Kat Slater

Stacey Slater

Peggy Mitchell

Sharon

Pat

Dot

Bianca and tiffany were def the golden age and I lived the Slater era of little mo and trevor aswell.

8. Dot Cotton

 

King Rollo 26, Slick 25, AaronTM 21, Feel The Fever 26, Lukuzz 7, Pippa 11, Scene 11, Cameron 21, JosephStyles 15, HausofGhibli 22 = 185 points

 

 

Although Dot Cotton (also Branning) had been referred to since the very early episodes of the programme as the mother of villain Nick Cotton, she did not actually appear on-screen until episode 40 in July 1985. Dot was conceptualised by show creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, along with the other original characters. Introduced as the "bible thumping, arch-gossip" of the launderette, Dot was a character who bridged the generations. The actress June Brown was given the role after being recommended by Leslie Grantham, who played original character, Den Watts.

 

Brown was offered the part of Dot Cotton for a period of three months initially and in her own words, she was brought in "merely to be Nick Cotton's mother because Nick was coming back again". Brown has told Decca Aitkenhead of The Guardian in 2009 that she was wary of joining a soap opera as she had only seen EastEnders once on television, "and there was an argument going on, and I thought, 'Oh, I don't want to watch all that,' so I switched it off. I didn't watch it again until I was asked to be in it." The role was extended and the character has become one of the longest-running to have featured in EastEnders.

 

The character worked as a launderette assistant, along with Pauline Fowler. Dot moved away with her son and his family in 1993. In reality, Brown left the show, unhappy with the axing of her co-star Peter Dean, who played Pete Beale from the show's first episode to early 1993. Brown returned to the role in April 1997, and on 28 April 2017, Dot overtook Pat Butcher as the second-longest-serving character in EastEnders, surpassed only by original character Ian Beale. In February 2015, Dot began appearing less frequently due to Brown gradually losing her eyesight; this aspect of her life was later written into her character the following year. Brown left the role in 2020.

 

A tragicomic character, Dot was known for her devout Christian faith, gossiping, chain smoking, hypochondria, and motherly attitude to those in need. A recurring storyline in the serial has been Dot's continuous forgiveness of her son's villainous crimes. Initially married at the start of the series to conman Charlie Cotton, Dot married again in 2002 to pensioner Jim Branning and the union proved to be popular with fans. Brown and Bardon won awards for their screen partnership. On 31 January 2008, Dot became the first character ever to appear in a monologue episode of a British soap. The acclaimed episode saw Dot reminiscing about her years of loss and grief into a tape recorder as a message to her ailing husband Jim. Dot has been used to explore topical and controversial issues such as euthanasia, cancer, immigration and homophobia.

 

Dot has been generally well received by critics: she has been referred to as a cultural archetype and Brown has won multiple awards for her portrayal. However, aspects of the character such as her smoking and her religious beliefs have been criticised, with religious groups suggesting Dot's faith is used in a pejorative manner. The character has also made an impact on popular culture; she has been spoofed, most notably by Alistair McGowan, and has been credited as inspiration for catwalk collections.

 

 

7. Peggy Mitchell

 

King Rollo 21, Slick 26, AaronTM 27, Feel The Fever 14, Lukuzz 25, Pippa 18, Scene 9, JosephStyles 25, HausofGhibli 25 = 190 points

 

 

Peggy Mitchell (also Butcher) was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in 10 episodes. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast to Barbara Windsor, who made her first appearance on 7 November. Peggy became a regular character, and Windsor played the role until she was forced to take a long break due to poor health and departed on 23 May 2003. She returned for two episodes broadcast on 16 and 17 September 2004, before rejoining as a regular character on 8 September 2005. She departed again on 10 September 2010. Windsor returned to the show for guest appearances on 20 September 2013, 25 September 2014, 17 February 2015 (as part of the show's 30th anniversary celebrations and 15 January 2016. She then appeared in six episodes between 9 and 17 May 2016 and the character was killed-off.

