Celestine and Etta Tavernier are fictional characters from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Leroy Golding and Jacqui Gordon-Lawrence respectively.

Celestine is portrayed as a strict disciplinarian and a devout Christian who expects everyone in his family to show similar dedication to the church and abide by his rules.

However, he achieved his ambition, conformed and worked hard and eventually got promoted to manager at Walford Department of Social Security (DSS).

Celestine is put in an awkward position in 1990 when he discovers that Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) is working and signing on for dole money at the same time.

He eventually decides that he cannot 'turn a blind eye' to Arthur's fraudulent behaviour and turns him in to the authorities at his work, but his self-righteous attitude earns him few friends on the square.

He demands respect and adherence at all times, and because of this he finds it extremely difficult to relate to his children, who often feel that his strict rules are harsh and unfair.

Celestine is a dedicated Church-goer and spends most of his spare time performing religious readings and educating 'young disciples' in the teachings of the Bible.

Etta is also a devout Christian and a dedicated mother, but the big love of her life is teaching, so she is thrilled when she gets promoted to 'acting head' at Walford primary in 1991.

Etta returns briefly in February 1994 to stop Steve (Hattie's ex-boyfriend) from attempting to contact her daughter when he arrives in Norwich and the following week she visits Walford to try to persuade her father-in-law, Jules, to come and live with them following his mugging.

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.

[2] 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, played by Michelle Gayle.

[3] He was awarded the part and claims that his inexperience helped rather than hindered the Tavernier family to gel together as it created a sense of "camaraderie" among them; he suggests that he and his screen wife Gordon-Lawrence "played very well off each other".

Kingsley suggests that Etta's independence and decision to undergo sterilisation and have an abortion, wounded Celestine's male pride and plunged their marriage into turmoil.