Laurie was introduced by producer Mike Gibbon in September 1989 as a rival to the long-established character Pete Beale (Peter Dean) – he opens up a business in direct competition to him and then dates his estranged wife Kathy (Gillian Taylforth).

Laurie arrives in September 1989, taking over a vacant stall on Turpin Road market, where Cindy Beale’s (Michelle Collins) mother had formerly sold hats.

Kathy is initially wary of Laurie, but she begins to warm to him after he shares his sad life story with her – he'd been scarred by the loss of his second wife, who had died from cancer.

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).

[2] A new producer, Mike Gibbon, took control of the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, which included Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale.

[2] As well as Den, several other long running characters left the show in 1989, including three original cast members, Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), as well as Sue and Ali Osman (Sandy Ratcliff and Nejdet Salih) and their family; Donna Ludlow (Matilda Ziegler); Carmel Jackson (Judith Jacob) and her family, and one of the show's more controversial characters, Colin Russell (Michael Cashman).

[2] Such characters included Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright), a man-mad hairdresser; Marge Green — a batty older lady played by veteran comedy actress, Pat Coombs; Trevor Short (Phil McDermott), the "village idiot", and his friend, northern heart-breaker Paul Priestly (Mark Thrippleton); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham) and Laurie Bates, who was introduced in September and became Pete Beale's (Peter Dean) sparring partner.

1989's changes were a “brave experiment” and while some found this period of EastEnders entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat.

[2] The programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence, drugs, racism and rape – specifically concerning the victim's (Kathy) struggles to move on from the ordeal and trust other men (Laurie); however, the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the "illusion" that the show had lost a "certain edge".

Ultimately, 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.

[2] A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp), two extremely successful characters, who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter.