EastEnders is a BBC soap opera that first aired on 19 February 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2016, in order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, or his successor Sean O'Connor.
In January, Kyle Slater's close friend Sophie Dodd (Poppy Rush) and Stacey Branning's (Lacey Turner) psychiatric nurse Dr. Delia Forde (Carolyn Pickles) were both introduced. Joel Reynolds' (Cavan Clerkin) brother Tim Reynolds (Charlie Baker), Jay Brown's (Jamie Borthwick) love interest Linzi Bragg (Amy-Leigh Hickman), Linzi's mother Thelma Bragg (Lorraine Stanley), Jordan Johnson's (Joivan Wade) son JJ Johnson (Zayden Kareem) and Claudette Hubbard's (Ellen Thomas) foster son Linford Short (Leon Lopez) all made their first appearances in February. March saw Linford's friend, Andy Flynn (Jack Derges), arrive. Kyle's mother, Alison Slater, played by Denise Welch, Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi), the son of Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford) and brother of Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), and Belinda Peacock's (Carli Norris) husband Neville (Gary Webster) all made their first appearances in May, while Paul Coker's (Jonny Labey) estranged mother Jenny Rawlinson (Amy Marston) arrived in July along with Simon Atmore (Tom Palmer), one of Paul's killers. August saw the arrival of Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Michelle Fowler's (Jenna Russell) son Mark Fowler (Ned Porteous). The rest of Paul's killers and Geraldine Clough (Gwyneth Strong) arrived in September, Lee Carter's (Danny Hatchard) friend, Moose (Sam Gittins) arrived in October and Lee's colleague Oz Bolat (Noah Maxwell-Clarke) arrived in November. However, Shakil and Andy were the only new regular characters to be introduced in 2016; both have since departed the serial. Additionally, multiple minor characters appeared throughout the year.
Sophie Dodd
Sophie Dodd, played by Poppy Rush, appears in seven episodes between 4 and 19 January 2016 and four episodes between 27 April and 2 May 2016.
Sophie is the best friend of Kyle Slater (Riley Carter Millington), and along with Ricksy Hicks (Joel Phillimore) and another friend, they arrive in Walford when Kyle decides to meet his half-sister Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner). While Kyle is meeting her, Sophie and Ricksy discuss their friendship with Kyle, and it is revealed that she has stood by him while during an event in his life (later revealed to be his transition from female to male). After Kyle meets Stacey, he tells Sophie that she is a bit weird, and Sophie says she is proud of him and asks if he has told her his secret; he says he does not want her to know. They go to The Queen Victoria pub, and Sophie and Ricksy wait there while Kyle visits Stacey again, and when they order food, it is too salty because it has been sabotaged by Babe Smith (Annette Badland). They leave later when Kyle says things with Stacey were complicated.
Eventually, Kyle moves in with Stacey and gets a job at Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) restaurant. Sophie comes to Walford to support Kyle when the restaurant hosts the Pride of Walford Awards. She meets Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) and they both end up waitressing at the restaurant. Through Kyle and Sophie's conversation, it is revealed that they used to date when Kyle was Sarah. Sophie encourages Tina to get drunk at the event, and when Tina humiliates her girlfriend Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), she confides in Sophie, who kisses Tina. She apologises but then Tina kisses her back. They then have sex and afterwards, Sophie says Tina is not really her type and she has feelings for someone else, so Tina encourages her to find that person again but Sophie says she has changed too much. They then exchange phone numbers. Sophie talks to Kyle, saying she was in love with Sarah, but Kyle just wants to be friends and he says he does not want to "go backwards", so she asks if she is part of his past that he wants to forget, and she leaves, though Kyle wants her in his life. Sophie then texts Tina but Tina ignores her, so Sophie goes to Tina's home and tells Sonia what has happened. This results in Sonia forcing them both to leave, and outside, Sophie insults Tina. She then speaks to Kyle again, saying he should go back to Blackpool with her, and she has been talking to his mother, Alison Slater (Denise Welch) and she would take him back. Kyle says Alison will only accept him as Sarah. Sophie says she loves and misses Sarah as she cared about other people but calls Kyle selfish and says he made the wrong choice to become a man. She then leaves.
Rush's performance was praised by her mother, Coronation Street actress Debbie Rush, on Twitter. While Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap observed, "Kyle's mate Soph is a fast mover isn't she? Not many Walford newbies manage to bag themselves a job and a one-night stand in the space of a single episode. Respect!"
Delia Forde
Dr Delia Forde, played by Carolyn Pickles, appears in four episodes between 22 January and 22 February 2016.
Dr Forde is a psychiatrist who assesses Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) when her boyfriend Martin Fowler (James Bye) convinces her to go to hospital. She and her colleague, Eve Igwe (Emmanuella Cole), inform Martin that there are no mother and baby unit places, and when Martin says that Stacey will not want to stay because of this, she explains that Stacey would likely be sectioned. After this is done, Dr Forde asks Stacey about her visions of God, and Stacey confirms that she started speaking to God only after the birth of her son Arthur Fowler, so Dr Forde concludes that Stacey is suffering from postpartum psychosis. Despite Stacey's pleas to see Arthur, Dr Forde sends Martin home to take care of him.
