Nancy Carter

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Nancy Carter
EastEnders character
Portrayed byMaddy Hill
Duration2014–2016, 2021–2022
First appearanceEpisode 4775/4776
1 January 2014 (2014-01-01)
Last appearanceEpisode 6509
23 June 2022 (2022-06-23)
ClassificationFormer; regular
Introduced by
In-universe information
Occupation
  • Barmaid
  • Market trader
  • Personal trainer
FatherMick Carter
MotherLinda Carter
StepmotherJanine Carter
Brothers
Half-sisters
  • Frankie Lewis
  • Annie Carter
Husband
Buster Briggs

John Peacock
Grandmothers
Uncles
Jade Masood
Other relatives

Nancy Carter is a fictional character from the

Lee Carter (Danny Hatchard). It was announced that Maddy Hill would be leaving the show, with Nancy departing alongside Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) on 22 April 2016. Hill’s return was announced in February 2021, and Nancy reappeared between 13 April 2021 and 23 June 2022, when Hill decided to leave the show once again.[1]

Storylines

2014–2016

Nancy appears when she is about to marry

epileptic seizure when she is with Dexter and during her recuperation under Dexter's care he declares that he finds Nancy attractive. Dexter follows Nancy when she goes down in to The Queen Vic cellar to change the barrel, she is impressed when he removes his T-shirt and they are interrupted before they start having sex when they hear groaning—Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) is on the floor of the pub's alleyway after being mugged. Nancy befriends Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) including providing him with a bed in the pub after his father, Masood, punches him. In May 2014, Dexter kisses Nancy, but she is unsure how to respond. Later on, Nancy walks in on her grandmother Shirley (Linda Henry) and great-grandfather Stan (Timothy West
) arguing and collapses and has a second epileptic seizure, but is helped by Stan and Shirley.

Nancy continues working behind the bar. When Mick is accused of soliciting a prostitute, he convinces Nancy of his innocence and Nancy fights

Aleks Shirovs (Kristian Kiehling
) has been stealing money from the market traders, Nancy encourages him to report Aleks to the authorities. Once he has done that, he nervously kisses her again in full view of the patrons in the pub. Although Tamwar is again flustered by it, this time, Nancy is grateful and they kiss again and begin dating.

After Nancy discovers an attraction between

Ollie Carter (Charlie Harrington) out of his highchair. Ollie appears to be fine but the argument continues, so Mick physically throws Nancy and Lee out through the public bar. Ollie has a seizure shortly after the fall and is admitted to hospital where the family learns that he may have brain damage. Mick and Linda advise Nancy and Lee to tell them what happened during their argument after the doctors call Social Services. Nancy is crushed when Mick admits he blames her and that he cannot forgive her. She plans an Easter egg hunt to bring the family together, but Mick and Linda do not attend. When Janet Mitchell (Grace) goes missing, Nancy finds her. Her father, Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), thanks her and compliments her to Mick, but Mick still refuses to talk to her. Nancy has sex with Kush, who has also been rejected. She has a seizure in Kush's bed, so Kush calls Tamwar for help. Tamwar is disgusted with Kush, and Nancy asks Tamwar not to tell anyone what happened. Tamwar tells Mick to call Nancy and to stop blaming her for the incident with Ollie. After Johnny (now Ted Reilly
) returns to Walford and decides not to return to Italy, Nancy offers to take his ticket, wanting to use the trip to discover who she really is as a person. She asks Tamwar to come with her, and although he initially declines, he later accepts and they decide to travel the world instead. After seeing Nancy saying her goodbyes to Ollie, Mick forgives her and tells her she was not to blame for his accident. Masood decides to accompany Nancy and Tamwar on their journey, but he changes his mind at the last minute, and after emotional goodbyes to their families, Nancy and Tamwar leave Walford.

In March 2017, Mick receives a phonecall from Tamwar revealing that Nancy has been critically injured after being struck by a car while backpacking in Bulgaria. He immediately leaves Walford and flies over to Bulgaria to be with her. In February 2019, the Carters learn that Nancy and Tamwar have got engaged in Australia. They get married there and later settle down in New Zealand.

