User:Soapoholic/sandbox/Chantelle Atkins

Chantelle Atkins (also Baker and Taylor) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jessica Plummer from 26 March 2019 onwards. The character was introduced by Kate Oates as the daughter of established characters Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths). Chantelle arrives in Walford with her husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) and her children Mia (Mahalia Malcolm) and Mackenzie (Isaac Lemonius).

Initially, Chantelle looked to have had a perfect family life. However, she later became one of the show's protagonists when it was revealed that her husband Gray had been abusing her. The storyline has been portrayed "sensitively and accurately", with EastEnders working closely with Women's Aid. During the domestic abuse storyline, Chantelle suffers a miscarriage, leading her to become one of the show's many female sufferers.

Storylines
Chantelle Atkins arrives in Walford as a hairdresser who Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) contacts to work as a new hairdresser in her and her sister Denise Fox's (Diane Parish) new unisex salon. Chantelle does not actually know that she is auditioning for a job as she presumes that she was cutting someone's hair and that was all. Kim later offers Chantelle the job; she refuses at first, but then later agrees to help at the salon, but only part-time. During celebratory drinks in The Queen Victoria public house, Chantelle bumps into her father Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths) who she has not seen for a long time. Chantelle later meets her mother Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and reconnects with her family. On the opening day of the salon, Chantelle gives a haircut to a man and he gives them £100. She crosses the man again in The Queen Vic and kisses him, and it is revealed that he is her husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith). With Gray's permission, Chantelle agrees to work at the salon and they plan on relocating to Walford with their children Mia (Mahalia Malcolm) and Mackenzie (Isaac Lemonius). Chantelle boasts about moving to 1 Albert Square, unaware that Kim once lived there with her estranged husband Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood), which causes hostility between the two women. Chantelle and Kim resolve their differences, but their feud ignites again when they argue over attending to Rainie Branning (Tanya Franks).

Chantelle and Gray's perfect relationship attracts attention in Walford. Chantelle's friend Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) compliments her relationship with Gray and asks her for advice on her relationship to Callum "Halfway" Highway (Tony Clay); Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) also compliments the couple and Chantelle's family warm up to Gray. However, the relationship turns out to be the opposite as it is revealed that Gray abuses Chantelle, which is first seen when Gray becomes angry at Mitch for cheating at the Walford 10K run and accuses Chantelle of laughing at him. Gray apologies to Chantelle and she later forgives him. Chantelle's brother Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) stays with the couple and, after becoming inspired by someone from Gray's workplace, decides that he wants to leave school. This causes a fight between Mitch and Gray, and Gray abuses Chantelle in response to his anger.

Chantelle later discovers she is pregnant, and tells Gray. He reacts positively to the news, and stops abusing her. However, Chantelle realises that she has miscarried in The Queen Victoria toilets. She decides to go to the hospital, and Ash Kaur (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha) confirms this. After she miscarries, she decides not to tell Gray. However, Karen accidentally lets slip about the news after Chantelle informed her that she'd tell him. Gray surprisingly doesn't react violently towards the news, and promises Chantelle that he would continue to attend therapy sessions to get help.

Later in the year, Jags Panesar (Amar Adatia) arrives in Walford and is shocked to see Chantelle in The Queen Victoria pub. It is revealed that the pair used to know each other from school, and that Jags used to have a crush on her. He also tells his brother Kheerat (Jaz Deol) that they went on a date at one point.