 

Peggy is fiercely protective of her family and the Mitchell name, and has become famous for her catchphrase "Get outta my pub!", used when ejecting people from The Queen Victoria, of which she is the landlady. Her storylines have seen her embark on a series of failed romances, including marriages to Frank Butcher and then brother-in-law Archie Mitchell. She has been central to several plot strands revolving around health issues, launching a hate campaign against the HIV positive character Mark Fowler, and going on to make amends with him when she is later diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she recovers from her cancer, it later returns and leads to her suicide.

 

Windsor has described Peggy as "from the old school, the generation which doesn't put up with rubbish from anybody...She can get through practically anything because she's tough, tough, tough." The character has been classified by Rupert Smith, author of EastEnders: 20 Years in Albert Square, as a matriarch, assuming "papal infallibility. Whatever anybody does — particularly her own children — she knows better." She has also been branded a "battleaxe" by Dave West of entertainment website Digital Spy, and someone who "wears her heart on her sleeve" by Windsor. Family-orientated, Windsor adds that: "Peggy loves her family with a passion. Her worst qualities are that she's blinkered, sometimes wrongly passionate about her family."

Dot and Peggy are amazing, iconic characters. Well-deserved to be in the Top 10 - either of them could have won if this rate was 10 years ago.

2 icons out there but they got a decent result.

Zainab - brilliant

Kim - so hilarious

Kathy - don't remember too well

Tiffany - one of my all time faves killed off too soon

Bianca - very good but a little whiny

Denise - brilliant although a little miserable

Ronnie - another fave always hard done by

Shirley - iconic

Dot - a legend

Peggy - an absolute queen

Zainab is she really going to be this high?

6. Jean Slater

 

King Rollo 17, Slick 15, AaronTM 20, Feel The Fever 8, Lukuzz 14, Pippa 13, Scene 14, Cameron 30, Hide&Seek 28, JosephStyles 13, HausofGhibli 18 = 190 points

 

 

Jean Slater (also Walters), played by Gillian Wright, made her first appearance on 16 December 2004 for one episode and was reintroduced the following year. Her bipolar disorder strains her relationship with her children, Stacey and Sean Slater. Wright researched the disorder to prepare for the role.

 

Jean was originally a minor character, appearing for a storyline where her daughter Stacey struggles to look after her in December 2005. The character eventually became a regular, but Wright said she did not believe this was originally intended: "She's a character that's grown after being created for a week of episodes back in 2005 for that big storyline where Stacey found Jean in the flat that was all boarded up. There was the odd little bit here and there over the following months and it just gradually built up to becoming a regular. It was quite hard to turn her from someone who was quite an intensive character to someone who could be watched on a regular basis."

 

Jean began an unlikely relationship with Michael Moon in April 2012. Michael begins conning Jean in a storyline tackling investment fraud. Ollie Walters was introduced as a love interest for Jean in 2013. She departed on 17 September 2013, moving to Brighton with Ollie. Since her departure, Wright has reprised the role for 15 episodes between 2014 and 2017, including for a storyline which sees Jean and Ollie marry. Jean returned on 20 March 2018 as a regular character. The following year, producers placed the character in an issue-led story as she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

 

The episodes showing Stacey struggling to look after Jean were described as "harrowing and bleak" and were praised by critics in the media. Wright and Turner were complimented for giving "graphically powerful performances", and the storyline won a Mental Health Media Award in September 2006. The actress expressed her delight at being awarded with the accolade, stating she is "chuffed". Wright also won 'Best Actress' at the 2012 Inside Soap Awards. In June 2019, Wright received the "Best Female Dramatic Performance" accolade at The British Soap Awards for her portrayal of Jean throughout her ovarian cancer storyline.