2021–2022

In April 2021, Nancy returns to Walford to visit Mick and Linda and meets her half-sister

Albie Watts
, Nancy has another seizure but manages to calmly put Albie in his crib and call Mick for help before collapsing. When Mick arrives, she breaks down and admits sorrow that her long-time decision to never have children has destroyed her marriage with Tamwar. Mick accompanies Nancy to her next hospital appointment, where she is told that she has to wait a year to undergo sterilisation. Though Nancy is disappointed with the outcome, Mick advises her to wait a year to decide whether she still wants to go through with never having children; he will support her no matter what she decides.

Nancy and Zack get romantically involved and they sleep together. However, Mick requests Zack to give Frankie a driving lesson. While driving, Frankie accidentally hits Nancy who is out on a run. Zack and Frankie rush Nancy to hospital and Zack convinces Frankie to keep quiet about the accident. Mick later finds out the truth, and while he forgives Frankie, he warns Zack to stay away from Nancy. However, Zack refuses to leave Nancy, as he has fallen in love with her. A guilty Zack reveals the truth to Nancy, who is horrified with both Frankie and Zack. She is gutted when Mick supports Frankie and when Frankie passes her driving test, Mick buys her a car, much to Nancy's disappointment. This leads to a feud between Frankie and Nancy, which culminates in Nancy locking Frankie in the boot of her car. However, unbeknownst to Nancy, the car is stolen by

Annie
.

Nancy and Zack decide to open a restaurant together, and they meet with Melissa (Hannah Bennett-Fox), who they believe is an investor. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Melissa is working with Janine to swindle the pair, so she can use the money to pay Linda into leaving Walford. Melissa then fools Nancy and Zack into transferring money into her account. Janine gives half of the money to Linda, who eventually decides to remain in Walford and keeps the money, unaware that it is Nancy’s. Nancy becomes suspicious when she does not hear back from the investor, and later discovers that she has been conned. Linda realises that the money Janine gave her belonged to Nancy and vows to tell her the truth during a trip to Watford. Nancy is furious when she finds out that Linda had planned to abandon her family, and leaves Linda stranded after an argument. She is later devastated to discover that Linda has been involved in a car accident with Annie under the influence of alcohol. Nancy and the rest of her family, are unaware that Janine had caused the accident and framed Linda for it. When Linda regains consciousness, she has no recollection of the crash, and wrongly assumes that she must have been driving whilst drunk. All this turmoil causes Nancy to drift apart from Zack and when he sells his car so that they can earn more money, Nancy shows little appreciation. He ends up sleeping with Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) but decides to hide this from Nancy. However, she finds out when a picture is exposed of Zack and Sam together undressed. Nancy responds by ending their relationship, but Zack, determined to win Nancy back, proposes to her; though Nancy turns him down. Nancy decides to reconcile with Linda after disowning her for the accident, but she soon realises that Linda has continued drinking.

Nancy contemplates her life in Walford and realises that she cannot trust her mother and Zack, and doesn’t want to be hurt again. Unable to trust Linda, she decides to leave Walford with Annie, but changes her mind when she realises that Linda is willing to become a better mother to Annie. After bidding an emotional farewell to her family, Nancy goes to stay with Johnny in

HIV positive
.

Development

Hill's casting as Nancy was announced on 29 October 2013, on which the actress said: "I feel incredibly privileged to have been given such an amazing opportunity and I can't wait to start work with such a talented cohort of actors".[4] Nancy is described as a stubborn and fiery 21-year-old tomboy that is a disappointment to her mother. However, she is also an "extremely caring and loyal friend" although she brings trouble with her.[5] Hill described Nancy as "boisterous", a "total tomboy" and "pretty good at sports".[6] Hill opined that the storyline involving Wayne, and his subsequent exit scenes were "too satisfying to film".[7] She said, Nancy's not too bothered about Wayne at this point. She knows her parents don't like him so Nancy was basically just vying for their attention. In any case, I think that Nancy's always known she was too bright for Wayne".[7] Khali Best, who plays Dexter Hartman, has stated that he has "got a lot of stuff coming up with Nancy", opining that the two characters "would work well", however Hill has played this down saying, "I've been asking Dom [Treadwell-Collins] to tell me what is going to happen, but he won't say anything".[7][8][9]

