Tina Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Luisa Bradshaw-White. The character first appeared on 18 November 2013, and was introduced as the sister of established character Shirley Carter (Linda Henry). She was the first of a set of new characters that expanded the Carter family in 2013. Tina was created by incoming executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins (although Tina was introduced by Lorraine Newman, a month before prior to Treadwell-Collins took over the executive producer role). Tina and Bradshaw-White's casting were announced on 19 September 2013. The character was previously mentioned on-screen due to her daughter, Zsa Zsa Carter (Emer Kenny), appearing on the show in 2010.
Tina's storylines mostly revolve around her relationship with her sister Shirley and relationships with Tosh Mackintosh (Rebecca Scroggs), who physically abuses her, and Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), which ends when Sonia falls out of love with her. Tina also accidentally runs over Janet Mitchell (Grace) and has several flings with Janet's father, Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick). In a later storyline, Tina feuds with Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) when it emerges that he drugged and attacked her when she was a teenager. It was announced on 16 October 2020 that Bradshaw-White had quit her role and she made her last appearance on 28 December 2020, when Tina was murdered by Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith), with her corpse hidden underneath the floorboards of the Argee Bhajee restaurant, which remained undiscovered for over a year. She appeared in a flashback in an episode that aired on 29 July 2021. Her body was found by Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) on 24 February 2022, and her funeral aired on 6 April 2022.
Creation and development Casting and introduction
Tina was introduced as the sister of established regular character Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), who has appeared on the show since 2006. Tina's daughter Zsa Zsa Carter (Emer Kenny) previously appeared in 2010, and mentioned her mother as living in Spain with her new husband. Two days before the character's arrival was announced, Treadwell-Collins posted a photo to Twitter of a bomber jacket with the name Tina on the back, sparking speculation that Shirley's sister had been cast. The casting of Luisa Bradshaw-White was announced on 19 September 2013, around two months before her first on-screen appearance.
Tina is described as 'loud, brash, cheeky and full of energy', with the potential to lead Shirley astray. Bradshaw-White expressed her excitement over the role, commenting that she was particularly excited as 'the energy between Tina and Shirley is explosive'. The role was changed for Bradshaw-White; Tina was initially described as 'an overweight 50-year-old who's past it'. Tina first appeared when Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) tracked her sister Shirley to her rundown flat, after she had been forced out of Walford by Carl White (Daniel Coonan). He convinced Shirley to return with him, and Tina followed soon after, escaping an abusive ex-girlfriend, Tosh Mackintosh; Rebecca Scroggs was introduced in this role in February of the following year.
Relationships
Carter family Tina was introduced as the first of a new set of Carters, the family of Shirley, and therefore has a large amount of on-screen interaction with her family. Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins compared Tina to her sister Shirley, saying that she was 'loud and brash' like her. She also seems to be a liability like Shirley, having parented Zsa Zsa badly and letting her fly off the handle at times. Despite this, Tina is more forgiving than her sister; for example, she forgives their father Stan Carter, played by Timothy West, for his bad parenting and alcoholism when they were children, whereas Shirley still holds a grudge against him. She has a good relationship with her nephew Mick (Danny Dyer) and his family, and shares a flat at one time with Shirley's son Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo).
Sonia Fowler Tina became friends with Sonia Fowler, played by Natalie Cassidy, when she returned to the soap. Sonia, who was experiencing troubles in her marriage, received counsel from kindly Sonia and they shared a kiss, as Sonia is bisexual. However, due to her relationship with Tosh Mackintosh, the kiss went no further. Their friendship ended when Tosh found out about the kiss and ordered them to cut ties.
Tosh Mackintosh Tina's past relationship with an abusive ex-girlfriend was hinted at when she was introduced. On 9 February 2014, it was announced Rebecca Scroggs would play Tosh Mackintosh, her firefighter ex-girlfriend who she would reconcile with. Tina tracked down Tosh after realising she still loved her. About their relationship, Scroggs said that 'there's something about Tina that Tosh is really drawn to', but Tina's family 'put pressure' on their relationship. Shirley was Tosh's main adversary and locked Tina in the lounge of The Queen Vic to try to stop her seeing Tosh after a showdown in which Tosh sprayed Shirley to the ground with her fireman's hose.
