Trevor was one of eastenders best bad guys, the storyline was gripping at the time and im happy to see others voted for him aswell. I thought dirty den might do better than he did in this and big mo done alot better than i expected. Ben may have done better in this if he wasnt completely overused in the last year.

35. Mel Owen

 

Slick 12, AaronTM 10, Feel The Fever 3, Pippa 21 = 46 points

 

 

Melanie "Mel" Owen (also Healy and Beale), played by Tamzin Outhwaite, was introduced by executive producer Matthew Robinson and made her first appearance on 19 October 1998. She made her departure on 12 April 2002. Outhwaite's return to the series was announced in October 2017 and she returned on 9 January 2018. The actress chose to leave the soap again in July 2019 and her final episode aired on 14 November 2019 when her character was killed off.

 

During her original tenure in the soap, Mel was featured in high-profile storylines, such as a wedding to local businessman Ian Beale to mark the Millennium Eve celebrations on New Year's Eve 1999; a problematic and dangerous marriage to criminal Steve Owen; a one-night stand with Steve's nemesis Phil Mitchell; and a close friendship with Phil's estranged girlfriend Lisa Fowler. Writers also placed Mel at the centre of a storyline marking the show's increase to four weekly episodes in 2001, when she is kidnapped by her ex-lover Dan Sullivan after Steve and Phil conspired to frame him for the latter's shooting.

 

In her second stint on the show, Mel was included in storylines such as working for crime boss Ciara Maguire; colluding with Phil against Ciara's ex-husband Aidan; a relationship with Jack Branning; an engagement and marriage with former policeman Ray Kelly; covering up Ray's murder after he was shot dead by her son Hunter for attempting to kill her; and trying to stop Hunter from going to prison and later harboring him when he escapes, which culminates with Hunter being shot dead by the police after he held her hostage and nearly shot Phil and Lisa's daughter Louise after shooting her brother Ben. Following Hunter's death, Mel developed a feud with Phil's wife Sharon Mitchell and blackmailed her after learning of her affair with Louise's boyfriend Keanu Taylor. This concludes with Mel being involved in a high-speed car chase with Sharon upon attempting to expose her affair with Keanu to Phil, only to end up in a vehicle collision that results in Sharon rescuing Mel, before Mel is then killed after walking into an incoming lorry.

Mel is an absolute legend of a character, especially given the relatively short time she was in the show. I am so sad that they killed her off.

I did really like mel, with my top 30 I could easily have given them all more points

34. Angie Watts

 

Feel The Fever 28, Pippa 29 = 57 points

 

 

Angie Watts was played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out.

 

Angie is well known for her cheeky banter, her perm and turning to alcohol during her stormy marriage to cheating Den Watts, which ended when he handed her divorce papers on Christmas Day 1986, in an episode watched by a record-breaking 30.1 million viewers.

 

Despite being the loud and feisty lady of Walford, and having a close relationship with her beloved adoptive daughter Sharon, she doesn't have much real happiness during her time in Albert Square. Alcoholism claimed her life in April 2002 when she died of cirrhosis of the liver, 14 years after her last appearance.

 

In February 2011 Dobson said that she had no regrets being in EastEnders, as it propelled her to fame, and said she believed that people were drawn to Angie because she is a survivor and funny—qualities that drew Dobson herself to Angie. She said "Angie could be on the floor, drunk, weeping buckets, mascara everywhere, then drag herself up the next morning in that old blue dressing gown, tidy herself up and be in the bar that night telling jokes and looking a million dollars."

 

33. Jane Beale

 

Slick 17, AaronTM 13, Hide&Seek 17, JosephStyles 6, HausofGhibli 4 = 57 points

 

 

Lesley Jane Beale (also Collins and Clarke), played by Laurie Brett, made her first appearance on 21 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. She returned on 8 November and departed again on 27 January 2012. Jane made a temporary return to the show on 6 January 2014 until 20 May and permanently from 24 November 2014. Her major storylines have included her relationship and later marriages to Ian Beale (the first ending due to his affair with Glenda Mitchell), an affair with Grant Mitchell, accidentally being shot by Ian's stepson Steven Beale which results in her desire to have a child of her own following a hysterectomy, a relationship with Masood Ahmed, her friendship with Tanya Branning, covering up her adopted son Bobby's role in the murder of her stepdaughter Lucy Beale, being paralysed after being brutally attacked with a hockey stick by Bobby, being caught up in the fire at Beale's restaurant, which was started by Steven before she was then left in the blaze by Max Branning and being forced by Max to leave Walford which led to a second departure on 23 October 2017. She made two voiceover appearances on 8 and 25 December 2017.

Angie my first big score losing out on a top 30 place, watching the recent classic episode that aired reminded me how great she was, although i was always a fan when she was originally in the show.

32. Carol Jackson

 

Slick 10, AaronTM 5, Feel The Fever 10, Pippa 10, Hide&Seek 23 = 58 points

 

 

Carol Jackson, played by Lindsey Coulson, first came to Albert Square in 1993, working alongside Pauline Fowler as the replacement of her best-friend Dot Cotton in the launderette. She soon moves to the Square with her family, which consists of her partner Alan Jackson and his grandmother Blossom Jackson - along with her four children, Bianca, Robbie, Sonia and Billie, all of whom have different fathers but have taken Alan's surname despite Carol and Alan not being married.

 

Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 within a storyline that contributed to both the introduction of her boyfriend Dan Sullivan and the departure of her daughter Bianca; in the storyline, Carol discovers that Bianca had previously had a relationship with Dan and they resumed their affair - which prompted her to end her relationship with Dan, disown Bianca, and leave the square on her own.

