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.
Sorry Phil (Steve McFadden), but the best male Mitchell has always been his nephew 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 the surprise pregnancy of Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), the arrival of the Slaters and the 2001 shooting of his uncle in one of the soap’s biggest storylines of all time.
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.
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.
