User:AnemoneProjectors/List of EastEnders episodes (1997)

EastEnders is a British soap opera, examining the domestic and professional lives of working class people who live in the fictitious London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. The show airs on BBC1 and entered its 13th broadcasted year on 2 January 1997 with its 1392nd episode, with Jane Harris continuing her role as executive producer for her first full year in the running. EastEnders aired 162 episodes in 1997, with the the typical week comprising three half-hour episodes on BBC1, in a time slot of 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 8.00pm on Mondays.

Cast and characters
Carl Pizzie left the series in 1996; his character Dan Zappieri departed on 7 January. Frankie Pierre (Syan Blake) was written out of the serial on 25 March 1997. Mona Hammond quit her role as Blossom Jackson after suffering from nervous exhaustion. She quit her role while on a three-month break from the show and did not return for a exit storyline. Blossom's love interest, Felix Kawalski (Harry Landis), was also written out of the series and both made their final appearance on 29 May. Brian Croucher was axed from the show in 1997, with his character Ted Hills described to "go out with a bang". The character departed on 12 August. Lindsey Coulson quit her role as Carol Jackson in 1997 and her on-screen family were temporarily written out to aid her departure, with the option to return after an extended period of time. Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson), Dean Gaffney (Robbie Jackson) and Natalie Cassidy (Sonia Jackson) opted to return to the serial, whereas Howard Antony (Alan Jackson) decided not to renew his contract and so, Devon Anderson was axed from his role as Billie Jackson. Mother and son duo, Lorraine Wicks (Jacqueline Leonard) and Joe Wicks (Paul Nicholls), left the series on 14 November. Jules Tavernier (Tommy Eytle) made his final appearance on 23 December, after several years of fleeting appearances. Shobu Kapoor took maternity leave in late 1997 and her character, Gita Kapoor, departed on 23 October alongside her on-screen daughter, Sharmilla Kapoor (Priya Bilkhu).

Jamila Massey was the first cast member to join the cast in 1997; she made her first appearance as Neelam Kapoor on 3 March. Courtney Mitchell (Carissa & Josephine O'Meara), the daughter of Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon), joined on 11 March as a newborn baby. Polly Becker, a "cynical" journalist, joined the serial on 25 March; Victoria Gould was cast in the role. Richard Driscoll was cast as vicar Alex Healy; he made his first appearance on 31 March. Annie Palmer (Nadia Sawalha), the daughter of George Palmer (Paul Moriarty) was introduced on 5 May. Lorna Cartwright (Janet Dibley) was introduced on 31 July as part of a storyline which would see Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) struggle with alcoholism. Roberta Taylor was cast as Irene Raymond, the former wife of Ted Hills; she made her first appearance on 14 August. Susan Rose (Tilly Vosburgh) and Matthew Rose (Joe Absolom), the wife and son of Michael Rose (Russell Floyd) were introduced in August. Julie Haye (Karen Henthorn) was introduced on 15 September as a love interest for Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley). Julie's son, Josh Saunders, was introduced on 18 November; Jon Lee was cast in the role. The Flaherty family, relatives of the Beale family, were introduced to the serial for a week of special episodes airing in Ireland. Two characters that featured in the episodes were introduced to the serial long-term: Conor Flaherty (Seán Gleeson) and Mary Flaherty (Melanie Clark Pullen). Claire Grogan joined the cast as private detective Ros Thorne on 3 November. The final member of the cast to join the serial in 1997 was Leslie Schofield, who first appeared as Jeff Healy, the father of Alex Healy, on 9 December.

Dot Cotton (June Brown) was reintroduced to the serial in April following her departure in 1993. Mike Reid reprised his role of Frank Butcher for two guest stints in April and December 1997 respectively. Following a three episode guest stint in 1996, Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards) was reintroduced as a regular character on 14 August. The character of Diane Butcher was reintroduced on 27 August, with Sophie Lawrence reprising the role. Weeks after her reintroduction, Lawrence quit the role after struggling to fit in on-set. Diane departed the serial on 6 November. Michelle Collins returned to her role as Cindy Beale, following over a year-long maternity leave, on 10 November. Cindy's young sons, Steven Beale and Peter Beale, were also reintroduced, with the roles recast to Edward Savage) and Alex Stevens respectively. Cindy's lover, Nick Holland, was introduced on 12 November; the role was cast to Dominic Taylor.

The following is a full list of the EastEnders 1997 cast.

