List of EastEnders characters introduced in 1986

In June, Judith Jacob and Pam St. Clement made their debuts as health visitor Carmel Jackson and Pat Butcher, the former wife of Pete Beale (Peter Dean).

June also sees the beginning of a new storyline, The Banned, which introduces Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter), Tessa Parker (Josephine Melville) and Eddie Hunter (Simon Henderson).

Michael Cashman and Donald Tandy joined the cast as middle-class yuppie Colin Russell and army war veteran Tom Clements respectively in August.

New general practitioner Jaggat Singh (Amerjit Deu) and Barry Clark (Gary Hailes), a love interest for Colin, make their first appearances in November.

Following the publicity over Angie's drink driving case, she and her husband, Den (Leslie Grantham), worry that the brewery who owns the pub might find cause to cancel their tenancy, and 'free entertainment' is seen as a way to bolster the evening trade.

Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) is quite impressed with the drag artiste and thinks him to be a caring and sensitive person.

Eventually, Jan grows tired of Den not having a proper relationship with her, so she ends their affair after he refuses to leave Walford with her.

Towards the end of 1987 Brad is instructed to scare graphic designer Colin Russell (Michael Cashman), who is a jury member in a trial for an associate of the Firm.

The petty criminal Darren Roberts (Gary McDonald) manages to get on the wrong side of Brad when he tries to play him off against the owner of The Dagmar, James Wilmott-Brown (William Boyde).

The Firm's money lending business, 'Walford Investments', are in the process of securing the takeover of James' ailing winebar, albeit against his wishes.

In July 1988, Den discovers Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) after she had been raped by James Wilmott-Brown, and instantly seeks revenge.

Brad immediately calls on the services of Rod Norman (Christopher McHallem), via threats, and forces him to give the police a tip off about Den.

As the Firm busy themselves with ways in which to silence Den from inside, Brad causes more grief by doing a bit of moonlighting; breaking into several people's houses on the Square with an accomplice who works as a cab driver for Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih).

[1] James Willmott-Brown, played by William Boyde, is an ex-army officer, arriving in Albert Square in March 1986 as the area manager for 'Luxford and Copley', the brewery that owns The Queen Victoria.

Written by series co-creator/script-editor Tony Holland and directed by co-creator/producer Julia Smith, it was considered a landmark episode in the show's history.

4 possible suspects are seen leaving the Square early in the episode: Tony Carpenter (Oscar James), Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), Andy O'Brien (Ross Davidson), and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).

In July 1984, before EastEnders went to air, the show's creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, attended an opening evening at the Anna Scher Theatre School in North London, to find actors for roles in their upcoming serial.

[4] Harry Reynolds, played by Gareth Potter, is a college friend of Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford) who first appears along with Tessa Parker (Josephine Melville) in June 1986.

Tessa Parker, played by Josephine Melville, is a college friend of Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford) and Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter) who first appears in June 1986.

[5] The actress revealed that she wanted to try other things, saying "I have enjoyed 25 and a half wonderful years in EastEnders creating the character of Pat but feel it's time to hang up her earrings.

The reformed group, known as "The Banned", consist of Simon, Eddie, Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter).

untie Irene first appears in July 1986, when her nephew Lofty and his fiancée Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) visit her in the nursing home where she lives.

Colin Russell, played by Michael Cashman, is a middle-class yuppie described as an amiable chap with a kind heart who often ends up being used by the less considerate locals.

This changed by the end of the year, at which time Colin acquired a young boyfriend named Barry Clark (Gary Hailes).

Gay characters that existed were usually farcical, camp parodies, created purely for comic relief, such as Mr Humphries in the situation comedy, Are You Being Served?.

Having Lou Beale (Anna Wing), Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin) and Dot Cotton (June Brown) as patients sharpens his interest in the elderly and Jaggat leaves the Square in December 1987 for full-time work with old people in a Northern home.

Barry Clark, played by Gary Hailes, is a cockney barrow-boy, and an unlikely partner for the gay, middle-class yuppie, Colin Russell (Michael Cashman).

His boyfriend, Colin, had already been introduced to the show several months prior to Barry's arrival and he had proven to be an extremely popular addition to the cast.

Gay characters that existed were usually farcical camp parodies, created purely for comic relief, such as Mr. Humphries in the situation comedy, Are You Being Served?.

When Naima's family sell the shop to Ashraf Karim (Aftab Sachak) at the end of the year, Rezaul leaves Walford to resume his studies.