List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2019


EastEnders is a BBC soap opera that first aired on 19 February 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2019, in order of first appearance. The characters are initially introduced by the show's executive consultant, John Yorke, or his successors, senior executive producer, Kate Oates, or executive producer, Jon Sen. The first character to be introduced is Bailey Baker, the daughter of Mitch Baker. She is followed by her mother Dinah Wilson who is introduced the following month. Sisters Iqra Ahmed and Habiba Ahmed, the granddaughters of Arshad Ahmed and Mariam Ahmed are also introduced in February. Danny Hardcastle and [|Midge], associates of Phil Mitchell, are introduced next, followed by [|Chantelle Atkins], the daughter of Karen Taylor and Mitch Baker. Chantelle is joined by her husband Gray Atkins and her children Mia Atkins and Mackenzie Atkins. Later, [|Brooke] is introduced as a love interest for Bernadette Taylor. In June, [|Daniel Cook] joined, later followed by Jonno Highway, the father of Stuart and Callum Highway. In August, the wife of Patrick Trueman, Sheree Trueman was introduced as well as Ash Panesar, the girlfriend of Iqra. In September, Tom Wells joined the cast as [|Leo King], the son of Tony King and Wanda Baptiste as Sheree's mother. October saw the introductions of the Panesar brothers: Jags, Kheerat and [|Vinny]. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] appear throughout the year.

Bailey Baker

Bailey Baker, played by Kara-Leah Fernandes, first appears in episode 5847, which was first broadcast on 10 January 2019.
Bailey is a girl who is in Mitch Baker's van when drug addict [|Craig] tries to break in. She hits him over the head and then Mitch arrives, telling Bailey to keep quiet but she says she is bored so he says he will get her a football to play with. Mick Carter sees Bailey sitting with the ball on the street and when she says it is boring on her own, he says he used to spend hours kicking a ball against a wall. Bailey decides to kick the ball against the wall of Mick's pub, The Queen Victoria, but she smashes an upstairs window. Mick, his wife, Linda Carter, Mitch, his son Keegan Baker and Keegan's mother, Karen Taylor all arrive but when Karen tells Bailey to leave, Mitch is forced to say she is with him. Mitch tells Karen that Bailey is his friend's daughter, and takes Bailey to a football training session. However, after Karen looks after Bailey, Bailey asks Mitch why she is not allowed to tell people that he is her father.
When Bailey returns home from a football game, she is shown to be a young carer for her mother, Dinah Wilson, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis. When the Taylor family find out, they pledge to help out, and encourage Bailey to seek help from a care organisation. When Dinah commits suicide, Bailey moves in with Karen and her children. Bailey overhears a conversation between Karen and Mitch, where she discovers that Karen knew Dinah was going to kill herself. She holds a grudge against Karen for a number of weeks, until Karen buys her a star in honour of her mother. When the COVID-19 lockdown occurs, she goes to live with an aunt. When Chantelle dies, Mitch goes to tell her.
Bailey was called a "mystery newcomer" by Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy.
The character made an unannounced departure from the show on 8 December 2023.

Dinah Wilson

Dinah Wilson, played by Anjela Lauren Smith, makes her first appearance in episode 5869, broadcast on 14 February 2019. Dinah is the ex-girlfriend of Mitch Baker and mother to his daughter Bailey Baker. It is soon discovered that Dinah suffers from multiple sclerosis and is looked after by Bailey.
Mitch reveals to his ex-girlfriend Karen Taylor that Dinah suffers from multiple sclerosis and that Bailey is her carer. Karen, Mitch and their two children Keegan Baker and Chantelle Atkins help Bailey to clean her flat and Dinah becomes friends with Karen. Unbeknownst to Bailey, Dinah's condition is getting worse and she tells Keegan. Dinah's health decline becomes apparent when she has an accident and is rushed to hospital. The Taylors later rent a room for Dinah and Bailey at 23A Albert Square so that Dinah can have more assistance. Dinah and Karen become closer and Dinah confides in Karen that she can no longer deal with her multiple sclerosis and wants Karen to help her end her life. Karen refuses and reaches out to Darren, a man with multiple sclerosis so that he can speak to Dinah. Darren tells Karen that he used to be depressed but now he enjoys his life and agrees to speak to Dinah the following week. However, Dinah refuses and tells Karen that she doesn't want her condition to ruin her life and that she wants to be there for Bailey.
Unknown to Karen, Dinah plans on ending her own life and buys birthday cards where she writes her final messages to Bailey. Karen discovers this, but Dinah breaks down and reveals that she is scared she will not be able to survive any longer and Karen encourages her to not let her condition negatively impact her life any more. Dinah spends time with Bailey and the following day, Dinah seems better and thanks Karen for her help. Karen decides to take Bailey on a family trip to Walford Park, but Dinah decides to stay at home and says her last goodbye to Bailey. After she finishes writing her last birthday cards to Bailey, Dinah commits suicide and her body is discovered by Mitch.