5. Pat Butcher

 

King Rollo 25, Slick 24, AaronTM 22, Feel The Fever 17, Lukuzz 26, Pippa 27, Scene 8, Hide&Seek 19, JosephStyles 27, HausofGhibli 21 = 216 points

 

 

Pat Evans (also Beale, Harris, Wicks and Butcher) was played by Pam St Clement from 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired, until her departure on 1 January 2012. She was mother to Simon and David and married four times, to Pete Beale (father of David), Brian Wicks (father of Simon), Frank Butcher and Roy Evans. The character was killed-off shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pat was one of the longest serving characters on the show, being on it for twenty-five years and six months. She returned along with other women from Ian Beale's past in a concussion-related dream sequence for a Children in Need special on 14 November 2014. She also made a return as a hallucination for Peggy Mitchell's death on 17 May 2016.

 

St. Clement stated that she didn't want her character to die, but said her final scenes were "fantastic". She commented: "Simon Ashdown had this idea for the character, which fitted in with her history in a sense," she explained. "They said, 'This is how we'd like it to happen - we think it's a fitting end and tribute to the character'. And as far as I can say, I read the script and I thought, 'Oh, this is fantastic - it's every actor's dream'. And I have to say, it also challenged me in a way that I hadn't been challenged. It was moving, it was challenging and it was a script that I needed to get my teeth into. The script, the performances, the direction - it all turned out to be a fantastic ensemble piece, if you like… Everybody was pulling in, everybody was doing the most wonderful performances and it was fantastic."

 

 

Jean and Pat achieved great results.

Killing of Pat was a big mistake as Pam would still be with the show.

So pleased that Jean is so high! Pat absolutely had to be Top 5.

Jean is high but what a great actress

Zainab is she really going to be this high?

Zainab's been and gone.

Some Iconic characters in this top 10 . I’m assuming the last 4 are Kat , Stacey, Jainie and Sharon. I can’t call who will win it .

ya i think thats the final 4 aswell i wouldnt be disappointed with any of the 4 winning.

4. Janine Butcher

 

King Rollo 13, Slick 30, AaronTM 29, Feel The Fever 16, Lukuzz 30, Pippa 26, Scene 24, Hide&Seek 4, JosephStyles 21, HausofGhibli 27 = 220 points

 

 

Janine Butcher (also Evans and Malloy) was played by Rebecca Michael from 1989 to 1993, Alexia Demetriou from 1993 to 1996, and Charlie Brooks from 1999 to 2014. Brooks departed on 7 May 2004. After a three episode guest stint in April 2008 which saw the character reappear for her father Frank's funeral, Brooks agreed to reprise her role full-time, returning permanently on 18 December 2008. She later departed again, with the character making her final appearance on 20 March 2014.

 

The character has been described as a "super-bitch" and a "classic villainess". Her storylines include prostitution, drug addiction, financial worries, becoming rich, and experiencing agoraphobia. During her major stints on the show, Janine has developed an ambivalent relationship with both her older brother Ricky and their troubled father Frank; triggered a longstanding conflict with her stepmother Pat Wicks; conducted a scheme with her friend Paul Trueman to fleece Pat's stepson Barry Evans, whom she later married on New Years Eve 2003 and then killed on New Years Day 2004; been wrongfully charged for the death of her sworn enemy Laura Beale; forged a wedding with a wealthy Jewish businessman, David, that ended with the latter abruptly dying of a fatal heart attack; sparked a prolonged feud with Frank's second wife Peggy Mitchell; accidentally ran over local resident Danielle Jones in a hit and run incident; conspired with Peggy's brother-in-law Archie to defraud the Mitchell family from their ownership of The Queen Victoria public house; becoming a prime suspect in Archie's murder investigation; established a marriage with her colleague Ryan Malloy that culminated with her trying to kill him; framed her arch-rival Stacey Slater for attempted murder; embarked on a fourth marriage with fellow entrepreneur Michael Moon that led to the her conceiving their child, Scarlett; and falsely implicated Scarlett's nanny Alice Branning behind Michael's murder after Janine killed him at the climax of their intensifying custody battle for Scarlett herself.

