User:Green WU/Karen

Karen Taylor, played by Lorraine Stanley, first appears in the episode broadcast on 15 June 2017, along with four of her children, Keanu (Danny Walters), Bernadette (Clair Norris), Riley (Tom Jacobs) and Chatham Taylor (Alfie Jacobs). The family also have two pets, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog named Bronson and a Bearded lizard named Rooney. Stanley appeared in the 2004 spin off Pat and Mo as a young Mo Harris, and in EastEnders in 2016 as Thelma Bragg, the mother of Linzi Bragg (Amy-Leigh Hickman).

Storylines
Karen, Keanu and Bernadette arrive on Albert Square, and Karen introduces herself to some of the neighbours, who are appalled by their rowdy behaviour. Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) is horrified to discover that Keegan Baker (Zack Morris), who claims to have had sex with Louise, is Karen's son and is moving in. Ted Murray (Christopher Timothy) and Joyce Murray (Maggie Steed) are also unhappy to discover the Taylors are living above them, as Karen caused their friend to suffer a nervous breakdown when they were previously neighbours in Walford Towers.

Karen is revealed to be on benefits. She is annoyed when the Murrays' friend, Joan Murfield (Eileen Davies) visits, as Joan was Karen's former neighbours and regularly called the police about the Taylors. Denise Fox (Diane Parish) tries to make peace with Karen over her altercation with Keegan a few months previously, but Karen threatens violence against her if it happens again.

When Louise tells her stepmother, Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean), that Keegan raped her, Sharon confronts Karen, so Karen punches Sharon in the face. Keegan, despite saying he made the rumour up because he likes Louise, is arrested on suspicion of rape and Karen is arrested for assault. Karen threatens Sharon with further violence. Keegan is not charged but Karen tells him she is ashamed that he lied. The family's dog, Bronson, ends up in the park's pond when he gets hold of Denise's handbag and Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) pulls him off. Karen tries to get money out of Denise and Kush, but she backs down when Denise points out Bronson was off his lead.

Karen looks for work, and after befriending Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), Jane convinces her husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) to employ her as a cleaner at their restaurant. Bernadette complains of being ill and Karen realises she could be pregnant so takes her to Dr. Natasha Black (Rachel Bavidge), who confirms she is pregnant. Karen asks Dr Black not to inform social services, and is against Bernadette keeping the baby. She later tells Bernadette it is her own choice, but Karen worries about how the family will afford to raise another child. Karen tells her sons about Bernadette's pregnancy when they argue that she is not really ill. Karen starts work for Ian but her constant talking annoys him and he sacks her after she takes burgers that she assumes are being thrown out. Karen pressures Keanu into talking to Bernadette about the father of her baby and then overhears Bernadette talking to Keanu, who Karen thinks may be the baby's father. Karen confronts Keanu, asking if he is the father, and Keanu is hurt that Karen thinks that, but admits the father is in Bernadette's year.

Karen and Bernadette clean the house for a social services visit and get some second-hand baby clothes. Bernadette steals some baby clothes from pregnant Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner) and Karen scolds Bernadette's action. Karen ignores the bailiffs when they visit. Following a gas explosion, Bernadette suffers a miscarriage, devastating Bernadette, Karen and Keanu. Bernadette goes to see her daughter at the hospital and returns home with a box containing her daughter's footprints and is further angry with Karen for allowing the hospital to cremate her. Karen decides to have a memorial after speaking to Shirley Carter (Linda Henry). Keegan punches Callum (Shaun Aylward) when he realises he is the father, but Callum joins the family for the memorial and Bernadette reveals they were going to name their daughter Belle. After Keegan's initial hostility, he admits to Karen that he blames himself for Bernadette's miscarriage as he was not there for her. When Riley and Chatham return home, they ask questions about the baby, and Shirley comforts Karen when she breaks down.

