "a man-mad insatiable flirt, bubbly with a comic but shrewd persona." She was scripted to be sassy but streetwise and she brought "a touch of northern culture to the programme". The relatively unknown Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
actress Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright is a British actress, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera EastEnders from 1989 to 1990....
was eventually cast in the role. The casting director was initially dubious about giving her the role, as Plowright, then thirty-three, didn't look "old enough or tough enough to play this serious man eater". In an interview given in Hilary Kingsley's EastEnders Handbook
EastEnders books
This is a list of books about or relating to the British soap opera EastEnders.-Non-fiction books:* EastEnders: The Inside Story* Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience* EastEnders Special...
, Plowright comments: "I really played up the Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
act...That did it."
Brake suggests that humour was an important element in EastEnders storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. He has classed 1989's changes as a brave experiment, and has suggested that while some found this period of EastEnders entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat. Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, drugs, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, Brake reflected that the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".
By the end of the year EastEnders had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson
Michael 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 had previously been a successful 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...
. Brake has suggested that Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality, and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, 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...
(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:...
) and 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...
(Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
), successful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year. Among them was Julie, as well as many other characters that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Several of the actors were upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief". Louise Plowright has since revealed that she would have liked to have stayed with the soap longer, but that the split was an amicable one. She commented, "They just didn't know where to go with the character."