 

The follow-up to Janine killing Michael and eluding conviction for the crime, just as she did for both Barry's murder and Danielle's death respectively, saw the character being shunned in her local community – thus facilitating her third and final departure from the programme.

 

Janine has been well received by critics although some of her storylines have come under criticism. She has been described as "the crazy, evil vixen of Albert Square" and journalist Richard Arnold said of the character, "No matter how bad she gets, we welcome her back to Walford with open arms. Because you wouldn't turn your back on her." Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood deemed Janine "the best bitch on TV", while show writer Tony Jordan called her the "devil" and "evil", but added, "She’s cheated, she's lied her way through Albert Square and we still kind of like her."

Jean is hilarious

Pat is an absolute legend and had so many moments

Janine is my ultimate, I was obsessed with Eastenders at the time when she was on all the time. She should be top 3

I thought Janine was a sure fire top 3, so it looks like 2 slaters in the top 3.

3. Sharon Watts

 

King Rollo 27, Slick 29, AaronTM 28, Feel The Fever 25, Lukuzz 27, Pippa 22, Scene 7, JosephStyles 30, HausofGhibli 30 = 225 points

 

 

Sharon Watts (also Rickman and Mitchell), played by Letitia Dean, is one of EastEnders' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith. She appeared in the first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985 as the teenage adoptive daughter of pub landlords Den and Angie Watts. The character became prominent in the 1990s due to her becoming the landlady of The Queen Victoria public house, and her romantic pairings with brothers Grant and Phil Mitchell. In a storyline dubbed Sharongate, Sharon married to Grant, has an affair with Phil, climaxing in 1994 with Grant's discovery of the affair, which remains one of EastEnders' highest viewed episodes - the storyline was reinvented in 2018 when Sharon began an affair with Phil's young employee, Keanu Taylor. She was named the best EastEnders character of all time by The Mirror in 2020.

 

Dean originally quit the role in 1995 after ten years, with Sharon departing following the breakdown of her marriage. In May 2001, Sharon was reintroduced by producer John Yorke. She departed again in January 2006. However, she was later reintroduced by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood and made her on-screen return on 13 August 2012 in a special week of episodes.

 

In her second stint, Sharon featured in storylines that included a feud with Phil and Grant's mother Peggy; the return of Sharon's father Den, thought long dead, bonding with his second wife Chrissie until it has emerged that she killed Den in retribution for his affair with her friend Zoe Slater; and a forbidden relationship-turned-marriage with her adoptive half-brother Dennis Rickman, which culminated with his death after the couple ended up feuding with gangster Johnny Allen.

 

Sharon’s most recent stint on the show has featured an aborted engagement to Jack Branning; battling a painkiller addiction; a reunion and tempestuous marriage to Phil; being attacked in her own bar, meeting her biological father Gavin Sullivan and her affair with Keanu, sparking the events of the character having a late in life pregnancy; being blackmailed by her business partner Mel Owen, her split with Phil, giving birth to Keanu's son Kayden on the same night her other son, Dennis, dies in a boat accident and attempting to kill herself before later becoming the Landlady of The Queen Vic once again.

 

Television critic Matt Bayliss, discussed the psychology of Sharon in 2010: "She had a terrible childhood. An alcoholic mother and a father she adored but who treated her mother appallingly. She had a very long subsequent career on the show, falling for the wrong bloke and not realising her own worth. You could see that the way she turned was directly related to her beginnings, to that difficult family situation."

 

Sharon has topped numerous viewer polls suggesting she is one of EastEnders' most favoured characters. Critics have praised the character's complex progression from teenager to adult, referencing the investment that viewers hold in Sharon, having watched her grow up on-screen. While Sharon's returns to EastEnders have been welcomed by some critics, others received her comebacks as an indication that the show's writers and producers had run out of original ideas. Letitia Dean has defended the decision to reintroduce Sharon, suggesting that long-running dramas such as EastEnders need "old blood". On 10 April 2019, Dean filmed her 2000th episode as Sharon.

Edited July 27, 20204 yr by King Rollo