Clare Bates (also Tyler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gemma Bissix. Bissix originally played the character as a schoolgirl from 1993 to 1998. She left the serial with her adoptive father Nigel Bates, when his actor Paul Bradley opted to leave. Following a ten-year hiatus, Bissix returned to the role in February 2008. The character was transformed from "cute and sweet" into a gold digging "maneater", chasing wealthy men for their money. The British media focused on the character's penchant for revealing clothing, and while she was praised by some critics, it was suggested that she was underused upon her return. Bissix again left EastEnders at the end of her contract in mid 2008. Her departing episode aired in August of that year. The character appeared in May 2025 in an uncredited cameo as a vision within Nigel's mind. The following year, Bissix reprised the role for a short stint when Clare returned to Walford on 4 March as part of Nigel's dementia storyline, and again on 20 May for Nigel's funeral.
Creation and development
Initial stint (1993–1998)
Clare Tyler (later Bates) was introduced by the executive producer of EastEnders, Leonard Lewis. Gemma Bissix was cast in the role. Reflecting on the casting process in 2001, Bissix said, "I was nine when I started on EastEnders. I did drama classes after school and my mum took me to an audition. There were about 50 others. I read through the script and by the time I was home they had phoned my dad to tell him I had the role. I was only supposed to be in it for three episodes, but it turned into five years." It was her first acting job and she had received no formal training. In 2008, Bissix stated, "that was my training [...] quite a lot of people [attend] drama school, I was trained by EastEnders." The character made her first appearance in July 1993 as the daughter of Debbie Tyler (Nicola Duffett), a love interest for an EastEnders regular character, Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley).
Clare's introductory storyline focused upon domestic violence – her father Liam Tyler's (Francis Magee) physical abuse of her mother Debbie – and being caught between her feuding parents. Later storylines involved the death of her mother, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in 1995, and a subsequent custody battle between her father and stepfather, which ultimately led to Nigel being given custody of Clare. After six years in the serial, the character was written out in 1998 as a result of Paul Bradley's decision to leave, reportedly for fear of being typecast in the role of Nigel the "nerd". The writers of EastEnders wanted to give Nigel a happy ending, so a character named Julie Haye (Karen Henthorn) was invented to be a love interest for Nigel, whilst her son, Josh Saunders (Jon Lee), was invented to be a love interest for Clare. In the storyline, Nigel fell for Julie, Clare's teacher, as they tried to sort out Clare's problematic behaviour at school. Simultaneously, Clare fell for Julie's son Josh, and when the storyline reached its climax in April 1998, the Bates family relocated to Scotland to begin a new life with Julie and Josh. Since her initial departure, actress Gemma Bissix has commented on her character's exit from the soap: "it was the right time for the character to go. Besides, when you get to 15 and haven't been able to cut your hair for six years, you want a change."
Reintroduction (2008)
In September 2007, an official BBC press report announced that actress would reprise the role of Clare ten years after her initial departure. Bissix was approached about returning by the executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer, following her successful stint as soap villain Clare Devine in Channel 4's Hollyoaks."Ex-'Hollyoaks' actress returns to 'EastEnders' ", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 22 September 2007. Commenting on her reintroduction, Bissix has said, "To be able to reprise the role of Clare, who I played when I was a child, is such a great compliment. It's fantastic to grab something that once was and try and develop it into something different. I'm loving every minute." Bissix made her reappearance as Clare on 1 February 2008 — in her first scene, she was seen being thrown out of the back of a car by her lover, the CEO of a big company.
Characterisation Unlike the "cute, sweet" character she appeared to be during the 1990s, Clare was transformed into a "man-eating bitch" upon her reintroduction in 2008; a gold digger, chasing after wealthy men for their money. Bissix has said, "Myself, Diederick [Santer] and [story producer] Dominic [Treadwell-Collins] had a characterisation session and we discussed what Clare's been doing and how she's got to where she is now. Her back story has played a big part in how I'm developing the character."
As part of the character's new look, Bissix was required to wear revealing clothing regularly. She has commented, "That is her character. She thinks she looks sexy and she reckons that's what it takes to get blokes on their knees. You can't blame her – it works for most."
