User:AnemoneProjectors/Lady Di (EastEnders)

Lady Di is a fictional dog in the BBC soap opera EastEnders

Storylines
After moving into The Queen Victoria with her owners, Linda plans to make money by breeding Lady Di's pedigree. However, Lady Di becomes pregnant after mating with Abi Branning's (Lorna Fitzgerald) dog, Tramp (Duffie), to Linda's annoyance. Lady Di gives birth to five puppies, although the youngest almost does not survive until Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) saves her. Lady Di stays with Babe Smith (Annette Badland) until she sells the puppies before returning home a couple of months later. After the birth of Mick and Linda's son, Ollie Carter, Lady Di starts behaving in a way that Mick struggles with, and Lady Di is sent to live with Mick's aunt, Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White), at Carol Jackson's (Lindsey Coulson) house. Lady Di takes a dislike to Tina's girlfriend, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), and is sent to live with Mick's mother, Shirley (Linda Henry), without Mick's permission. When Mick finds out, he furiously takes Lady Di back to the Vic, where she is welcomed by Linda, who has missed her. Mick later uses taking Lady Di for walks as as way of meeting Shirley in secret.

Development
Lady Di is the Carters' pet bulldog. A new canine character in EastEnders was first known about when Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and her husband Mick (Danny Dyer) were announced to be joining the series on 1 October 2013. Lady Di has been billed as the first major animal character in EastEnders since Wellard died in 2008. The Radio Times speculated what breed of dog would be joining the show, but it was finally revealed to be a bulldog when the first promotional photo of the entire Carter family together was released on 29 October. Further details were released on 10 November, when it was said the dog's name would be Lady Di, named after Diana, Princess of Wales, by Linda. It was said that in the show's narrative, Linda named the dog after the Princess because "bulldogs are kind, gentle dogs and love kids". In reality, writer Daran Little came up with the name. Inside Soap said that Lady Di would be "the true queen of the new Vic dynasty", who would "win everybody's hearts from day one". They reported that the dog is "the apple of [...] Mick's eye", and would help show a softer side to Mick's character. A source from EastEnders told the magazine that Lady Di would "make quite an impression" and would be "top dog" in her new home. They added that "Lady Di is at the centre of EastEnders' most exciting new arrivals, and she'll be involved in plenty of drama!"