Christian Clarke is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by John Partridge.

He first appeared in the show's 3,509th episode, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2008, and was introduced as the brother of established character Jane Beale (Laurie Brett).

He was introduced as a new gay character for the show, following the popularity of Coronation Street's Sean Tully (Antony Cotton).

[5] Partridge returned to the show for two episodes on 19 and 20 May 2014 which saw Christian attend the funeral of Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater).

Christian is first mentioned when his older sister Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) receives an invitation to his civil ceremony with partner Ashley Jennings (Tony Boncza).

Christian is tricked by Ian's daughter Lucy (Melissa Suffield) into letting her use his flat so she can spend some "quality time" with her boyfriend, Olly Greenwood (Bart Edwards).

Roxy unexpectedly goes into premature labour, and Christian offers to help raise the baby, Amy, as her marriage to Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) has ended.

When he runs away, distressed, Syed's mother Zainab (Nina Wadia) sees and confronts Christian who tells her everything, but she does not believe him and attacks him verbally and physically.

On New Year's Eve, Christian attends a party at The Queen Victoria public house, and shares a kiss with a man.

Christian starts working at the local boxing club, and whilst there, 15-year-old Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe) confides to him that he is gay.

Amira later teases Christian that he will never be invited to Masood family occasions, and he tells her that her business with Syed is a smokescreen and she really wants him back.

She tells him about how she lied to Yusef so that he would be killed (Zainab told him that his daughter Afia (Meryl Fernandes) was trapped in a burning building).

Ian asks after his son Bobby (Rory Stroud/Eliot Carrington), who is also staying with them and meets Yasmin, who Christian is babysitting whilst Syed is at work.

In November 2007, it was announced that a new gay character was to join the cast of EastEnders, as the show's bosses had seen how popular Antony Cotton was in the role of Sean Tully in Coronation Street.

[14] Partridge said of his character, "I think he's going to upset the apple cart at the Beales'"[3] and "Christian, like me, is an openly proud gay man and he is certainly going to ruffle a few feathers when he arrives.

If you're feeling down, he'll take you out for the best night of your life and provide a shoulder to cry on in the taxi home.Talking about his casting in the role of Christian, Partridge has disclosed: "I'm slightly terrified when I come into work every day.

Plus, the actors I work with the most, Adam Woodyatt (Ian) and Laurie Brett (Jane), are such consummate professionals that I don't want to weaken the Beale family or bring anyone down.

[20] However, the show's executive producer Diederick Santer explained that the storyline will not be a moral tale, but one of human interest, adding: "[Syed] struggles with his sexuality when he finds himself drawn to Christian and he believes this goes against his faith.

"[19] Santer also said that EastEnders always tries to "reflect modern life in multicultural Britain and [tell] social issue stories relevant to [its] diverse audience.

"[21] Partridge told entertainment website Digital Spy that lessons were learnt after a kiss between Christian and his then-boyfriend Lee Thompson in 2008 prompted 145 complaints from viewers, saying: "Even after [the gay kiss] story, Diederick [Santer, executive producer], Dominic Treadwell-Collins, series story producer] and the BBC were brave enough to push forward with this current storyline.

Marc [Elliott] and John [Partridge] have absolutely stepped up to the plate and like all good EastEnders stories, we're not even half done with it yet.

Syed and Amira's wedding achieved one of the highest ratings of the year, so we're expecting viewers to again be gripped when this storyline reaches its dramatic climax.

Executive producer, Lorraine Newman said: "Marc and John have been a fantastic part of the show and their characters have been a huge success.

"[8] The show's executive producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, joked that Jane could not get married without having her brother at the occasion and said that the EastEnders team were "thrilled to have him [Partridge] back" for the anniversary.

Treadwell-Collins then promised that Partridge's "extensive theatre experience" would be utilised as he "is plunged into EastEnders' live week.

"[26] On 8 April 2016, it was announced that Partridge would be "briefly" returning for a third guest stint in "early summer" 2016, alongside Lynda Baron who plays his on-screen mother, Linda Clarke.

[27] The character's introduction to EastEnders was welcomed by critics, with the Pink News deeming him to be "a realistic portrayal of a London-based, slightly older gay man.

"[28] Gareth McLean of The Guardian praised the character, saying "he brings EastEnders a step closer to more accurately resembling London.

The BBC released a statement defending the incident, stating: "EastEnders aims to reflect real life, and this means including and telling stories about characters from many different backgrounds, faiths, religions and sexualities.

We believe that the general tone and content of EastEnders is now widely recognised, meaning that parents can make an informed decision as to whether they want their children to watch.