After Keanu begins showing a romantic interest in Ingrid Solberg (Pernille Broch), Keanu agrees for Karen to meet her. When Ingrid is due to come round, Karen accidentally lets the bailiffs in. When Janet Mitchell (Grace) is knocked over accidentally by Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White), Janet's father Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) wants to get Janet a dog. Karen agrees that Billy can have Bronson for a few nights for Janet. Karen panics when Riley and Chatham have been collected from school by a loan shark called Lloyd that she has borrowed money from. He allows her time to get the cash within 24 hours, and she manages to get money by selling Riley and Chatham's games console. However, Lloyd claims she is still overdue from the first repayment; he orders bailiffs to remove her television set which upsets Karen.

Desperate for the cash, Karen reluctantly decides to pawn a wedding ring that she has kept. Keanu tries to convince her not to, as it had belonged to his grandmother. When Karen decorates the flat for Christmas, she finds Stacey's phone that was taken and hidden by Riley and Chatham. Karen finds out that it was Riley and Chatham when she confronts her children. Karen later takes on the role of the angel in the Nativity. The Taylors' belongings are removed by bailiffs due to Karen failing to repay loans, but they can get them back the next day if they can raise £1000, so Karen and Bernadette go to visit Karen's sister, Kandice Taylor (Hannah Spearritt). Kandice agrees to loan them the money, but when Karen begins arguing with her, Kandice changes her mind. Bernadette meets up with Kandice and emotionally pleads with Kandice to help, but she apologetically refuses to and when the bailiffs are due to visit, Kandice turns up with the money. After bickering again and Karen throwing the money back, Karen and Kandice make up.

When Karen sees Apostolos Papadopolous (Tarrick Benham) in the launderette, she accuses him of being an asylum seeker, without realising he is the owner, and he ejects her when she asks for a job interview. However, she calls him and puts on a posh accent to secure an interview. When she attends it, he is angry, but she manages to convince him that she is the right person for the job and he offers it to her. However, she is confused when she takes down the job advert and it reappears. She is furious when she learns Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) has been offered the job, so Apostolos says he will offer the job to whoever does the cleaning of the launderette the best. Despite this, they argue and spill bleach, but later, Masood says he was to blame. Apostolos offers Karen the job, but only because an employment agency failed to send anyone. Karen then offers a personal ironing service to the customers in a bid to make more cash, but receives complaints when she mixes up people's clothes.

Karen's ex-boyfriend and the father of Keegan and Chantelle, Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths), arrives on Albert Square, and he is warned away from the family by Keanu, but he later returns and he shouts for Karen and Keegan at the flat, but Keanu punches him. Mitch flirts with Karen at the launderette whilst she is working and when Karen brings Mitch home, Keegan, Keanu and Bernadette do not want Mitch's presence, but Karen later sneaks him into the flat. Keanu is disgusted with Karen for letting Mitch stay the night and Mitch brings up Keanu's father. Karen attempts to reluctantly talk to Keanu about his father, but she fails and talks to Mitch about her being stabbed by Keanu's father. Karen considers re-conciliating with Mitch, but she discovers that he has a girlfriend who is pregnant. Karen breaks up with Mitch and he leaves Walford.

Karen helps to contribute money to raise for Kat Moon's (Jessie Wallace) funeral and Karen is angry to discover that Kat is alive and her grandmother Mo Harris (Laila Morse) was behind Kat's "death". Karen tries to attack Mo, but Kat confronts her, causing a fight between the pair, which then leads to a bar fight. Karen and Kat continue their feud and when Kat advertises her cleaning business in the laundrette, another fight between the pair occur. However, both Karen and Kat make up and become friends. Karen is devastated to discover that Keegan has been stabbed. Keegan survives the attack but his best friend Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) dies from his injuries. This causes Karen to remember when Keanu's dad tried to attack her with a knife whilst she was pregnant. Karen supports Keegan, who plans revenge against the boys behind the attack. Without Karen's knowledge, Keegan confronts some of the boys behind the attack and accidentally stabs one of them. Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford) discovers the boy, and lies to Keegan that he has killed him. Keegan discovers Carmel's lie, and this leads to a confrontation between Karen and Carmel, but Karen understands Carmel's reasons behind the lie and forces Keegan to apologise to Carmel. Karen discovers that her son Keanu is having an affair with her married rival Sharon. She forces them to end the affair, but she learns that Keanu and Sharon are still sleeping together, so she confronts Sharon. Keanu reveals to Karen that someone is blackmailing them, and they discover that it is Louise, so Karen threatens her.

