User:AnemoneProjectors/Fi Browning

Fi Browning (real name Sophie Willmott-Brown) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. First appearing as Sophie in episode 222 of the show, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 31 March 1987, the character was played by Natasha Knight in 1987 and 1992. Fi was announced as a new character in 2017, with Lisa Faulkner in the role, first appearing in episode 5483 of the show, broadcast on 27 April 2017, but later in the year it was revealed that Fi and Sophie are the same character.

Storylines
Young Sophie

Fi arrives in Walford looking for The Queen Victoria pub (the Vic), having been sent by the pub's new freeholders, Grafton Hill, to try to improve efficiency and maximise profit. She meets the staff, including licensee Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), bar managers Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) and Woody Woodward (Lee Ryan), and bartenders Whitney Carter (Shona McGarty), Johnny Carter (Ted Reilly) and Tracey (Jane Slaughter), and checks the accounts, saying she will return the next day with suggestions. Fi tells Shirley and Woody that they have too many staff, so the Carters insist that Woody goes, but Fi says Grafton Hill want him to stay and Tracey is ultimately made redundant. Meanwhile, Max Branning (Jake Wood), who suggested the sale of the freehold in the first place and whose company, Weyland & Co, want to redevelop the local area, and his boss Josh Hemmings (Eddie Eyre), discuss the fact that they have a mole in the pub. Fi returns to the Vic during a celebration of Tracey's time working there, but she wonders why they are prolonging Tracey's agony, though Shirley says it is bringing in customers. Tracey does not turn up, though, and the customers decide to boycott the pub for a while. After Whitney leaves, Fi tells Mick they need a permanent replacement for her, and they need to bring in younger staff, suggesting they use an agency. It is then revealed that installing Fi at the Vic is part of Max's plan.

Fi arrives when Mick is preparing for his wife Linda Carter's (Kellie Bright) 40th birthday party, and is serving customers when Linda arrives. Linda does not know who she is, but when she finds out, Linda accuses Fi of sacking Tracey but Fi tells Linda that she wants to improve the pub. Linda tells Mick that she does not trust Fi. Fi brings in craft ale beers for a special event later in the week, which Fi and Mick sample. Fi, Mick and Shirley then conduct interviews for a new staff member, and although Tracey applies, Mick chooses Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner), which Fi agrees with.

Creation and development

 * https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/a25743310/eastenders-lisa-faulkner-fi-browning-role-scared/

Casting and introduction
Lisa Faulkner was expecting to be promoting a recipe book and writing recipes when she was cast in EastEnders. Faulkner had not acted for five years after winning Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 and then writing best-selling cookery books and presenting television cookery shows. Faulkner was contacted by the show's producers via her agent and she attended a meeting with the show's executive producer, Sean O'Connor, and casting director, Julia Crampsie, who told Faulkner about the character of Fi Browning. Faulkner decided to think about it but later, they called her asking her to take on the role, so she agreed. Faulkner had never played a character like Fi before, and though she did want to get back into acting, she wanted to play someone that "excites" her, so after being told about Fi, she felt unable to turn down the role. Subsequently, the character and Faulkner's casting in the role were announced on 2 March 2017, when it was said that character would make her first on-screen appearand in "spring" 2017. Faulkner was offered a six-month contract to start. Of her casting, Faulkner said, "I'm so happy to be joining the cast of EastEnders. It's an iconic show and I can't wait to play my part in it. Fi Browning is a hugely exciting character and I'm really looking forward to working with Sean and all the team, and revealing more about her." O'Connor said, "I'm really thrilled that we have been able to tempt Lisa Faulkner back to TV drama and back to the BBC. She's an extremely accomplished and hugely popular actress and we're very excited to have her in Albert Square." Faulkner later said in an interview that "[Fi is] a great character so I'm looking forward to playing her."

Faulkner started filming for the show in early March 2017, but was nervous about filming in the iconic Queen Victoria pub so she asked to watch some filming before she started. Her first episode was broadcast in the United Kingdom on 27 April 2017. Promotional images from the episode showing Faulkner in her role were released on 17 April 2017. However, Faulkner revealed that the character would be introduced slowly, appearing in a small number of episodes before going away and returning later; she said this made Fi a "slow-burn character". She added, "They like to weave a new character in. Once you have a story everyone knows exactly who you are and it's not a big shock of 'Who is this new person saying all these lines suddenly?'. It's better to do it softly-softly." Faulkner said that Fi has "come in to do the job that she'fs assigned to do, which is to help get the pub back on track" and "by the end of the [first] few weeks, you won't know anything more than that."