Epilepsy

It was revealed that Nancy had epilepsy and that Maddy Hill was terrified of the plot. Maddy stated "When I first found out that Nancy had epilepsy, I was absolutely terrified, just because I knew nothing about the illness. I didn't know anyone who had epilepsy and I was very aware of wanting to be respectful to people who suffer with such a massive thing in day-to-day life."[10] Magazine Epilepsy Today stated "Nancy's seizures are a brave step for the show and are becoming a dramatic fixture in the EastEnders landscape."[11]

Departure (2016)

On 12 March 2016, it was announced that Hill and Patel would both be leaving their roles as Nancy and Tamwar respectively. Hill said of her decision to leave, "It was time for Nancy to take a break from her family and me from EastEnders after having a wonderful time working on the show."[12] Both characters made their last appearances on 22 April 2016.[13]

Return (2021)

On 8 February 2021, it was announced that Hill would be reprising her role of Nancy. She stated that she was excited to be returning, commented that she was looking forward to "reconnecting with all the hilarious, warm, talented cast and crew and meeting some lovely new faces". She noted that she loved portraying the role of Nancy, and that she "often wondered what she's up to", adding that she is "grateful" to be back in the role. Executive producer Jon Sen opined his joy at having Nancy back on the soap, hinting that there is "a lot of mystery surrounding her return as she's coming back to a family that have been through a difficult year".[14]

Second departure (2022)

On 23 June 2022, viewers saw Nancy leave the show once again once her relationships with Linda and Zack broke down. Hill's second exit from the soap was not announced previously. Once the episode aired, Hill commented: "It's been great revisiting Nancy and the Square over the past year but it felt like the right time to move on for now. I already miss everyone and feel so grateful to work with people I have so much love for." A spokesperson also wished Hill well for the future.[15]

Reception

Hill won "Best Newcomer" at The British Soap Awards 2014 for her portrayal of Nancy. She also won the accolade for "Best Newcomer" at The National Television Awards 2015 for her role as Nancy. Hill, alongside Himesh Patel was shortlisted for Best Partnership at the Inside Soap Awards in 2015 for her portrayal of Nancy's relationship with Tamwar,[16] but lost out to Emmerdale's Charlie Hardwick and Chris Chittell (who play Val and Eric Pollard).[17]

The Guardian's Filipa Jodelka praised the introduction of the Carter family, calling Nancy "the true beacon of hope for EastEnders future".[18] A critic from Huddersfield Daily Examiner said that Dyer and Hill could be the "saviors of EastEnders", stating that Nancy "shoots straight to the top of Characters To Love list when she refuses to serve Dexter in the pub".[19] "A Digital Spy poll (2014) asked respondents to indicate their favourite Carter family member: Nancy was ranked fourth with 8.61% of the results; Mick was ranked first; Johnny, ranked second; Tina, third; and Linda, fifth.[20] Gary Gillatt of Inside Soap praised the pairing of Nancy and Tamwar, saying "At first, Nance and Tam seemed an odd couple even as friends, but truly they are Walford's most sensitive souls."[21] Gillatt also thought their relationship had the potential to last the distance.[21]

Another contributor to Inside Soap branded Nancy "the shining star of the calamitous Carter clan".[22] They went on to say "We reckon she'd been the Carters' secret strength in recent months. And we love naughty Nancy lapping up the other dramas she sees from behind the bar with a cheeky smirk on her face!".[22] In the episode broadcast in the UK on 14 February 2014, Nancy wore part of a Gaelic Athletic Association sports kit from St Patrick's College in Ballymena, and it gained some media attention. Although many fans of the GAA were happy to see this, late campaigner Willie Frazer believed the appearance of the kit belonged to an organisation that "glorifies IRA terrorists", stating he had complained to the BBC.[23] The Ballymena Times claimed that the appearance of the top "caused a real sensation on Facebook and Twitter."[24]

