Eileen Callan

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Eileen Callan
Sam Taylor
DaughtersCharlotte Day
Lucy Day

Eileen Callan (née Day) was a fictional character in the

UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Rosie Rowell from 2002 until the end of the series in 2005.[1]

Storylines

Eileen first arrived in Charnham, in October 2002, where her daughters

Mike Shaw, Eileen's former boyfriend and pimp was in the mix. Mike organised a scheme to have Pete put away for arson, by setting fire to The local cybercafe which was owned by Pete's enemy, local resident Roy Farmer. The plan backfired as Roy was killed in the fire while saving his wife, Nikki Warrington.[4]
Pete was arrested on his and Eileen's wedding day, which occurred coincidentally on the same day as Roy's funeral. Eileen was made interim licensee of the Black Swan Pub Pete owned.

During this period, Eileen's conscience managed to get the best of her and she told

Trish Wallace, who had also dated Mike when they were younger. It transpired that Trish had been seeing Mike while living in Hastings
and fallen pregnant but had miscarried. Trish then proceeded to get Pete onside and provided him with the tape of Eileen confessing to frame Pete. This culminated in Pete throwing Eileen in the River Thames on their first wedding anniversary, after playing the tape back to her. Eileen and Pete were separated for several weeks with Pete having an affair with barmaid Katie Williams and Eileen seeking refuge with Dave and had a little fling. Both these affairs fizzled out once Pete and Eileen realised they loved each other.

That Summer, Trish returned with the news that she was pregnant. Eileen figured out Pete was the father and agreed to make a deal with Trish about the baby. Pete had always wanted a baby with Eileen but Eileen had suffered several miscarriages. Trish began manipulating things and stirring up trouble for the Callans. Trish eventually gave birth to a baby boy, Thomas. In September 2005, on the day of Thomas' christening, Trish appeared upstairs at the pub with a gun and held the Callans and Katie hostage. Pete managed to wrestle the gun away from Trish and shoot her with it. Worse was to come when S019 officers stormed the pub and ordered Pete to drop the gun. Pete took a shot at the police and was killed for his trouble. Eileen was left depressed as Pete had died and left her with nothing and everything to his two sons, Davie and Thomas. To repay Pete for this, Eileen flushed his ashes down the toilet. After Thomas had been taken into care following Trish's arrest, Eileen's mental state went from bad to worse, alienating many locals including her friend,

Chrissy Costello
. One night that October, Eileen set fire to the pub. Everyone had feared she committed suicide, but she was alive and well. Eileen decided to bid farewell to Charnham after getting in contact with her brother in Australia.

Two months later on New Year's Eve (The series' final episode), Eileen returned to Charnham having won the lottery and purchased two houses in Chigwell, one for her and one for her friend Chrissy and her family.

References

  1. ^ Callan, Pete (27 April 2008). "Family Affairs' Eileen in tonights Casualty". digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. ^ Vertran, Ben (31 October 2012). "Family Affairs". soapoperanetwork.com. Soap Opera Network. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  3. ^ Lippincote, Jane (12 November 2004). "This Pete/Trish/Eileen thing in Family Affairs". digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  4. ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy (30 January 1999). "Who left the gas on? Channel 5 has blown up its own soap. Nancy Banks-Smith on a bad week for Family Affairs". theguardian.com. Guardian Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2019.