Introduction
On 20 December 2018, it was announced that Chantelle, the daughter of established characters Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths) would be joining the series in spring 2019. Senior executive producer Kate Oates said, "The Taylor family are set to be complete when Chantelle arrives in Walford and Chantelle certainly has that feisty Taylor streak. Things are set to get a whole lot louder in Walford in 2019." Casting for the character was still taking place at the time. Speaking about the news of Chantelle's arrival, Lorraine Stanley, who plays her on-screen mother, revealed: "I can’t wait. I’m so excited to learn more about Chantelle, see what their history is and what Chantelle is up to now. So yes, the Taylors are expanding, which is really exciting [...] Karen hasn’t seen her daughter for so long, so I think there might be a bit of tension there. Chantelle has created a new life for herself, so it will be interesting to see how she reacts to Karen and all her siblings." On 5 March 2019, it was announced that Plummer would be playing Chantelle. The rest of her family's casting was announced on 11 March 2019. Of her casting, Plummer said, "Just like the majority of the UK, I grew up watching EastEnders. It’s an absolute honour to be joining the cast with all my childhood favourites... Rickaaaaaaaay!" Oates promised that having Chantelle back with the Taylors will shake up the Taylor family's dynamic in a major way.

Characterisation
Before Chantelle's introduction, producers teased that she is "kind, bubbly and not afraid to stand up for herself." Speaking of the character upon her introduction, producer Kate Oates said, "Bubbly Chantelle makes a big impression on the locals, but beneath a friendly, easygoing exterior she’s definitely her gobby mother’s daughter and has all the tough Taylor traits – including family being the top priority. Mum-of-two Chantelle is devoted to her daughters and fiercely protective of her five siblings, but as she comes back into their lives she’s immediately suspicious absent dad Mitch is back on the scene, leading to immediate tension among the clan." She also said that her personality "endears her to everyone in Walford" and that she shares her mum's fiery side when she's pushed too far. "Chantelle is a Taylor through and through - tough, sharp and streetwise". Speaking further about Chantelle, Oates added, "To the rest of the Taylor family, she is definitely the one who’s 'done good', leaving home early, and landing on her feet marrying the handsome and successful Gray," the producer said. "But will Chantelle’s picture-perfect lifestyle put her and Gray into conflict with the rest of her family?". When it was revealed that Gray had been abusing Chantelle, the character was described as "vulnerable" and was always worrying about what her violent husband would do next. She's also been dubbed as "long-suffering" and a "terrified wife".

Domestic abuse
On 12 July 2019, it was revealed that Chantelle is suffering domestic violence at the hands of her husband, Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith), with EastEnders working closely with Women's Aid in order to portray the issue sensitively and accurately. Plummer said she felt "honoured" to take on the responsibility of playing a domestic abuse victim. She said, "This is an issue that I, and everyone at EastEnders, hope we can raise awareness of [...] Many women and men that are in Chantelle's situation suffer in silence and we really hope that by showing this story we can highlight an issue and encourage those in similar situations to seek the help they need."

It was reported that EastEnders were working with Refuge and Women's Aid on the storyline. Producer Kate Oates said, "When Chantelle and Gray arrived on the Square, they gave many of their neighbours a big dose of life-envy with their perfect relationship and no-filter-needed looks and lifestyle [...] But there is truth in the old adage that you don't know what goes on behind closed doors, and the very first time we crossed the threshold of Number One, we saw the truth of their relationship, and the violence Gray subjects Chantelle to." Refuge chief executive Sandra Horley said, "Domestic abuse is the biggest issue affecting women and children in this country today. It is a crime which takes the lives of two women every week in England and Wales alone, with one in four women experiencing the issue in their lifetime. Domestic abuse mostly happens behind closed doors - hidden, lurking in the shadows of our society. The more we all understand domestic abuse, be it the physical, emotional, sexual, financial control exerted by one partner over another - and are able to spot the signs - more women, like Chantelle, will be able to seek help from specialist organisations like Refuge. Women's Aid head of communications Teresa Parker said, "It is important when portraying domestic abuse on screen to make it as realistic as possible, and EastEnders have been working with us from the early stages of the storyline, through to advising on themes to the detail of the scripts."

Reception
In December 2019, Plummer's car was broken into and her EastEnders script was stolen. Fortunately, the spoilers for the show had already been released by the press, meaning scenes didn't have to be re-written.