List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2013

Upon the announcement that established character David Wicks (Michael French) was returning to the show, Lisa Maxwell was cast as his girlfriend, Naomi, who appeared in September for one episode.

Former Holby City actress Luisa Bradshaw-White was cast as Shirley Carter's (Linda Henry) younger sister Tina, who first appeared in November, followed in December by Shirley's brother, who later transpired to be her son, Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), Mick's partner, Linda (Kellie Bright), and their youngest son, Johnny (Sam Strike).

[2] Dexter comes to Walford and gets a job as a mechanic at The Arches, and befriends Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold).

His significant storylines include his struggle to accept his estranged father, Sam James (Cornell S John)[4] and his losing Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden) £10,000.

[6][10] A few weeks later, Bianca sees Steve on heading for her house, and thinks it has something to do with her son Liam Butcher (James Forde), but is shocked to find them on a date.

Bianca finds them, and tries to make them stay away, while Liam has to be physically restrained by Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn) and locked in his bedroom to stop him seeing the gang.

When couples come to divorce, being offered mediation as an option can make a huge difference to their short and long-term future, especially if children are concerned, as in this storyline.

[51] The character and Coonan's casting were announced on 6 May 2013, when it was revealed that Carl has been in prison, where he had previously shared a cell with Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman).

[67] She discovers he is retiring to Brighton but is having a party first,[68] so she decides to go, but leaves without seeing Ollie when his friend Frank (Patrick Driver) makes fun of mental illness.

[70] However, when Kat realises that Jean loves Ollie, she enlists Alfie Moon's (Shane Richie) help to find him, but they fear they are too late.

In December 2017, Stacey leaves Walford with her children to stay with Jean and Ollie for a few weeks, after admitting to cheating on Martin with Max Branning (Jake Wood).

Carl's brother, Adam (Ben Wigzell) joins her in Walford, and shows her a picture of Roxy, making Nora realise that she had been lied to.

The magazine compared this behaviour to Carl's burning Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) hand, speculating that he "learnt everything from his evil mum".

[82] She asks Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) for food samples, which she hands out to customers, but refuses to place an order from him for the salon opening.

[86] She gives Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) a job at the salon when her father Max (Jake Wood) agrees to pay her wages in secret.

Sadie and Jake move to Albert Square, but on their first night it is revealed that years before they accidentally hit a girl with their car and killed her while they were arguing.

[90] Inside Soap said Sadie was a "welcome addition" to the cast, calling her a "breath of fresh air", "smart", "sexy", "mysterious" and "intriguing".

[91] Jake Stone is played by Jamie Lomas and made his first appearance on 15 August 2013, when he meets Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) who is attending counselling for alcoholism for the first time.

He seeks employment at the café, and also designs Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) a website for her new business, causing slight upset with her partner, Lauren.

"[100] Maxwell said of her casting, "I've had a fantastic time filming at EastEnders and working with the wonderful Michael [French], Lindsey [Coulson] and Nitin [Ganatra, Masood Ahmed] has been an absolute joy.

"[102] She explained that she thinks Naomi does love David, but called her "quite a manipulative character", adding that "She's tough, she likes the nice things in life and I imagine that she couldn't be happy without money!

[117] TJ first appears with his sister, Rosie Spraggan (Jerzey Swingler),[109] arriving together when their father moves to Albert Square with his new girlfriend Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer).

[109] TJ finds out that Liam was once in a gang, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) was sexually exploited and Bianca was imprisoned for assault, and is not happy about living with them, so calls his mother, Nikki Spraggan (Rachel Wilde).

[116] She first appears on 7 November 2013 with her brother, TJ (George Sargeant),[111] arriving together when their father moves to Albert Square with his new girlfriend Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer).

In February, Bianca's father David Wicks (Michael French) invites Nikki to the square to talk to TJ when she learns that he has got Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene) pregnant.

"[130] Inside Soap said that Nikki is "the picture of immaculate grooming" when she arrives, and that she causes friction between Terry and his new girlfriend Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer).

Upset over her break-up with Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), a drunken Abi tries to leave Albert Square, and when Max refuses to take her she decides to drive herself, but runs over Tramp, killing him.

A new canine character in EastEnders was first known about when Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and her husband Mick (Danny Dyer) were announced to be joining the series on 1 October 2013.

[140] The Radio Times speculated what breed of dog would be joining the show,[141] but it was revealed to be a bulldog when the first promotional photo of the entire Carter family together was released on 29 October.

[146] After moving into the Queen Victoria public house with her owners, Linda plans to make money by breeding Lady Di's pedigree.