Yolande Trueman (also Duke) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Angela Wynter.

[1] Her stories have focused on her marriage to Patrick, and using their characters, producers explored fostering, a feud with Pat Evans (Pam St Clement), and suffering from racism.

The following year, producers used Yolande to explore the topic of sexual assault in the hands of her pastor Gideon Clayton (Howard Saddler).

They had met during Patrick's visit to his homeland of Trinidad, where the middle-aged couple enjoyed a steamy affair, much the contrary to Yolande's unhappy and stolid marriage to a strict, uptight, and religious Victor (Ben Thomas), whose traditional beliefs objectify women to the purpose of bearing and raising children.

Victor arrives in Walford to take Yolande home, and gives Patrick £10000 to relinquish and allow him to bring his wife back to Trinidad unhindered.

They forge a small business empire in Walford, owning and managing the Minute Mart convenience store, the square’s bed and breakfast and eventually Trueman's Motors.

Their rivalry intensifies when Pat begins an affair with Patrick, with their Minute Mart employee Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) catching them kissing and telling Yolande, causing a brawl in the Queen Victoria public house.

Yolande feuds with Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) over setting up a community carol singing group.

When Yolande sees Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) being attacked by a group of youths, she attempts to help him but falls and is videoed and posted online.

When one of her church members Agatha (Chloe Okora) spreads rumours that Yolande is sleeping with Pastor Clayton, she slaps her.

Patrick returns as the food truck idea is being passed back to Yolande, who was gaslighted by Pastor Clayton into believing she made up his harassment.

After realising that she will never achieve justice, Yolande has a crisis in faith; however, she recovers it on Christmas Eve 2024 when she meets with the other survivors of Pastor Clayton's abuse.

Yolande helps to serve food to the homeless on Christmas Day, where she meets Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley).

[5] The character's backstory states that she experienced a "holiday romance" with Patrick when visiting Trinidad, despite being married to Victor Duke (Ben Thomas).

[1] In a 2004 interview with the show's publicity team, Wynter expressed a desire to explore Yolande's interactions with children and for more guests in the B&B.

[1] In February 2004, it was announced that the Truemans would be at the focus of a fostering storyline as part of the BBC's Taking Care season, which explores different childhoods.

[8] In 2007, executive producer Diederick Santer used Patrick and Yolande to cover a storyline about racism that, according to the producer, was inspired by the 2007 Celebrity Big Brother race row, sparked by the racist bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty by UK celebrity Jade Goody.

In the storyline, the characters Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) used racist phrases to the Truemans, and their reaction to the insults were explored.

[4] Wynter confirmed that Yolande would not be killed off and hoped that Patrick would not reignite his affair with Pat Evans (Pam St Clement).

[13] A return for the character was hinted in scenes broadcast in March 2023 when Patrick decides to seek a reunion with Yolande.

[15] Chris Clenshaw, the show's executive producer, spoke of his delight at Wynter's return, calling her "immensely talented".

[15] The actress was excited to explore her character's position as an older woman in the Trueman-Fox family unit and the wider community.

Alison Slade from TV Times observed that Pastor Clayton is "inappropriately over-tactile", leaving Yolande "frozen with fear".

A show publicity officer told Johnathon Hughes from Inside Soap that the pastor "manipulates the situation to paint [Yolande] as unreasonable".

[22] Writers wanted to highlight how someone in a position of power can take advantage and established Pastor Clayton as a serial offender through flashbacks of other women previously assaulted by him.

[22] Chris Clenshaw, the show's executive producer, wanted the story to raise awareness about "how women at any age can be groomed by someone in a position of power".

[22] Andrea Simon, the director of End Violence Against Women Coalition, praised how the story explores sexual assault with an older, black woman and hoped it would "dispel myths and stereotypes about what victims and survivors look like and how perpetrators behave".

[22] Veronica Gray, deputy CEO of Hourglass, called the story "a landmark moment for all older victims of abuse in the UK and beyond".

[13] Stephen Patterson, writing for the Metro, expressed hope that the character would return and called her "a firm-favourite with viewers".

[26] The Radio Times' Laura Denby believed that a return for the "strong-willed" character would be a positive move for the soap and opined that she is "one of the good ones".