Habiba Ahmed

Habiba Ahmed, played by Rukku Nahar, makes her first appearance in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019. She is introduced alongside her sister, Iqra Ahmed, as the granddaughters of Arshad Ahmed and Mariam Ahmed.
Habiba arrives in Albert Square alongside her sister Iqra. They convince their uncle Masood that they can run Walford East which he agrees and leaves Walford for Tamwar's wedding. She spots Adam Bateman and begin an affair while he is in a relationship with Honey Mitchell. Adam constantly lets her down and shows that he does not love her. After realising that Adam has no intention of leaving Honey for her, she threatens him and ends their affair. The Ahmeds celebrate Eid where Adam and Iqra threaten each other and reveals that Iqra has a secret lover. Habiba is shocked at this, and confronts Iqra, who reveals that she is a lesbian. After having a heart-to-heart with Honey, Habiba feels sympathy towards her and warns her about Adam. To make Honey see sense, she reveals her affair with Adam while they prepare a meal for Mariam after discovering she was mugged. She later begins a relationship with Jags Panesar. When they go public with their relationship, Jags' mother Suki Panesar is unhappy and frames Jags for an attack he did not commit. Jags goes to prison and Habiba attempts to prove his innocence. Iqra struggles to support her and believes her girlfriend and Jags' sister Ash Panesar instead; Habiba tells her to choose between them. Iqra is speechless and Habiba gets in a taxi and leaves. She later gives birth to their son, Tyrion, on the same day that Jags is killed in prison.
The character and Nahar's casting were announced on 20 December 2018, along with that of Habiba's sister, Iqra. Both characters were called "feisty" and a BBC announcement stated that the "Defiant, smart and confident" sisters would "quickly make an impact on Walford". Habiba is described as "full of heart" and "bubbly", and she has "the best intentions" but it was said that "trouble never seems to be too far behind". Nahar said of her casting, "I'm so excited to have joined EastEnders, it's a show I've grown up watching and stepping onto Albert Square is just unreal! Habiba is great fun to play and I'm so happy to be working alongside Priya. Can't wait for you all to see what we get up to on the Square." Davdra confirmed on social media that the characters would appear from February 2019.
On 22 October 2020, Nahar made her final appearance as Habiba in previously unannounced scenes. Nahar confirmed her exit on Instagram, where she thanked EastEnders for teaching her "so much" during her tenure, and stated that she was "grateful" for the friendships she made on the programme.

Iqra Ahmed

Iqra Ahmed, played by Priya Davdra, makes her first appearance in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019. She is introduced alongside her sister, Habiba Ahmed, as the granddaughters of Arshad Ahmed and Mariam Ahmed. Ash Kaur is introduced as Iqra's girlfriend. Iqra is the first Muslim lesbian to be featured on EastEnders.

Danny Hardcastle

Danny Hardcastle, played by Paul Usher, made his first appearance in episode 5890, originally broadcast on 25 March 2019. Danny is introduced as a business associate of Phil Mitchell, as well as being involved with Keanu Taylor. It was announced on 6 March 2019 that the character would appear for a "short period over the spring". Danny was introduced on 25 March 2019, departed on 25 April 2019 and returned on 16 March 2020 and departed again on 29 September 2020.
Danny is an acquaintance of Phil Mitchell who has a connection to garages used for money laundering in Spain, which leads Phil into liquidation. He arrives in Walford to tell Phil that he needs to come up with an alternative way to launder money, after the business of the garages collapsed. Phil's son Ben Mitchell decides to meet up with Danny and threaten him into going into business with him. As revenge, Danny sends Midge to befriend Phil's daughter Louise Mitchell and kidnap her. Louise gets trapped in a container and is due to be taken into sex trade in Odesa, but the Mitchell's manage to rescue her. Phil confronts Danny and Danny reveals that it was a warning to Ben who threatened him and Danny insults him, causing Ben to almost attack him with a glassed cup. Danny later gives Phil another job offer, but Phil refuses and warns Danny never to contact him again.