Upon the character's announcement, no details of any storylines she would be involved in were revealed and Faulkner said she was "sworn to secrecy". O'Connor teased, "does she have an agenda? And who—or what—has she set her sights on?" Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy speculated that the character could be connected to Max Branning (Jake Wood) and his revenge storyline along with a mysterious character known only as the "Chairman of Wayland & Co", saying that "it looks like she'd be the perfect final piece of the jigsaw for the pair's plan." Dainty also speculated that Fi might take over The Queen Victoria pub. On 17 April 2017, it was announced that upon Fi's arrival in the series, she would be "immediately thrown into conflict with a prominent Walford family." Fi's first episode reveals that it is the Carter family and she has been brought in to help their pub, The Queen Victoria; Faulkner said that Fi "doesn't care how she does it" and she "needs to get people on her side." After Fi's second episode, David Brown from Radio Times said she already "had a big effect on life in Walford" as her arrival led to Tracey losing her job. Faulkner said that "Fi doesn't know anyone, so she doesn't care [about Tracey]. It's just a business to her. She gets other people to do the jobs that aren't particularly nice—in this case, Woody—so she comes out of it not as badly as she could do. I think she knows how to get people to do what she wants." Fi's first two episodes showed hints that she could be involved with Max's plan and that Woody might also be involved. Faulkner hoped that Fi would go on to open a deli in Walford, and said, "She can sell some books and jars of chutneys and lovely coffees. It's just my imagination, but you never know!"

Characterisation
Upon the character's announcement, O'Connor described Fi as a "no-nonsense but sophisticated business woman with strength and vulnerability". Fi's job, according to Faulkner, is "sorting out businesses. She knows how to take an East End pub and make it trendy. [...] The reason she's so good in business is that she's got a soft and a hard side. She can be a nice person." Inside Soap said that Fi is a "femme fatale" who is "calm, calculating and has a cold exterior", and called her a "ruthless businesswoman", while Soaplife called her "shrewd". Faulkner said that Fi "knows what she wants", is "very good at getting what she wants" and is "very good at charming people". She also said that Fi "doesn't care what people think of her", she is "very confident" and is "not to be messed with". In an interview, Faulkner agreed that nothing fazes Fi and she is a "tough cookie". Faulkner admitted that she did not understand a lot of the "business speak" that Fi uses, and that she asked her partner, celebrity chef John Torode, to explain them to her.

Speaking of Fi's clothes, Kyle O'Sullivan from the Daily Mirror said that Fi "looks every inch the businesswoman as she arrives in Walford, clad in a white shirt, grey V-neck jumper and pale pink overcoat." Paul Simper from The Sun said that Fi has a "groomed look" in her business suits, while Rory O'Connor from the Daily Express said Fi's outfit was "stylish and sophisticated office attire". Faulker called Fi's clothes "fab" and revealed that she wears a different perfume as Fi than she would normally, which she decided to do herself, as it "makes you a different person". Faulkner did not change her accent for the role, so instead of speaking with a Cockney accent like many of the other EastEnders characters, Fi is "well spoken", revealing that the character is not originally from the East End of London, where EastEnders is set. Faulkner said that Fi is "very well educated. She’s got money and sounds like it."

In December 2017, Soaplife said that Fi has a "heart of gold" underneath her "ball-breaking businesswoman exterior".

Relationships
In the run-up to Fi's introduction, Faulkner said of the prospect that Fi would be involved in a romantic relationship: "I have no idea what's going on with her love life. I don't think love is in her vision—but I may be wrong!" Faulkner also said that Fi has no family ties in the show, but added that "we'll see how that develops". Within a month of Fi's arrival, Inside Soap said she has "already made a string of enemies who are desperate to see the back of her."


 * Max

Fi is revealed to be the daughter of James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde).

Soaplife said that Fi's faith in her father was tested since she met Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), the woman he raped in the 1980s. A source from EastEnders said that Fi is "sickened" and "disgusted" after realising the lies in which her family are involved. The magazine wondered if Fi felt guilty about her manipulation of Max and conning of the Carter family, and reported that she would turn her back on her father.

Reception

 * http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/eastenders-fans-delighted-lisa-faulkner-12956625
 * https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/3431894/eastenders-new-girl-lisa-faulkner-makes-an-impression-with-fans-as-barmaid-tracey-speaking-gets-viewers-excited/
 * 2017 Inside Soap Awards