List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2013
The following are characters who first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders during 2013, listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Lorraine Newman, executive producer until December 2013, when Dominic Treadwell-Collins took over.
The first character to be announced was Dexter Hartman, the teenage son of Ava Hartman. He was introduced in January. Steve Lowe, Bianca Jackson's probation officer and a love interest for Carol Jackson, arrived as a recurring character in February, and in March, [|Kane and his gang] appeared for a storyline involving Liam Butcher. Dexter's father [|Sam James] arrived in May. Kirsty Branning's ex-boyfriend Carl White joined the show in June. Two short-term characters, Betty Spragg, and Ollie Walters, arrived in July. [|Sadie Young] arrived on the show in August, as the new owner of the beauty salon. Former Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas made his first appearance in August as well, playing [|Jake Stone]. Upon the announcement that established character David Wicks was returning to the show, Lisa Maxwell was cast as his girlfriend, [|Naomi], who appeared in September for one episode. Terry Alderton, playing Terry Spraggan, made his debut in November, along with his children [|TJ] and [|Rosie]. Former Holby City actress Luisa Bradshaw-White was cast as Shirley Carter's younger sister Tina, who first appeared in November, followed in December by Shirley's brother, who later transpired to be her son, Mick Carter, Mick's partner, Linda, and their youngest son, [|Johnny].
Dexter Hartman
Dexter Hartman, played by Khali Best, is the son of Ava Hartman and grandson of Cora Cross. He made his first appearance on 7 January 2013. The casting and character was announced on 8 November 2012. Best was offered the role after he was paired up with Perkins at a workshop held by the producers of EastEnders. Executive producer, Lorraine Newman described Dexter as a "force of nature". Dexter comes to Walford and gets a job as a mechanic at The Arches, and befriends Jay Brown and Lola Pearce. His significant storylines include his struggle to accept his estranged father, Sam James and his losing Phil Mitchell's £10,000. More recently, Dexter has been taking an interest in Nancy Carter.Steve Lowe
Steve Lowe, played by Michael Simkins, first appears in episode 4585, first broadcast on 11 February. He is introduced as Bianca Jackson's probation officer. He makes his last appearance in episode 4622, first broadcast on 15 April.Steve first appears when he visits Bianca at her home. He later meets Bianca in the café and takes a liking to her mother Carol Jackson. He arranges to meet Carol, and stops being Bianca's probation officer. He tells Carol that when he heard that her son Billie Jackson had died, he felt they had a connection, as his daughter Emily died in 1998, two days before her 10th birthday. They meet again the next day. A few weeks later, Bianca sees Steve on heading for her house, and thinks it has something to do with her son Liam Butcher, but is shocked to find them on a date. Bianca is angry and wants Carol to end the relationship, because Steve could see something and report to Bianca's new probation officer. Carol tells Bianca that she has ended her relationship with Steve but he approaches Bianca in the market and she realises that Carol lied. Carol tells her friend Masood Ahmed, who tells Steve about Carol's difficult position. Steve assumes Carol has sent Masood to tell him their relationship is over and is angry with her.
Kate White from Inside Soap wrote on Steve's storyline: "Carol certainly can't be blamed for taking a liking to Steve. Not only is he a nice, eligible fella who's clearly interested in her, but they share a deep bond through having both experienced the agony of losing a child."
Kane, Little Chris, Renzo, Ali and Tayo
Kane, Little Chris, Renzo, Ali and Tayo are members of a gang, of which Kane is the leader. The gang make their first appearance in the soap on 8 March 2013, and the storyline is the focus of a six-minute episode broadcast during Red Nose Day 2013 on 15 March. The gang's last appearance as a whole is on 29 March, but Kane appears again on 25 and 26 April.In the episode broadcast on 29 March 2013, a character refers to Kane as "Delton Kane".
