User:AnemoneProjectors/Claudette Hubbard

Claudette Hubbard is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ellen Thomas. Her first appearance is in episode 5031/5032, broadcast in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2015, and her last in episode 5378, shown on 1 November 2016.

Storylines
Claudette is shown to be having what looks like an affair with Les Coker (Roger Sloman) when he visits her at a café and gives her a necklace. Later that night, while he and his wife, Pam Coker (Lin Blakley), are celebrating their wedding anniversary, Les gets a text from Claudette, thanking him for her necklace. Claudette and Les meet again a week later at the park, with Claudette later arriving for her foster daughter Donna Yates's (Lisa Hammond) birthday celebrations as arranged by Pam. It is revealed that she knows Les and Pam from when the latter worked as a social worker and placed Donna in Claudette's care. Weeks later, It is revealed that both Claudette and Les are in Gran Canaria on business. Donna ironically suggests that the two should meet up. Claudette reappears when her son Vincent (Richard Blackwood) introduces her to her new granddaughter Pearl Fox-Hubbard, and his wife Kim Fox-Hubbard (Tameka Empson). Claudette is angry that she had to wait so long to meet Pearl. She is hostile towards Kim, her sister Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and their family friend Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker), as she believes that they have stolen Vincent from her. When Les's grandson, Paul Coker (Jonny Labey), arrives in Walford, he reveals that he knows Les and Claudette are having an affair. Les decides to stop meeting Claudette but she is not willing to conclude it and states that she will make it difficult for him to exit.

When Paul tells Vincent that Claudette and Les are having an affair, Vincent confronts her about it after finding identical postcards from Gran Canaria in both her and Les's houses, but agrees not to say anything to Pam. Les attempts to dissuade Claudette from coming to the Coker and Sons centenary party but she goes anyway and tells Les that Vincent is aware of their meetings. Meanwhile, at home, Paul tells Pam about the affair. Claudette later realises that Pam knows while seeing her freak out at her face with her and Les in the newspaper photo. She makes plans to have dinner with Les, declining Pam's invitation to dinner on the way there. When Pam notes how Claudette used exactly the same words as Les did, Claudette sends Les home. He accidentally leaves his tie at her house. Claudette, who knows the Mitchells, finds Vincent has been beaten by Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and vows revenge on Phil. When Pam visits Claudette, she finds Les's tie, but after he and Claudette give conflicting explanations on this, Pam leaves to stay with her sister. Les becomes very distraught at her departure, and Claudette urges him to tell Pam the truth, just as Pam returns and walks in on them together. Shortly after Claudette leaves the house, Pam urges Les to end the affair or their marriage is over. Two months later, Les visits Claudette for comfort after Pam refuses to speak to him on their deceased son's birthday. Two days later, he calls Claudette, telling her he cannot stop thinking about her, and later makes an excuse to Pam to go and be with Claudette again. He is then caught at Claudette's house in his underwear by Donna, who concludes they are having an affair, though Claudette tries to explain it is not what she thinks. Donna tells Pam, who goes to Claudette's house and sets about destroying gifts from Les until Claudette says the presents are not hers, and Pam should ask Les about Christine. When Pam asks Les, he reveals that Christine is his secret feminine alter ego, and he likes wearing women's clothes, and that Claudette has been supporting this secret. Claudette later tells Pam that Les persuaded her not to reveal his secret and encourages Pam to speak to Les about it. The next day, she helps Pam and Les prepare for their "meeting" with Christine, and tells Pam that "seeing" Christine for the first time will be easier than she thinks. Claudette is later annoyed when Vincent has sex with a married Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack), whom he had dated before, and advises them to work on their own marriages. She moves in with Vincent, Kim and Pearl when he buys a large house on Albert Square.