Mitch returns to Walford with his daughter Bailey Baker (Kara-Leah Fernandes) and he lies to Karen that Bailey is his friend's daughter. Karen later discovers that Bailey is his own biological daughter. Mitch wants Bailey to live with the Taylors as her terminally ill mother, Dinah Wilson (Anjela Lauren Smith), is due to die from multiple sclerosis. Karen cannot let Bailey live with her because she has no space, but agrees to help Bailey and her mother. However, she agrees to let Bailey live with her when her mother dies. Louise's father, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), sends Keanu to Spain to help him look after his business, but Karen is worried that she has not spoken to Keanu for several weeks and blackmails Sharon to tell Phil to bring Keanu back to Walford, otherwise she will expose their affair. Karen sees a photo of Keanu being beaten up in Spain and Phil goes back to Spain to bring him back. Meanwhile, Keegan's drug addiction is exposed when he almost overdoses, and Karen has an argument with Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) about her sister Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) supplying Keegan with drugs. Karen calls the police on Tiffany who is arrested and questioned. However, Karen agrees to drop the charges when she discovers that Mitch knew about Keegan's drug addiction and that it has been going on for a while.

Development
The characters and castings of the Taylor family were announced on 10 May 2017. Of her casting, Stanley said "I'm chuffed to be cast in such an iconic show that I've grown up watching. Working with my new family is really quite special, and I'm proud to play their mum." Karen is described comes as a "fierce woman who won't hear a bad word said about her family, but those close to her know that she's also kind-hearted and loyal."

Executive producer Sean O'Connor said that he is "hugely excited at the arrival of Karen and her family in Albert Square. They're noisy, brash and not-to-be-messed-with. Karen is a twenty-a-day lioness, bringing up her kids with no support, no money and a very loud mouth. But though they may lack cash, the Taylors have love and warmth in spades. This summer is going to be explosive as the Taylors settle in Walford. The Square will never be quite the same again…" In an interview, O'Connor added that The Taylor family "feel very different to the other characters" they have, calling them "a big messy brood." He said the Taylors will "bring the breath of fresh air that" the Jackson family did upon their arrival and like other established, popular EastEnders families, they "will divide opinion, but within six months, I [O'Connor] think the audience will love them" and "will help re-calibrate what the show is." O'Connor also said that the family experience "the reality of the benefits system [...] we're not going to see these characters suddenly flashing cash round – we're going to see them struggling to make ends meet, because that's where the best stories are- ordinary characters facing adversity." O'Connor compared the characters to Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Coronation Street's Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix), saying "whatever fate throws at them, they pick themselves up and face the next day. It's the classic Scarlett O'Hara mantra; 'tomorrow is another day."

The Taylors "are thrown into a [...] crisis" when Karen makes a "shock discovery" about Bernadette and Karen figures out Bernadette is pregnant after Karen is "troubled by Bernadette's behaviour" coming to the "shocking realisation." Bernadette "refuses initially to reveal the father of her unborn child", however Karen "remains determined to get to the truth." Bernadette's refusal to name the father leaves Karen "more frustrated than ever." Instead of being "the mouthy matriarch" and "gobby", Karen "surprisingly" opts to use "a softer approach" to the situation. Bernadette's silence will prompt Karen's "own suspicions", but she could have "the wrong end of the stick" or uncover a "worrying secret" about Bernadette. Viewers drew similarities to a teenage pregnancy storyline involving the character of Demi Miller, played by Shana Swash, in 2004 as the Millers "were just as mouthy and controversial as the Taylors and at the time of their arrival, 13-year-old Demi was heavily pregnant".

On 29 July 2023, it was announced that Stanley had been axed from the show and that Karen would leave in late 2023.

Reception
Stanley received the Best Newcomer award at the 2018 British Soap Awards for her portrayal of Karen. That year, she was also nominated at the Inside Soap Awards for Funniest Female. She earned her second Funniest Female nomination and was nominated in the Best Actress category at the 2019 Inside Soap Awards, winning the former. Stanley also received a Best Actress nomination at the British Soap Awards and Best Soap Actress nomination at the TV Choice Awards, both in 2019.