The gang first appear running from the tube station, having evaded their fare. They are chased by a ticket inspector, and Liam Butcher, who already knows them, helps them to hide. They later meet Liam and invite him to join, giving him cash and saying he will make more money than at his job. They later create a mess in the market, and market inspector Tamwar Masood stands up to them, so they leave. They later mug him, taking his money belt, and Kane goes to Liam's house, giving him some money and thanking him for letting them know about Tamwar's money belt. Liam's mother Bianca Jackson finds the money belt in Liam's bedroom and is then told that Liam has been associating with a gang. Kat Moon tells Bianca that the police think the mugging was done by a known gang from an estate where a shooting took place recently. Bianca goes there when Liam does not come home, and sees him messing around with the gang. She confronts them, saying they bullied Liam into joining the gang and she knows about the mugging. She tells Liam to come home, saying he could end up dead. Renzo states that Liam is having dinner with him and his mother that night, but Bianca refuses to believe it. Kane threatens Bianca, eventually pushing her to the ground, which displeases Renzo, who checks if Bianca is okay. Some of the other gang members then take Liam away, while Renzo calmly warns Bianca about the area before disappearing. Liam comes home the next day and the gang arrive later on. Bianca finds them, and tries to make them stay away, while Liam has to be physically restrained by Ray Dixon and locked in his bedroom to stop him seeing the gang. After he is let out, he returns to the gang, and they tell him to prove his loyalty to them, by walking a dangerous wall, smashing a car window, stealing alcohol and stealing money from his colleague Shirley Carter. The gang then congratulate Liam for passing, by holding a party in his honour. Liam tries to leave the party after being warned off by a girl he knows, but the gang stop him leaving so he hides in the bathroom. As Kane confronts Liam, the police arrive and the entire gang, including Liam, are arrested. They are all released without charge, but the gang blame Liam. When Bianca arrives and sees them all together, Little Chris stabs Liam and they run away. Ava and Dexter then discover the gang have trashed their flat. The gang members are arrested again but as they deny any involvement in the stabbing, they are released on bail.
Liam receives death threats from the gang via text message. Liam's younger sister Tiffany Butcher receives an MP3 player from Ali, so Liam tells Bianca and shows her the text message. Tiffany identifies Ali to the police, who then start to patrol the streets outside the school and the Butchers' home. The next day, a brick is thrown through the kitchen window. Liam decides to stay at home while everyone else is out, locking all the doors and unplugging the phone, but then finds Kane sitting at the kitchen table. Kane tells Liam that he can rejoin the gang if he will go to the police and withdraw his statement. Liam agrees until Kane threatens Tiffany, and Liam runs to escape. He unlocks the door but Kane grabs him. Bianca then arrives and attacks Kane, and Kane is arrested.
Development
It was reported on 4 February 2013 that EastEnders was working with the charity Comic Relief on a storyline "to highlight the growing problem of teen involvement in gangs" and that Liam Butcher would become involved with the gang, leaving his mother Bianca frantic with worry. It is the second time the soap has worked with the charity, following 2011's storyline of Whitney Dean's sexual exploitation. EastEnders executive producer said, "We are delighted to be working with Comic Relief once again. This subject matter is something which is touching the lives of so many young people in London and other cities around the UK. We have taken the opportunity to see the impact from a mother's perspective, and Patsy Palmer gives a powerful performance of a mother doing all she can to protect her son. The telling of this story has also given us the chance to explore the reasons behind the attraction of gangs for teenagers." Additionally, Judith McNeill of Comic Relief said the storyline should be equally important as Whitney's in helping people to understand why young people are vulnerable to becoming involved in gangs.Norman Pike
Norman Pike, played by Timothy Bentinck, is a solicitor who appears in two episodes on 23 and 29 April 2013, and again on 11 June. Michael Moon asks Norman for advice when his estranged wife Janine Butcher returns and says she wants full custody of their daughter Scarlett Moon and wants to divorce her. Norman advises mediation as a court case could be expensive and emotionally draining. He then attends a meeting between Michael and Janine, with [|Simone Turnbell] as Janine's solicitor. When Janine denies Michael access to Scarlett and takes her away from Walford, Michael goes to the police, who advise him to speak to his solicitor. Michael angrily telephones Norman, and when they meet, Norman tells Michael he can apply for a court order, but Scarlett has not been abducted because they have not left the country.Bentinck posted on Twitter that he was filming his first scenes on 28 February 2013. After his scenes aired, a Manchester solicitor received an increase in calls requesting information about mediation, and welcomed the storyline, saying, "I watched the episode of EastEnders when it aired on Tuesday and was really pleased to see that such a high profile show was featuring . 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. We have seen numerous calls on Wednesday asking about mediation, which can only be a positive thing, especially in the light of the recent cuts to legal aid."