List of EastEnders characters introduced in 1998

"[7] Beppe di Marco, played by Michael Greco, is first seen when local residents George Palmer (Paul Moriarty) and Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) attend his father's funeral.

Beppe is his family's pride and joy, so it is a big shock to them when he is fired from the police force for attempting to frame his sworn enemy and Peggy's youngest son Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) for GBH on his long-suffering wife Tiffany Raymond (Martine McCutcheon).

Gianni has relationships with several women in Walford, and backs Beppe in various run-ins with Grant (Ross Kemp) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), as the two groups of brothers often have conflicts over several interests.

She is often troubled by the antics of her grandchildren, and when she sees her youngest granddaughter Nicky (Carly Hillman) kissing Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou), the shock is too much and she suffers a stroke.

Nicoletta "Nicky" di Marco, played by Carly Hillman, arrives in Albert Square as a teenager with her mother Rosa (Louise Jameson), brothers Beppe and Gianni (Michael Greco and Marc Bannerman), and sister Teresa (Leila Birch) in 1998.

Nicky becomes the best friend of Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy) and briefly dates Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder), Asif Malik (Ashvin Luximon) and Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou).

She is the mother of Beppe (Michael Greco), Gianni (Marc Bannerman), Teresa (Leila Birch) and Nicky di Marco (Carly Hillman).

After the death of her husband, she moves to Walford along with the rest of her family, and she soon sets up her own restaurant with the help of her old friend, George Palmer (Paul Moriarty).

She first appears at her father's funeral in January 1998, and had recently failed her A-level exams, making her mother suspicious that she had done this on purpose, so she can stay as a waitress in the family restaurant.

She is caught with drugs by the police, finds out that her bisexual boyfriend Tony Hills (Mark Homer) had an affair with his ex-boyfriend Simon Raymond (Andrew Lynford).

[2][14] The majority of the di Marcos stayed in EastEnders until 2000, when a new executive producer, John Yorke, decided to cull them all, except Joe, Beppe and his estranged wife Sandra (though she was also written out early in 2001 when the custody battle storyline ended).

Beppe's serial womanising has a negative effect on Joe in 2001, when he walks in on his father being seduced by his teacher, Kay Bradshaw (Vanessa Earl).

She is the mother of Jessie Moore (Chelsey Padden), the foster daughter of Mark (Todd Carty) and Ruth Fowler (Caroline Paterson).

Mark and Ruth later hear from their solicitor that Nicole will be released in a couple of weeks time, and will be granted permission to see Jessie once a fortnight.

Hayley Edwards, played by Karin Diamond, is the sister of Huw (Richard Elis), who tries to contact her brother in February 1998 to tell him that their father has died.

He later holds Phil and Courtney, Grant's daughter, hostage, threatening their mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) and assaulting Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) when he stands up to him.

Kim attends Walford High School and soon becomes friendly with local girls Sonia Jackson and Nicky di Marco (Natalie Cassidy and Carly Hillman), although she is a bit younger than them, so she often gets excluded from their more mature conversations.

However, Kim is rejected at a casting for not being slim enough and so she starts cutting out food, developing an eating disorder that threatens to spiral dangerously out of control.

Kim appears infrequently after this, occasionally showing up to visit Sonia and she also gets a part-time job washing cars for Roy Evans (Tony Caunter).

Fred Fonseca, played by Jimi Mistry, is "an attractive young doctor", who becomes the local GP in 1998,[25] after the retirement of Dr. Legg (Leonard Fenton).

[26] Fred befriends Mick McFarlane (Sylvester Williams), and comes out as a homosexual, and as a result is subjected to homophobia from several of the local residents, including teenager Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou).

Melanie "Mel" Owen, played by Tamzin Outhwaite, who arrives in Albert Square to reunite with her brother, Alex Healy (Richard Driscoll).

[2] Mel marries Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) on New Year's Eve 1999, and later has a problematic marriage to Steve Owen (Martin Kemp).

Billy has failed marriages with Little Mo Morgan and Honey Edwards (Kacey Ainsworth and Emma Barton), and sees the birth of his children, Janet (who has Down's syndrome) and Will Mitchell.

Lilly Mattock, played by Barbara Keogh, is first seen in Albert Square in 1998 when she moves into a flat with fellow senior-citizen Dot Cotton (June Brown), after both of their respective homes have burnt down.

In 2023, it is revealed that Cindy Beale faked her death in 1998 and went into witness protection, and had a separate family with George Knight (Colin Salmon) in Marbella.

Saskia Duncan, played by Deborah Sheridan-Taylor, arrives in Walford in December 1998 as the obsessive ex-girlfriend of new e20 club owner Steve Owen (Martin Kemp).

It is at that moment when local resident Matthew Rose (Joe Absolom), who works in the club as Steve's employed DJ, walks in the altercation.

In 2018, Saskia's murder was brought up by Ciara Maguire (Denise McCormack) when she told Steve and Mel's son Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter) about who his father really was.

Hunter has spent his whole life believing his dad was a hero, but Ciara threatened Mel and said she would tell him the truth if her money wasn't given to her in full.