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A former EastEnders
Louise Jameson portrayed Rosa di Marco on the BBC series from 1998 until 2000, when her character was written out.
While soap matriarchs are usually given dramatic exits, Rosa died of a heart attack off-screen after moving to Leicester.
Jameson has now said that she felt “gutted” by the story, and only found out she was leaving the soap via a newspaper article.
She also said that she was potentially axed from the series after a row over a dark storyline that she did not want to take part in.
Show all 25 1 /2527 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about 27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Andy Hunter Played by: Michael Higgs
In the early 2000s, EastEnders went through a phase of having organised crime subplots, with characters including Dan Sullivan and Johnny Allen. Andy Hunter – who joined the show in 2003 – was the slimiest of them all. Kat Slater proved the perfect love interest to Andy's gangster up until she jilted him at the altar for Alfie Moon in 2005.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Beppe di Marco Played by: Michael Greco
Police officer Beppe di Marco was a household name in the late 1990s up until the character was axed from the soap in 2002. He's perhaps best remembered for his rivalry with the Mitchell brothers, the peak of which arrived when he attempted to frame Grant for Tiffany's murder.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Binnie Roberts and Della Alexander Played by: Sophie Langham and Michelle Joseph
Binnie Roberts and Della Alexander, characters from 1994, were the soap's first lesbian couple. They left after a few years, still – amazingly for the soap – a happy couple.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Carol Jackson Played by: Lindsey Coulson
Stopping Carol Jackson from going down in the "legendary character" ranks is the fact that she's returned to Albert Square twice over the past 20 years. What's worth remembering, though, is that Coulson was always one of the show's best performers whenever she was on it.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Chelsea Fox Played by: Tiana Benjamin
Chelsea Fox, daughter of Denise, was a breath of fresh air on the Square, mostly thanks to her portrayal by Tiana Benjamin, who quit the Harry Potter franchise to join the soap in 2006 (she played Gryffindor student Angelina Johnson). She left the square in 2010.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Dawn Swann Played by: Kara Tointon
Dawn may have been tainted by her association with the Miller family (her brother Mickey – played by Joe Swash – does not make this list), but the character injected a dash of glamour and optimism into the doom and gloom of Albert Square in 2005. Well, until she was kidnapped and almost died in a gas explosion.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Dennis Rickman Played by: Nigel Harman
Dennis Rickman seemed like a staple of EastEnders throughout the 2000s, but he was actually only in it from 2003 to 2005. Still, his appearance made quite a stir thanks to the return of his resurrected father Dirty Den and marriage to his adopted sister, Sharon, right up until he was killed off on New Year's Eve.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Garry Hobbs Played by: Ricky Groves
Garry was in EastEnders for just under nine years, which – let's be honest – is longer than anyone could recall. His character had quite the trajectory. After being introduced as the doting if ultimately unhappy husband of Lynne Slater, he ended his time on the show literally sailing into the sunset with Dawn Swann in 2009.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Glenda Mitchell Played by: Glynsis Barber
It's fair to say that Glenda, the scheming mother of Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell, was liked by nobody in the soap, which made her great entertainment for viewers. Her episodes always saw her swanning around Albert Square with the sole intention of stirring up trouble, which invariably came back to bite her. She's returned a number of times since the character was first introduced in 2010.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Dr Harold Legg Played by: Leonard Fenton
More memorable due to the fact he was given a send off in the soap just last year, Dr Legg was Albert Square's go-to doctor throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Jamie Mitchell Played by: Jack Ryder
The best Mitchell was Jamie, the character played by Jack Ryder from 1998 to 2002. He found himself at the heart of some of the soap's biggest moments, including Sonia's surprise pregnancy, the arrival of the Slaters and the shooting of his uncle, Phil.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Joe Wicks Played by: Paul Nicholls
Nicholls's portrayal of the schizophrenic Joe Wicks between 1996 and 1997 was praised by numerous mental health organisations. Not that the actor can recall the experience. In 2010, he told Press Association: "I can't really remember being in [EastEnders]. It's really weird. I remember driving to work and being on set a few times, but if I ever look back now, it's just blank."
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Lou Beale Played by: Anna Wing
The straight-talking Lou Beale was an early favourite, as well as being the matriarch of one of the soap's longest-standing families (Ian Beale is her grandson). She was killed off in 1988.
27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Kelvin Carpenter Played by: Paul J Medford
Kelvin Carpenter was one of the soap's original creations. You might remember him being a member of the soap's fictional band alongside other teenage characters, including Sharon Watts and Ian Beale. His last appearance may have been 1987, but the character was mentioned as recently as 2017.