Upon the announcement of Nancy's departure from the series, Stuart Heritage from The Guardian said that Tamwar and Nancy were his favourite EastEnders couple but said their departure storyline "feels as if it's been chucked together blindfolded at the last minute in a panic". Heritage opined that Nancy was "leaving far too soon" as since arriving in 2014, she had "been such a force of nature", adding, "She's been funny and sweet and boisterous and—since the biggest subplot of the soap's entire Christmas period was given to her decision to wear a dress to a wedding—it seemed as if EastEnders had much bigger plans for her."[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "EastEnders star Maddy Hill reacts to Nancy Carter's exit". Digital Spy. 23 June 2022.
  2. ^ Director: Rupert Such; Executive Producer: Dominic Treadwell-Collins; Writer: Carey Andrews (1 January 2014). "Episode dated 01/01/2014". EastEnders. BBC. BBC One.
  3. ^ Director: Rupert Such; Executive Producer: Dominic Treadwell-Collins; Writer: Carey Andrews (2 January 2014). "Episode dated 02/01/2014". EastEnders. BBC. BBC One.
  4. ^ Rigby, Sam (29 October 2013). "'EastEnders': First picture of Danny Dyer's Carter family". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Meet The Carter family". EastEnders. BBC. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  6. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Ball, Anthony (13 December 2013). "EastEnders gossip from Danny Dyer and Carter family - full Q&A". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Dainty, Sophie (16 January 2014). "EastEnders Maddy Hill: I don't know what's in store for Nancy and Dexter". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  8. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (9 January 2014). "EastEnders' Khali Best: 'More to come for Dexter, Nancy'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  9. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (18 January 2014). "EastEnders: Khali Best on NTA nod, Dexter Hartman's future". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  10. ^ "EastEnders' Maddy Hill on Nancy epilepsy plot: 'I was terrified'". Digital Spy. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Epilepsy In The East End". Epilepsy Today. Epilepsy Action. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (12 March 2016). "Bye Walford! EastEnders' Maddy Hill and Himesh Patel are leaving their roles as Nancy Carter and Tamwar Masood". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  13. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (11 April 2016). "One for the diary! EastEnders stars Maddy Hill and Himesh Patel reveal their on-screen leaving date". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  14. ^ "EastEnders: Nancy Carter to return with Maddy Hill reprising her role". Entertainment Daily. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  15. ^ "EastEnders star Maddy Hill reacts to Nancy Carter's exit". Digital Spy. 23 June 2022.
  16. ^ EastEnders and Emmerdale lead 'final four' shortlists for the Inside Soaps Awards 2015 - Soap News - Digital Spy
  17. ^ Emmerdale and Michael Parr storm the Inside Soap Awards - Emmerdale News - Soaps - Digital Spy
  18. ^ Jodelka, Filipa (18 January 2014). "World of Lather: Eastenders is reborn and Danny Dyer's only partly responsible". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  19. ^ "We Love Soaps". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  20. ^ Dainty, Sophie (9 January 2014). "'EastEnders: Danny Dyer's Mick Carter voted best new Carter by readers". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  21. ^ a b Gillatt, Gary (28 March – 3 April 2015). "Caught in the friend zone!". Inside Soap (12): 46–47.
  22. ^ a b "Hot in 2015!". Inside Soap (2): 42–43. 17–23 February 2015.
  23. UTV
    . 17 February 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  24. ^ "Ballymena top gets 'part' in EastEnders". Ballymena Times. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  25. ^ Heritage, Stuart (21 April 2016). "Farewell Tamwar and Nancy, the Brangelina of Albert Square". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nancy_Carter&oldid=1228313726"