List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2014
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. All new characters in 2014 were introduced by executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Nancy Carter arrived in January with her fiancé, Wayne Ladlow, Stan Carter, Babe Smith and new market inspector, Aleks Shirovs. February saw Stacey Branning return with her daughter Lily and also her new boyfriend, Luke Riley, followed by Tosh Mackintosh. On 10 March, Charlie Cotton and on 4 April, [|Lee Carter]. [|Donna Yates], a new market stallholder and Pam Coker, Les Coker's wife, both arrived on 14 April. DC Emma Summerhayes was introduced on 21 April, as the Police Family Liaison Officer for the Beales after Lucy Beale is murdered. Yvonne Cotton made her debut on 12 May. Kat Moon and Alfie Moon's twins, Bert and Ernie Moon, arrived in August; as did [|Beth Williams], the daughter of teenagers Cindy Williams and TJ Spraggan. [|Elaine Peacock] appeared from 14 October as Linda Carter's mother and Kush Kazemi first appeared on 20 October. Buster Briggs made his first appearance on 18 November and Sylvie Carter made her first appearance on 11 December.
Nancy Carter
Nancy Carter, played by Maddy Hill, is the daughter of Mick Carter and Linda Carter. She made her first appearance on 1 January 2014 when about to marry Wayne Ladlow in Watford. Wayne is instantly disliked by Mick who carries the intended bride over his shoulder to their family-owned pub, The Queen Victoria where Nancy will live. Nancy continues to see Wayne in Walford. Nancy departed from the serial on 22 April 2016. She returned five years later in 2021. She then left unannounced on 23 June 2022.Wayne Ladlow
Wayne Ladlow, played by Malachi Kirby, appears in episodes first broadcast in the UK between 1 and 23 January 2014. He is Nancy Carter's fiancé and first appears at his wedding to Nancy. Her parents Mick and Linda Carter arrive, and Mick dislikes the fact that Nancy is marrying Wayne so much that he picks her up and carries her out. Nancy's brother Johnny Carter locks the remaining guests inside the community centre where the wedding is taking place. Wayne soon arrives in Walford where he and Nancy resume their relationship in secret. Wayne stays in the local bed and breakfast, and flirts heavily with some of Walford's other women, including Denise Fox. Mick hires Wayne to fix a damp problem in The Queen Victoria public house, but while he is doing the job Nancy discovers he has been showing private pictures of her to other boys in the pub, leading to her humiliating Wayne by showing everyone similar pictures of him. An angry Wayne then leaves Walford.Inside Soap reported that Nancy's parents Mick and Linda hate Wayne, and called him "feckless". Dyer said that Nancy is probably planning to marry him just to rebel against Linda. Hill opined that Wayne's exit scenes were "too satisfying to film". She said, "Nancy's not too bothered about Wayne at this point. She knows her parents don't like him so Nancy was basically just vying for their attention. In any case, I think that Nancy's always known she was too bright for Wayne".
Aleks Shirovs
Aleks Shirovs, played by Kristian Kiehling, made his first appearance on 24 January 2014. Kiehling auditioned for the role and said he was "so excited" when he learned he had won the role. Of his casting, Kiehling told from Digital Spy, "I'm very glad to be here. First of all I was thrilled and terrified to be joining the show! I was thrilled because it's a great honour for me to be here, but then terrified because Britain is a country of such great talent in terms of directors and actors, so it was overwhelming." Kiehling explained that Aleks is a Latvian who is "very, very meticulous" and is serious about his business. He is introduced as a new market inspector who likes to do things by the book. On 16 April 2015, Treadwell-Collins confirmed that Kiehling had left the show. Commenting on the decision of his departure, Kiehling said: "Well that's a tricky one! Let's put it this way, we negotiated a new contract but we couldn't come to an agreement. I did get the hint that I would always be welcome back, so I can only say that I would be honoured if the situation arises and I get a second invitation. Never say never!"Aleks puts market assistant Tamwar Masood on probation and warns him to prove himself if he wants to keep his job. He tells Tamwar that there are plans to merge the street markets and not to tell anyone. However, Tamwar's sister Shabnam, leaks the news causing the market traders to rally together, led by Ian Beale and Linda Carter. He and Jake Stone rent a flat together. Aleks dates Roxy Mitchell, on orders from her sister, Ronnie. When Ronnie calls their relationship off, Aleks is annoyed. When Ronnie fails to meet Roxy as planned, she calls Aleks and he comes to her rescue. The pair end up having sex, which infuriates Ronnie.
Struggling to pay the rent, Aleks advertises for a third person to live with him and Jake. Fiona "Tosh" Mackintosh later moves in and shocks him when he learns that she is in a relationship with Tina Carter. Later, Roxy discovers that Ronnie paid Aleks and they have an argument but they stay together. Then, Aleks' young daughter, [|Ineta] talks to him over video chat, asking if he is coming home. Alfie Moon becomes suspicious when he finds Aleks talking to somebody over the Internet in Latvian and he angrily throws Alfie out. Alfie enlists Tamwar's help to hack into Aleks' laptop and see what he is hiding, and Tamwar tells Alfie that he has been contacting his wife. Alfie and Tamwar tell Roxy but she does not believe him, choosing instead to ask Tamwar about Alfie's discovery and he shows her the evidence. Later on, Roxy cooks Aleks a romantic meal and asks about his wife. He reveals he has a daughter, Ineta, and that he is married to Ineta's mother but they are separated. Roxy then throws Aleks out and buys him a plane tickets to Latvia but as he is about to leave, Roxy stops him, saying that she still wants to be with him. Aleks later nearly comes to blows with Alfie after he makes remarks about Aleks' marital status and later gives Alfie's pitch to rival market trader Donna Yates, despite Alfie excusing his absence on the day to illness, causing further tension between them. Roxy asks Aleks to show his commitment to her and he arranges a surprise holiday, proving to Roxy that he's committed and avoiding his wife [|Marta] and their daughter who have arrived from Latvia. Aleks has sex with Marta in his office. Ronnie's partner, Charlie Cotton, sees him and demands he tells Roxy, but Marta does before he can. She is devastated and throws him out; however, she realises her feelings for him are too strong and invites him to move back in. Marta goes home but leaves Ineta with Aleks, believing she will be better off in England. Aleks supports Charlie after the traumatic birth of his son Matthew following a car crash and, inspired by Dot, suggests the name Matthew. Charlie's wife, Ronnie, goes into a coma after Matthew's birth. Aleks learns that Roxy and Charlie have slept together so he goes to the hospital to tell Ronnie but cannot bring himself to do so.
Tamwar begins to suspects Aleks after he takes an "advance" from the market office cash box, Tamwar later studies Aleks' records and works out that Aleks has been taking an extra maintenance fee but there is no record of it on the council receipts and he has been ripping off the traders. Tamwar confronts Aleks about it so he fires Tamwar and throws the evidence in the bin. Later, Tamwar visits Aleks and tells him that he is fired as Tamwar told the authorities about Aleks fiddling the books and the police have been called. Ineta rushes downstairs to answer the door to Marta as she had overheard their conversation about moving away and so called her mum. Roxy is torn between Aleks begging her to go with him and Marta suggesting that she would be breaking up a family and only to leave with Aleks if she loves him. Roxy decides that she cannot lie to herself any more and agrees that Marta is right. Aleks makes it clear that they will never see each other again so Roxy returns her engagement ring and kisses him goodbye and Aleks leaves before the police can catch him with Marta and Ineta leaving Walford.
Kristian Kiehling was nominated for Best Bad Boy at the Inside Soap Awards in 2014 for his portrayal as Aleks.