27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Lucas Johnson Played by: Don Gilet
There was something Shakespearean about the downfall of Lucas, a former criminal-turned-preacher who starts murdering his way around the Square in 2008. Full of dramatic irony, his scenes with unsuspecting wife Denise (Diane Parish) were genuinely enthralling to watch, with Don Gilet playing up the Jekyll and Hyde-aspect of his character impressively. Lucas got his comeuppance in 2010.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Kelly Taylor and Spencer Moon Played by: Brooke Kinsella and Christopher Parker
EastEnders has had its fair share of frustrating younger characters over the years, but Kelly – loyal friend to Zoe Slater – and the hapless Spencer Moon were two of the more likeable ones. Unlike his brother Alfie, Spencer's time on the Square lasted for just three years (2002-05) and Kelly was written out the year before he left.
Rex Features
27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Mandy Salter Played by: Nicola Stapleton
Mandy Salter was all the rage in 1993. Her storyline, which placed the spotlight on teenage homelessness, was praised by viewers and led to the character's high-profile cameo in an episode of Doctor Who. She returned to the soap after 17 years in 2011 before departing again the following year.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about DCI Marsden Played by: Sophie Stanton
Albert Square kept DCI Marsden very busy. Whenever a murder took place, there was a period when she'd be the detective assigned to the case. Marsden was brought in for four big arcs in all: Phil Mitchell's shooting (2001) and stalking storyline (2012), as well as the murders of Archie Mitchell (2009) and Lucy Beale (2015).
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Paul Trueman Played by: Gary Beadle
Forget Anthony – the only Trueman you'll find on this list is Paul, the "unloved" son of Audrey and Patrick. Paul spent his time on the soap fighting for the attention of his family, which reached a crescendo when his mother told Anthony she loved him in her final moments, but failed to mention Paul. "WHAT ABOUT ME?!" he bellowed. Cue the duffs duffs. Paul was killed off in 2004 completing three years on the soap.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Sean Slater Played by: Rob Kazinsky
Before Rob Kazinsky starred in True Blood and the Hobbit trilogy, he played the long-lost Slater brother, Sean, who wasted no time getting into trouble. His storylines included dealing drugs and infidelity with his step sister. His last appearance as a regular was in 2009, but Sean returned for multiple episodes in 2019.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Shirley Benson Played by: Robyn Moore
Before Shirley Carter, there was Shirley Benson. Still no idea? Let us remind you: in 2003, Shirley led a pleasant life working in the bookies until the arrival of Gavin, a noisy neighbour-from-hell who tormented Shirley and – in a pretty disturbing twist – left the body of her cat Boots in a bag on her doorstep. All before 9pm!
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Sue Osman Played by: Sandy Ratcliff
Sue Osman was one of the soap's original 23 characters alongside her Turkish Cypriot husband Ali (Nejdet Salih). She was at the centre of what was probably the soap's first ever truly harrowing scenes, which focused on the cot death of her newborn son. She left after her character was sectioned in 1989.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Tariq Larousi Played by: Nabil Elouahabi
Hear us out – the Ferreira family might have been a disastrous addition to the show (they were axed after being blamed for plummeting viewing figures), but Ronny Ferreira's best friend Tariq wasn't so bad, bringing much-needed levity to many a sombre and terribly boring storyline from 2003-05.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Yusef Khan Played by: Ace Bhatti
Everyone remembers Trevor, Little Mo's abusive husband, but Yusef Khan also deserves a mention as one of the soap's scariest villains. He spent his single year on the soap breaking up the Masood family and, after months of violently manipulating Zainab (Nina Wadia), met a fiery end after burning down the bed and breakfast in 2001.
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27 best Eastenders characters you've completely forgotten about Zsa Zsa Carter Played by: Emer Kenny
Writer-actor Emer Kenny had a brief appearance in EastEnders as Zsa Zsa Carter, one of an influx of teenage characters who primarily featured in spinoff show EastEnders: E20, but, throughout 2010, would occasionally show up in the main soap (the others included Leon and Fatboy). Zza Zsa didn't really get involved in the main action and spent the majority of her scenes chilling in the cafe.
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Jameson told The Mirror
”I thought they could have run it by me a bit beforehand so I could tell my family. It just wasn’t respectful.
The Di Marco family (Rex) “Shortly before that announcement they’d wanted to run a particular story that I wasn’t happy with and I wonder if that was the beginning of my demise,” she continued. “They were going to make Rosa racist.
”It’s not that I wouldn’t play a racist if the overall feel was anti-racism . But when you’re in a soap, people identify you so strongly with the character you’re playing so I didn’t want to appear racist.”
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Try for free Following EastEnders , Jameson appeared in series including Holby City , Doctors and Toast of London .
EastEnders recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, with Australian soap Neighbours hinting that the two series are set in the same universe .
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