Explaining the reasons for her character's personality change, Bissix said "I think it's just the fact that she's lonely. When she was in Scotland Nigel and Julie were getting on with their own thing. Through no fault of Nigel's she just got pushed out of the family. She's not his real child, her mum's dead and her dad was in prison and is a bit of a wrong un. She went to university and was mistreated by a few men. Now she uses her looks to her advantage. Now she's using the men and treating them badly...she's never felt settled. Her mother died, her father was abusive and she doesn't even know him. She's never felt like she's fitted in. Clare's 'mystery' is brought about by her looking for that father figure and needing that kind of attention, which then leads her into preying on the men of Walford. That's how she makes her money. Her forté is finding men with money and using her assets to entice them and rip them off..." Gold digging The character's first return storyline concentrated on her attempt to seduce and then blackmail wealthy resident Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). An EastEnders insider said: "Ian has been completely blown away by Clare ever since she returned to the Square. She is a saucy little minx and will stop at nothing to get him into bed. But she's not really interested in him – she just wants his money. So Ian is really playing with fire and risking his marriage just by being alone with Clare. But he's more of a silly old fool than anything – although I'm not sure that Jane will see it like that, especially if she finds out about their kiss. And Clare being Clare, she probably will – unless of course Ian pays her to keep quiet." However, in the storyline, Clare's games were eventually halted when Ian confessed to Jane and she ordered Clare to "Stay away from Ian!". According to Bissix, filming these scenes was particularly hard for Adam Woodyatt, who knew her well when she was only a child from her first stint in the soap: "Poor Adam. He spent a day staring at my chest for one scene, trying to get the fact that the last time he saw me I was 14 out of his head. He was a friend of Nigel so he was around all the time when I was first here and we'd done scenes together. Now, instead of this snotty-nosed little girl making Nigel's tea, she was trying to seduce him and get him in his Y-fronts."
Clare was later shown to develop an interest in Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements). In an interview with Digital Spy at the 2008 British Soap Awards, Bissix was asked about Clare's relationship with Bradley. She said, "[Their relationship] will be explored to a certain degree, but at the same time [...] it is Bradley at the end of the day, and unless he earns money, it's not going to get very far."
Other characters that Clare has tried to seduce for their wealth have included Bradley's father Max (Jake Wood), and her former sugar daddy, Arnold (Richard Lumsden) — a guest character who was introduced in a storyline that saw Clare steal all his wife's expensive jewellery. In May 2008, Bissix revealed that the "depths to Clare are going to start to be unraveled", which she welcomed as, in her words, she'd had "enough of [Clare's] maneating for a while."
Departure (2008) Despite Bissix stating early in May 2008 that she was going to be with EastEnders for "a while", it was announced a few weeks later on 23 May 2008 that she would be leaving EastEnders when her contract ended in the summer of 2008."Gemma Bissix to leave 'EastEnders' ", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 23 May 2008. Bissix has since revealed that she decided not to renew her contract. Bissix commented, "I've had a great time at EastEnders and I have loved having the chance to play Clare again. I'm looking forward to trying new things." Press reports suggested that Clare would depart the soap after she was exposed as a "thoroughly nasty piece of work". A source told the press, "Clare has been toiling away, trying it on with all the affluent men of Walford including Bradley Branning, Jack Branning and even Ian Beale but what she had thought was a masterplan to bag the man of her dreams soon gets out of hand. She is forced to flee as it is clear she is not welcome in Albert Square anymore."
Despite Clare showing a more "vulnerable" side in the weeks prior to her departure, in episodes that aired in July 2008, Bradley discovered her original plan to manipulate money from himself and other men in Walford, and subsequently shunned her, leaving Clare "feeling isolated and unwanted by her closest friends and family". Bissix has discussed her character's departure and the "softer side" to Clare that emerged: "she does genuinely care for [Bradley] [...] When he turns against her, it turns into a bit of a drunken mission for her and she wrecks Dot's house. When Dot comes back, she finds her in a bit of a state and hands her a Christianity leaflet. [Clare] actually sits and tries to pray". Kris Green from Digital Spy has suggested that the programme "only really ever scratched the surface with [Clare]" and that there was still a lot that was undiscovered about the character, which Bissix has agreed with. She comments, "This isn't a closed chapter. At the end of the day, she's been outed off the Square and with the character she is, she doesn't even know what's going on in her own head. Someone like Clare doesn't stick around Walford unless there's a reason. I like to believe in what I do and believe in my characters. I'm not going to stay in a job for no reason. Clare would definitely leave in this situation." After one last "huge row" with Bradley and realising that she had no friends in Walford, Clare decided to leave, making her exit in an hour-long episode that aired on 7 August 2008."Clare makes her decision to leave Walford ", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 30 July 2008. Discussing her exit, Bissix said, "I leave Albert Square in the back of a Black Cab, of course! Which is how I left with Nigel 10 years ago so it feels kind of right. It's better than going out in a [coffin] isn't it? I don't want to be killed off!" She also revealed that she is hoping Clare Bates will return to EastEnders again one day, commenting, "I don't think it's the end of Clare. I'm sure she'll be back to cause trouble at some point." In 2009, Bissix added that producers told her when she left in August 2008 that they were thinking of bringing her character back in a year or so. She added, "but it's one of those things. I'll just have to wait and see."
Return (2026)