Several months into their relationship, Tosh was seen pushing to Tina to have a baby. Bradshaw-White said that Tosh pressures Tina into having a baby, telling her 'either they start a family – or she goes'. Tina was a bad mother to her daughter Zsa Zsa due to being addicted to drugs at the time, but Tosh insisted that Tina would be a better mother now as she 'really mothers everyone in the family'. It was reported that Tosh would become pregnant, but she was seen to lose the baby soon afterwards. This caused Tosh to become violent towards Tina again, hitting her on two separate occasions. Of the latter, more extreme attack, Jo Harvey Barringer of the Broken Rainbow UK commented that 'the violent punch Tosh (dealt) was calculated to put Tina in her place and to punish Tina for challenging Tosh's dominance in the relationship; a reminder that Tosh was in control and held all the power'.
Departure In October 2020, confirmation surfaced that Bradshaw White would be departing from the show, with her final scenes slated to air around December. Tina met her demise on 28 December 2020, succumbing to Gray Atkins, who murdered her upon her discovery of his involvement in his wife Chantelle's death. Gray disposed of Tina's body by transporting it out of the square in the trunk of his car. Subsequently, Tina was reported missing, leaving uncertainty over whether she had perished or somehow survived.
Shirley fervently searched for her, eventually abandoning hope in an episode broadcast in January 2022. On February 4, it was unveiled that Gray had concealed Tina's remains beneath the floorboards of the Argee Bhajee. Viewers witnessed her decomposed body onscreen, confirming her tragic demise. Tina's body is found later that month, which sparks an investigation into her death. Tina's funeral then takes place in the episode airing on 4 April 2022.
Storylines Tina Carter was first mentioned in 2010 by her daughter Zsa Zsa Carter. However, she first came to Walford after her sister Shirley (Linda Henry) was tracked down by her ex-boyfriend Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). It turns out that Shirley has been residing in Tina's rundown flat, after she has been forced out of Walford and threatened by his enemy and ex-convict Carl White (Daniel Coonan) not long ago. Shirley agrees to return with Phil, and gives Tina money to escape her abusive girlfriend. She does this, and joins Shirley in Walford. They struggle to find somewhere to live as Tina and Phil do not get on, and end up sleeping on the floor of the house owned by Phil's cousin Billy (Perry Fenwick). At some point, Billy develops a crush on Tina; however, she rejects his advances before admitting that she is a lesbian – despite having been married to a man in the past and having a teenage daughter, Zsa Zsa Carter (Emer Kenny), who previously lived with Shirley in Walford.
Sometime later, Tina encourages Shirley to reconcile with her estranged son Mick (Danny Dyer) – who is initially thought to be Shirley's brother. They visit his wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) at her mother's pub in Watford but she is sceptical towards them. Tina later responds by stealing money from a bingo competition one night. Shirley finds out about this and returns the money before going on to reconcile with Mick, who then moves his family to Walford by buying The Vic from Phil at the end of 2013.
In 2014, Tina and Shirley help Mick run the pub, though Tina later gets a second job at the local café soon after. Tina befriends her colleague Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy). Tina sleeps with Billy when drunk, but tells him that she does not have feelings for him and they agree to be just friends. She is delighted when her father Stan Carter (Timothy West), who the rest of the family are estranged from, makes amends with his children and moves into the Vic with them.
Tina realizes she is still in love with her abusive ex-girlfriend, Tosh Mackintosh (Rebecca Scroggs), and reconciles with her. She brings her to a family dinner, but Tosh and Shirley argue and after Shirley tries to stop Tina from seeing Tosh. Tina rebels and starts a full relationship with Tosh again, with them eventually moving into a flat nearby with Aleks Shirovs (Kristian Kiehling) and Jake Stone (Jamie Lomas). Tina supports Sonia with marital issues, and passes up a night out with Tosh to be with her. They share a passionate kiss, but afterward decide to just be friends. Tosh demands that Tina and Sonia end their friendship when she finds out, and accidentally causes Tina to hit her head on a door frame in a rage. They reconcile and Tosh tells Tina she wants to have a baby. Tina is reserved at first due to her bad parentage of Zsa Zsa, but eventually agrees and supports Tosh when she is inseminated. This is expensive and Tina begins dealing drugs from the café with the help of her aunt, Babe Smith (Annette Badland), but they are forced to stop when Mick and Shirley find out. Tosh is upset when Tina's colleague Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) tells her about the drug dealing, and convinces Tina to raise the money by working extra shifts instead.