 

She returned again on 15 February 2010 along with other members of the Jackson family - Sonia, Robbie and Billie. Coulson chose to leave the show for a third time in 2015, with her exit airing on 2 October.

 

Carol is depicted as a tough, working-class grafter, fiercely defensive of her four children. Her storylines include relationships with several men including David Wicks, Alan Jackson, Connor Stanley, Eddie Moon and Masood Ahmed, the death of her son Billie, and her breast cancer diagnosis in January 2014.

 

 

Love Jane and Carol. Both strong matriarchs and characters who have been through a lot but are still fierce.

Dennis Rickman I absolutely loved. He was gone too soon.

Thought Mo might be a little bit higher

Surprised Jane isn't too 30 too even though I forgot to vote for her

Edited July 16, 20205 yr by Lukuzz

Angie Watts should be much higher.

I welcome the Carol Jackson love.

Jane is another one i like but her exit story was dreadful and made no sense once max was in some way redeemed.

Jane's exit storyline never made a lot of sense. I wish they'd bring her back.

Carol (Lindsay) what an amazing actress.

Jane's exit storyline never made a lot of sense. I wish they'd bring her back.

I was hoping she would have cameback by now just to tie up the storyline as it was just terrible.

31. Ethel Skinner

 

King Rollo 5, Feel The Fever 30, Pippa 25 = 60 points

 

 

Ethel Skinner, played by Gretchen Franklin, was one of the original cast and immediately became a popular and well-loved character. Ethel was a gossip who did not always get her facts right, and this was often used for comic effect, as was her use of malapropisms. She became famous for owning a pug named Willy. Ethel's famous lines being either, "Where's my Willy?" or, in a double entendre, "Has anyone seen my Willy". It was originally intended for Ethel's dog to be a Yorkshire Terrier, but as no suitable Yorkie could be found, a pug was used instead. Ethel's friendship with Dot Cotton was another enduring relationship that lasted throughout the characters' time in the show.

 

The character of Ethel initially remained on the show for 12 years, although her appearances towards the end became more widely spaced and she only returned to the show intermittently. Off-screen Gretchen Franklin retired, however 3 years after her last brief appearance Ethel was reintroduced to the show for one final and highly controversial storyline which involved her old friend Dot helping her to commit suicide. When she became ill in September 2000, she asked Dot to help her when the time finally came for her to pass away. Dot had to make a decision that went against her moral and religious beliefs. In the end Dot decided that friendship was more important and so she helped Ethel die peacefully. Written by Simon Ashdown and directed by Francesca Joseph the episode ended with a touching scene in which Ethel tells a weeping Dot "you're the best friend I ever had". The finishing touch was the use of an alternative end title music, replacing the dramatic drum beats with a war time orchestral piece. The ramifications of this storyline were immense for the character of Dot, and the consequences of her actions were examined in detail - which included a crisis of faith.

 

Ethel's euthanasia is considered to be one of the most moving storylines ever featured in EastEnders and it was voted the most emotional soap death in a Radio Times poll of over 4,000 readers." 16.2 million viewers tuned in to see Ethel's final appearance in the show and 15 million viewers watched her funeral.

 

 

30. Lisa Fowler

 

Slick 16, AaronTM 8, Feel The Fever 4, Pippa 16, Scene 15, Cameron 3 = 62 points

 

 

Lisa Fowler, played by Lucy Benjamin, made her first appearance on 7 December 1998. The character was introduced as a "home-wrecking blonde" by executive producer Matthew Robinson. She made her initial departure on 3 October 2002, when she was written out by producer Louise Berridge. Berridge later reintroduced the character on two occasions in 2003. Lisa made two more brief appearances in 2010 and 2017. On 27 May 2019, it was announced that Benjamin would once again be reprising the role for a "specific storyline" and Lisa returned on 2 September. She departed once again on 24 January 2020.

 

Lisa is characterised as "a loyal, romantic Earth Mother" who is "feisty, independent and ambitious". However, after a volatile relationship with Phil Mitchell, Lisa became an "eternal victim". The characters became instrumental in one of EastEnders most highly publicised and anticipated storylines, dubbed Who Shot Phil? in 2001, where an unknown assailant guns down Phil. An estimated 22 million viewers watched Lisa confess to Phil's attempted murder, causing the third-largest power surge on record. Other storylines included; Lisa's pregnancy with Phil's child although she opted not to tell him and claimed that her partner, Mark Fowler, is the father, giving birth to Louise Mitchell and in the show's Christmas 2001 episodes, Louise's parentage is revealed. During her most recent stint, storylines have centred around her daughter Louise's pregnancy, falling out with and coping with best friend Mel Owen's death, a feud with Sharon Mitchell and making amends with Phil.

 

 

29. Abi Branning

 

Pippa 8, Cameron 29, Hide&Seek 26 = 63 points

 

 

Abi Branning, played by Lorna Fitzgerald was introduced by executive producer Kate Harwood on 3 July 2006 as an extension to the Branning family, along with father Max, mother Tanya and older sister Lauren. Her storylines involve her friendships and relationships with Ben Mitchell and Jay Brown, her toxic friendship with Babe Smith, faking a pregnancy so that Ben would not leave her for Paul Coker, being a suspect in the murder of Lucy Beale, her affair with Lauren's fiancé, Steven Beale, and becoming pregnant by him. In September 2017, it was announced that Fitzgerald and Jossa had been axed by executive consultant John Yorke. Abi's exit storyline involves her and Lauren falling from the roof of The Queen Victoria pub, leading to Abi giving birth prematurely and being confirmed brainstem dead in later episodes. Abi's final scenes aired on 19 January 2018 after her life support is withdrawn.

Lisa Fowler is one of the most iconic characters from the last 20 years. Lucy Benjamin is a fantastic actor.