Crace's casting in the role was announced in July 2008, when she was described as a love interest for fellow new character Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan).

In October 2008, it was revealed that Danielle was actually the long-lost daughter of established character Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Janus).

Crace has disclosed that even she was unaware of this fact upon being cast in the role, but always knew Danielle would only have a short arc.

Danielle's feelings were further explored in a segment of the BBC EastEnders homepage entitled Danielle's Diary, documenting the character's thoughts on the storylines she was involved in, while a special episode of EastEnders Revealed entitled "The Secret Mitchell" further explored the character's impact on the show.

Danielle played a small but pivotal role in multiple storylines on the show, which focused on her friendship with local resident Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), her crush on Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan), her adoption secret and seeking to find answers about her missing mother in Albert Square.

She was deemed a welcome addition to the soap by members of Telford and Wrekin Council for raising awareness of the town (Telford) the character originates from; however, she was poorly received by The Guardian's Gareth McLean and Grace Dent, and dubbed "Drippy Danielle" by the Daily Mirror's Jane Simon.

Danielle arrives in Walford, having left her hometown of Telford and is befriended by local resident Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), who gives her a job on her market clothing stall and offers her the spare room in her family's home.

Danielle quickly develops a crush on fellow stall-trader Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan), who leads her on in an attempt to make Stacey jealous, but he helps her get a second job, cleaning at The Queen Victoria public house, where she gets caught in the feud between the pub's landlord Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) and his daughter Ronnie (Samantha Janus).

When Danielle falls out with Stacey and ends up squatting in a flat owned by next-door neighbour Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), Ronnie convinces him not to call the police.

In 2016, Danielle's adoptive brother Gareth arrives in Walford, using the alias Andy Flynn (Jack Derges).

[3] Her introduction had been planned from 2007, when story producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins conceived the idea of two new Mitchell sisters, Ronnie and Roxy.

[4] Lauren Crace, then a third year student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, was cast as Danielle and began filming in June 2008.

[7] She stated that some audience members guessed Danielle to be Ronnie's daughter almost as soon as she arrived, and that she found maintaining the secret difficult.

[7] Crace initially portrayed Danielle as being shy and afraid of rejection, though felt that Stacey's friendship and living with the Slater family could have a positive impact on her confidence.

[5] Crace's view is that Danielle's Mitchell heritage manifested itself in an inner-strength and ability to "come back fighting", giving her a toughness beneath her "wet and pathetic" personality.

[7] Series writer Simon Ashdown explained that Danielle initially chose to conceal her identity from Ronnie due to her fear of being rejected.

Crace deemed the development "a huge thing" for Danielle, as contrary to her constant rejection, the one person she most desired support from was finally showing her affection.

[8] In the aftermath of her abortion, Danielle was depicted as being increasingly emotionally unstable and angry with Ronnie, believing that she deserved to belong to the Mitchell family.

[10] The ultimate revelation of Danielle's identity was set at Archie's wedding to Peggy (Barbara Windsor), matriarch of the Mitchell family.

"[4] Writer James Payne concurred that setting the reveal at the wedding helped to make the moment "as dramatic and sensational" as it could possibly be.

[4] The episode saw Danielle announce that she was Ronnie's daughter in front of the entire wedding reception party, in what Crace has named her favourite scene on the show.

Although different outcomes to the storyline were considered, Santer explained that Danielle dying best preserved Ronnie's status as EastEnders' "tragic heroine character".

Digital Spy's Kris Green reported that most of the online EastEnders community had anticipated the character's exit from the soap beforehand, some as early as January 2009.

@ 22.05 In this manner, viewers were able to keep up with the character during her temporary absence from the show in February 2009, when she returned home to Telford following her abortion: "Back in Dawley.

"[15] The final entry, dated minutes before Danielle's on-screen death, reads: "All I ever wanted was for mum to look at me with love in her eyes.

[18] The Daily Mirror sympathised with Danielle over the storyline which saw her manipulated by Archie, deeming it one of the more interesting EastEnders plot strands.

[19] Gareth McLean of The Guardian's described Danielle as a "wet weekend incarnate", criticising the drawn out nature of the secret Mitchell storyline.

"[26] Crace was pleased with public reaction to the mother-daughter storyline, commenting prior to the reveal: "Everyone seems desperate to know why Danielle hasn't told Ronnie yet, so I'm taking that as a sign they're enjoying the story.

[27] The decision was defended by Santer, who stated: "We acknowledge that we didn't deliver the happy ending that many of the audience may have been hoping for, and that for some people this was upsetting.

"[28] Following Danielle's final episode, regulator Ofcom confirmed they had received a number of complaints from the public about the "violent nature of the show and the horrific death at the end", and the fact it was broadcast before the 9 p.m.