User:Herz123/Dee Dee Bailey

Diana "Dee Dee" Bailey, played by Channique Sterling-Brown, made her first appearance on 28 September 2022. Sterling-Brown's casting details were announced on 4 September, while the character has been mentioned by her on-screen family since their introduction in 2019. The show's producer Iain MacLeod admitted to being a fan of the character before she "physically existed" just by hearing her description from the Bailey family. Dee Dee is a lawyer and MacLeod stated that viewers could expect "a certain amount of chaos. She has got an incredibly big heart. She is incredibly competent at her job, but you'd never guess that to meet her."

Storylines
Dee Dee first appeared in Watherfield to visit her family. She was so eager to see her family that she left her bag in the taxi. Her visit was timely as her brother James Bailey (Nathan Graham) recently retired from Weatherfield County FC due to his heart condition and was unhappy with the severance payment offered to him by the club.

She also worked on Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows) case as he was convicted of murder. Dee Dee’s work on Stu’s case caught the attention of Adam Barlow and he offered Dee Dee a job at Barlow Legal Services following the death of Imran Habeeb (Charlie De Melo). Dee Dee accepted the job and hired Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) as her legal secretary. Dee Dee then moved into the flat above the corner shop with Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) and they became good friends.

In 2023 Dee Dee took a fancy to Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) duty solicitor, Joel Deering (Calum Lill) and later on they start dating.

Casting and characterisation
On 4 September 2022, it was announced that Channique Sterling-Brown would be joining the Bailey family as Dee Dee. Sterling-Brown made her debut on 28 September 2022. MacLeod said Dee Dee would be involved in a major storyline, but she would not be hiding a "dark secret" like most newly introduced characters. He explained "She's so exuberant and just seems so bulletproof and impervious to the travails of modern life that she dusts herself down and gets on with it. I didn't want to discover that she's got some terrible burden." He thought that it was a "refreshing" decision and allowed the character to be "incredibly joyous." He believed the audience would take to her.

Relationship with Joel Deering
On 15 August 2023, Channique told Digital Spy "I think that we're going to see Dee Dee in a new light. We're going to see her go on a bit of a dating journey.

Reception
At the 2023 British Soap Awards, for her portrayal of Dee Dee, Sterling-Brown won the Best Newcomer accolade.