Regular cast

 * Joe Absolom as Matthew Rose
 * Howard Antony as Alan Jackson
 * Syan Blake as Frankie Pierre
 * Paul Bradley as Nigel Bates
 * June Brown as Dot Cotton
 * Todd Carty as Mark Fowler
 * Tony Caunter as Roy Evans
 * Melanie Clark Pullen as Mary Flaherty
 * Desune Coleman as Lenny Wallace
 * Michelle Collins as Cindy Beale
 * Lindsey Coulson as Carol Jackson
 * Brian Croucher as Ted Hills
 * Daniela Denby-Ashe as Sarah Hills
 * Janet Dibley as Lorna Cartwright
 * Richard Driscoll as Alex Healy
 * Richard Elis as Huw Edwards
 * Tommy Eytle as Jules Tavernier
 * Russell Floyd as Michael Rose
 * Dean Gaffney as Robbie Jackson
 * Seán Gleeson as Conor Flaherty
 * Victoria Gould as Polly Becker
 * Clare Grogan as Ros Thorne
 * Mona Hammond as Blossom Jackson
 * Karen Henthorn as Julie Haye
 * Mark Homer as Tony Hills
 * Shobu Kapoor as Gita Kapoor
 * Ross Kemp as Grant Mitchell
 * Harry Landis as Felix Kawalski
 * Jacqueline Leonard as Lorraine Wicks
 * Andrew Lynford as Simon Raymond
 * Jamila Massey as Neelam Kapoor
 * Martine McCutcheon as Tiffany Mitchell
 * Steve McFadden as Phil Mitchell
 * Paul Moriarty as George Palmer
 * Paul Nicholls as Joe Wicks
 * Sid Owen as Ricky Butcher
 * Patsy Palmer as Bianca Butcher
 * Caroline Paterson as Ruth Fowler
 * Carl Pizzie as Dan Zappieri
 * Wendy Richard as Pauline Fowler
 * Gavin Richards as Terry Raymond
 * Nadia Sawalha as Annie Palmer
 * Leslie Schofield as Jeff Healy
 * Pam St. Clement as Pat Evans
 * Gillian Taylforth as Kathy Mitchell
 * Dominic Taylor as Nick Holland
 * Roberta Taylor as Irene Hills
 * Deepak Verma as Sanjay Kapoor
 * Tilly Vosburgh as Susan Rose
 * Sylvester Williams as Mick McFarlane
 * Shaun Williamson as Barry Evans
 * Barbara Windsor as Peggy Mitchell
 * Adam Woodyatt as Ian Beale

Recurring and guest cast

 * James Alexandrou as Martin Fowler
 * Devon Anderson as Billy Jackson
 * Janet Behan as Brenda Flaherty
 * Priya Bilkhu as Sharmilla Kapoor
 * Gemma Bissix as Clare Bates
 * Natalie Cassidy as Sonia Fowler
 * Stephen Churchett as Marcus Christie
 * Neil Clark as Alistair Matthews
 * Leonard Fenton as Harold Legg
 * Gretchen Franklin as Ethel Skinner
 * Anna Karen as Aunt Sal
 * Elizabeth Kelly as Nellie Ellis
 * Pat Laffin as Sean Flaherty
 * Sophie Lawrence as Diane Butcher
 * Jon Lee as Josh Saunders
 * Maurice O'Donoghue as Eamonn Flaherty
 * Carissa & Josephine O'Meara as Courtney Mitchell
 * Chelsey Paden as Jessie Moore
 * Shiona Redmond as Colette Flaherty
 * Mike Reid as Frank Butcher
 * Casey Anne Rothery as Lucy Beale
 * Edward Savage as Steven Beale
 * Olivia Shanley as Maggie Flaherty
 * Matthew Silver as Ben Mitchell
 * Jack Snell as Jacques Butcher
 * Alex Stevens as Peter Beale
 * Seán Walsh as Eamonn Flaherty Jnr

List of episodes
During 1997, EastEnders typically aired three half-hour episodes in a time slot of 8.00pm on Mondays, and 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The episodes were broadcast on BBC1. A weekly omnibus edition was also broadcast on Sundays. Jane Harris continued his role as executive producer.

All official ratings are taken from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), which were published in the Broadcast. Airdates are taken from individual episodes, BBC Genome, all episodes are 30 minutes long.


 * January (13 episodes)
 * February (12 episodes)
 * March (14 episodes)
 * April (13 episodes)
 * May (13 episodes)
 * June (13 episodes)
 * July (14 episodes)
 * August (14 episodes)
 * September (14 episodes)
 * October (13 episodes)
 * November (14 episodes)
 * December (15 episodes)