Dr Forde meets Martin again when he visits Stacey the next week. On the day that Stacey is due for a medical review, she tells Dr Forde about a nightmare she had, but Dr Forde says this is probably just down to anxiety. At the review, Dr Forde gives Stacey the option of continuing her treatment at home and staying in hospital voluntarily. Stacey decides to stay. Martin tries to break Stacey out of the hospital, so Dr Forde tries to stop this, and after he tells her that Stacey tried to harm herself, she insists he goes home. She then talks to Stacey about what happened, and convinces her that she is a good person despite the bad things that have happened in her life. Stacey is then transferred to another hospital.
In the character's final episode, she states that "there isn't the money to look after these women properly", referring to budget cuts to mental health services in the UK. Viewers praised this on Twitter, claiming that EastEnders had helped raise awareness of this issue.
Tim Reynolds
Timothy "Tim" Reynolds, played by comedian Charlie Baker, appears in five episodes between 2 February and 4 May 2016.
Tim is the brother of Joel Reynolds (Cavan Clerkin), who has been killed in a speedboat accident along with his wife Stephanie Reynolds (Claire Lubert). Tim meets Joel's former girlfriend Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) in The Queen Victoria, after Joel's daughter Hannah Reynolds (Mia Jenkins) returns flowers that Ronnie left on Joel and Stephanie's grave, accusing Ronnie of causing their deaths, following the affair she had with Joel several years earlier. Ronnie hands Tim a cheque for £5,000 to help look after Hannah and her sisters, Molly Reynolds and Annabelle Reynolds, but Hannah tears it up, calling it "blood money". Tim thanks Ronnie for the gesture before leaving.
Tim later returns, saying he has something for Ronnie from Joel and her daughter Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace), who also died several years previously. He shows her some photos and a locket belonging to Danielle, upsetting Ronnie. He apologises, and when she says he needs to grieve his brother, he says she is the only person who understands and tries to kiss her, but she pulls away. Tim returns to Ronnie's house when Hannah goes missing before she is due in court, but Ronnie has not seen her. Hannah is found and thanks to Ronnie attending court, the case is dropped. Tim asks Hannah to apologise to Ronnie but she insists she has not sent Ronnie the death threats she received.
Baker said of his role: "It is an honour to join the hugely talented cast and production team of Britain's favourite soap" and added that he was "thrilled" to follow in the footsteps of other comedians who had appeared in EastEnders, including Mike Reid (Frank Butcher), Ricky Grover (Andrew Cotton), Josie Lawrence (Manda Best), Terry Alderton (Terry Spraggan) and Richard Blackwood (Vincent Hubbard). Following his first appearance, Baker confirmed on his Twitter account that Tim would make further appearances over the next few months. Digital Spy said, "there is something a little unnerving about [Tim]", called him "Tim Nice-But-Dim", said his interest in Ronnie is "weird", adding that Ronnie should not trust him.
Thelma Bragg
Thelma Bragg, played by Lorraine Stanley, appears in eight episodes between 8 February and 27 April 2016.
Thelma is a pub landlady who comes to The Queen Victoria when they host an event for "East London Lady Publicans". Thelma is already drunk, and flirts with Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami). She offers Nancy Carter (Maddy Hill) a job as assistant manager at her pub, the Rat and Ferret, and then leaves with her daughter, Linzi Bragg (Amy-Leigh Hickman). After Nancy has a trial at Thelma's pub, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) contacts Thelma and gets her boyfriend and Nancy's brother Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) a trial as well. Thelma is impressed by his good looks and agrees to offer him the job. Thelma later collects Linzi from school after Linzi gets into a fight with Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) and is angry with her.
Linzi's friend Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield) tells Thelma that Linzi is in a relationship with an older man, so Thelma goes to The Queen Victoria, demanding to know who it is, as Linzi is 14. Bex says it is Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick). Thelma confronts Jay as Linzi runs out, and everyone tells Thelma to go after her. Linzi accuses Thelma of being jealous, saying Jay has done nothing wrong, but Thelma calls the police and Jay is arrested. Thelma attends court when Jay pleads guilty and is sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work and must sign the Sex Offender Register for five years. Afterwards, Thelma collects Linzi and tells Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) and Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) what happened in court.
Ofcom received complaints after the scene where Thelma refers to Jay as a "ginger nonce". A viewer objected to Thelma's choice of words stating that it was a "discriminatory reference to hair colour."
The actress Lorraine Stanley had previously portrayed a young Mo Harris (Laila Morse) in the flashback special Pat and Mo (2004), and went on to play Karen Taylor a year later, in a regular role.
Linzi Bragg
Star "Linzi" Bragg, played by Amy-Leigh Hickman, appears in 16 episodes between 8 February and 27 April 2016, and again from 17 March 2017 to 21 March 2017. The character is credited as Linzi in 2016 and Star in 2017.