Claudette starts working in The Albert and meets Sal Martin (Anna Karen), who is visiting the Mitchells. Sal reveals that Claudette used to work at a bar nearby and has known the Mitchell family for decades. Sal threatens to reveal secrets about Claudette, so she asks Vincent to speed up with his plan to take down the Mitchells. It is revealed that Claudette's husband, Henry, was an associate of Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), Ted Hills (Brian Croucher), Gavin Sullivan (Paul Nicholas) and Eric Mitchell, Phil's father. Vincent was told by Claudette that Henry was killed by Eric 34 years previously on Christmas Eve after a confrontation when Vincent was a child. A drunken Phil kidnaps Pearl which leads to an altercation between Vincent and Phil. Vincent says that Eric killed his father but Phil says Henry just left Walford. The feud between the Mitchells and Hubbards leads to the death of innocent Fatboy (Ricky Norwood), so Vincent tells Claudette that their feud killed him and they should end it, but this infuriates Claudette who then compares him to his father and accidentally lets slip that Henry did not die when she said he did. When Ronnie's mother Glenda Mitchell (Glynis Barber) makes a brief visit, she recognises Claudette and Vincent, and later tells Ronnie that Eric did not kill Henry because he was drunk that night and did not leave the house. Ronnie then blackmails Claudette with the information, so Claudette tells Vincent to end the feud as it cannot bring back Henry or Fatboy. Claudette and Patrick flirt with each other and eventually begin dating; however it is hampered by Denise's disapproval.

Claudette and Kim's rivalry intensifies at Pearl's first birthday party, and when Claudette's foster son Linford Short (Leon Lopez) announces that he and Vincent have entered Claudette into the Pride of Walford Awards and she is a finalist, a jealous Kim jumps on Pearl's bouncy castle in an attempt to take attention from Claudette, which Claudette punctures in retaliation. Later that day, Gavin meets Claudette and blackmails her, saying he wants money to stop him revealing a secret from her past. She fails to get money from Les or Vincent, so she meets Gavin at her home and tries to pay him off with sex. However, he says that it is worthless as she used to be promiscuous, and asks how she killed Henry, so Claudette strikes him over the head with a candelabra. Vincent then arrives, and she lies about the circumstances, but when Gavin escapes, her lies are revealed and Vincent works out he was blackmailing her and she killed Henry. When she insults Henry, Vincent chokes Claudette, as Patrick arrives and stops him. Vincent reveals to Patrick that Claudette killed Henry, and as Patrick tries to call the police, Claudette tries to snatch the phone off him, but falls down the basement stairs, hitting her head on a brick. Patrick leaves to get help but when he returns, Vincent has buried Claudette underneath the basement, and tells Patrick to forget it happened or they will both be arrested for murder. However, unknown to Vincent and Patrick, it is revealed Claudette is alive when she arrives in hospital brought in by paramedics after she was found by the side of a road. Patrick later sees Claudette. Realising that she is alive, he tells Vincent, who soon realises the truth up. When Vincent goes to Donna's home, Donna reveals Claudette is with her and has told her what Vincent did to her. Donna refuses to believe that Claudette killed Henry, so Vincent reveals that Claudette killed Fatboy. Donna is distraught at being lied to and asks Vincent and Claudette to leave, but Patrick arrives and confirms that Claudette killed Henry. Claudette insists Henry's death was an accident, and threatens to show the police her neck bruises if Patrick calls the police on her, but Donna sees past this, saying that Claudette's fostering her was just an attempt to lessen Claudette's guilt. Vincent tells Claudette to leave Walford for good or he will tell Gavin where she is. Claudette visits Pearl privately and says goodbye to her, promising that she will come back soon.

At the Pride of Walford Awards a few months later, Donna accepts an award on her mother's behalf saying how she was not alone when Claudette took her in but now she is alone again. However, Claudette was seen secretly watching behind the door but decided not to come in. Claudette tries to visit Donna in Bridge Street Market but notices her former enemy Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) who scowls at her, so Claudette walks away.

Creation and development
Thomas' casting was announced on 1 March 2015. The role of Claudette marks Thomas' fourth time on EastEnders, she previously appeared as Pearl Chadwick (1990), Estella Hulton in 2002 and Grace Olubunmi (2010–2011). Of Thomas and her character, executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins commented "Ellen Thomas belongs on EastEnders. Albert Square now has a new steely matriarch – with a few twisted secrets hidden behind her beaming smile." David Brown from the Radio Times added that Claudette had links to established regular characters and would be "a tough-talking resident of Albert Square". Thomas revealed that Claudette's family would be introduced to the square, saying: "Claudette is a foster mother, she's fostered children for the last 30 years. She's fostered the kind of children nobody else wants - tough cookies." She stated that it was a "brilliant opportunity to bring new characters in".

Departure
On 13 September 2016, it was confirmed that Thomas would depart as Claudette after being axed by the new executive producer, Sean O'Connor.

Reception
Laura-Jane Tyler from Inside Soap admitted to being a little scared by "steely" Claudette and said she made Vincent "look like a pussycat." Tyler also hoped that Claudette would turn out to be a big crime boss.