EastEnders at 40: Vote for your favourite Walford faces with our poll to celebrate those who make you smile
AFTER 40 years of drama, laughter and tears, we all have a favourite EastEnders character.
Thousands have appeared in the show, from pub landlords to hardmen and the big personalities who never fail to make us smile.
Love ’em or loathe ’em, they’ve all made their mark.
Now, Sun on Sunday readers can pick their top Walford faces in our online poll.
Vote at thesun.co.uk/eastenders and next week we’ll unveil the nation’s favourites – chosen by you.
BEST DOUBLE ACT
Den and Angie Watts v Mick and Linda Carter
THEIR stormy marriage had us laughing, crying and gasping with shock but Angie refused to let cheating husband Den go, even during the rockiest of times.
Mick and Linda stuck together through thick and thin and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the couple renewed their wedding vows in a touching Christmas ceremony at the Queen Vic.
FUNNIEST CHARACTER
Alfie Moon v Dot Cotton
DOT’S memorable moments include stumbling across porn as she innocently searched the internet for bushes, and discovering that her special herbal tea was actually cannabis. Ooh, I say!
Shane Richie brought perfect comedy timing to the role of Alfie.
Who can forget him getting held up at gunpoint in the shop as he tried to buy condoms?
BEST BAD BOY
Phil Mitchell v Nick Cotton
HARDMAN Phil has committed just about every crime you care to mention.
He killed a homeless man, fired a gun at his brother Grant, took part in an armed robbery and tried to murder Dennis Rickman.
Not content with killing war veteran Reg Cox and stabbing landlord Eddie Royle, Nasty Nick tried twice to bump off mum Dot to get his hands on her money.
BEST BAD GIRL
Janine Butcher v Stella Crawford
WALFORD’S Queen of Evil, Janine fell out with Pat Butcher, Kat Slater and Laura Beale.
She killed two husbands (including pushing Barry off a cliff), tried to kill Ryan Malloy and stabbed Michael Moon.
Stella Crawford was one of the soap’s most hated characters. Jealous of fiancé Phil Mitchell’s son Ben, she cruelly abused him physically and emotionally.
BEST BATTLEAXE
Pat Evans v Pauline Fowler
TOUGH-talking Pat could not resist a slanging match with anyone who crossed her, most notably her classic “You bitch!” showdown with Peggy Mitchell.
Overbearing Pauline never held back, famously feuding with Peggy and Sonia, who she described as the “daughter of a scrubber, lesbian, underage mother who gave away her own baby”.
BEST PUB BOSS
Angie Watts v Peggy Mitchell
LOUD and feisty, Angie sure had her hands full as the Queen Vic’s first landlady – and the wife of cheating husband Dirty Den.
Famous for telling anyone who upset her to “Get outta my pub!” the formidable Peggy ruled the Queen Vic with a rod of iron, all while trying to keep her two warring sons Phil and Grant in check.
SEXIEST FEMALE
Tiffany Butcher v Lucy Beale
TIFFANY is played by Maisie Smith, girlfriend of The Wanted pop star Max George, and she regularly sets social media alight with her sexy bikini snaps.
Hetti Bywater, who plays Lucy, has also showcased her bikini body in social media posts, as well as sending soap fans wild with her glamorous red-carpet looks.
HOTTEST HEART-THROB
Ravi Gulati v Joe Wicks
WHEN he’s not breaking hearts on the soap as bad-boy Ravi, Aaron Thiara is working out. His fit body and good looks have won him an army of admirers.
Paul Nicholls captured the hearts of fans as tormented Joe in the 90s as the pin-up of his era.
He was twice voted TV’s sexiest actor and graced covers of magazines.
HAPPIEST COUPLE
Billy & Honey Mitchell v Ricky & Bianca Butcher
HONEY and Billy have been on and off since marrying in 2006. They are due to remarry on February 19 – the actual date of the soap’s 40th anniversary.
Ricky and Bianca’s on-off romance captivated fans and, in 1997, one of the biggest-ever audiences of 22million saw them marry.
A spin-off followed – EastEnders: Ricky & Bianca. The pair remarried in 2010.
STRONGEST WOMAN
Cindy Beale v Sharon Watts
SCHEMING Cindy looks after No1 and, while the homewrecker has had her heart broken countless times, she always bounces back.
Sharon famously married one Mitchell brother, then had an affair with another.
She takes everything in her stride, including an affair with Keanu, 30 years her junior and becoming a mum again at 50.