Andrew "Andy" Hunter is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEndersEastEnders is a long-running, popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985...
, played by
Michael HiggsMichael Higgs is a British actor best known for prominent roles in two long-running television series: Eddie Santini in ITV1's The Bill, and Andy Hunter in EastEnders. He is married to actress Caroline Catz, whom he met on the set of The Bill...
.
Higgs auditioned for the role in April 2003 and won the part of EastEnders new "bad guy", who made his first appearance in July that year as a member of the gangster organisation known as "The Firm". Higgs stated that he was happy to play a villain: "They say that the devil has the best tunes, but the main thing is that the character's fully-rounded.
Andrew "Andy" Hunter is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEndersEastEnders is a long-running, popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985...
, played by
Michael HiggsMichael Higgs is a British actor best known for prominent roles in two long-running television series: Eddie Santini in ITV1's The Bill, and Andy Hunter in EastEnders. He is married to actress Caroline Catz, whom he met on the set of The Bill...
.
Creation and development
Higgs auditioned for the role in April 2003 and won the part of EastEnders new "bad guy", who made his first appearance in July that year as a member of the gangster organisation known as "The Firm". Higgs stated that he was happy to play a villain: "They say that the devil has the best tunes, but the main thing is that the character's fully-rounded. With the so-called good guys and bad guys, they're not just good or just bad. There's a dynamic, and that's always the interesting thing to find - where's the weakness? You flesh it out and make them an interesting person."
In the heirarchy of the Firm, Andy's character was a subordinate to Jack Dalton (
Hywel BennettHywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh actor.Bennett was born in Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Sarah Gwen and Gorden Bennett. Raised in London from an early age, he attended Henry Thornton Grammar School, Clapham and RADA.Bennett is best known for his appearances on British television. He...
), but was appointed leader of the organisation for a brief time following Dalton's murder. Higgs described the differences between Andy and Dalton's leadership styles: "He's new blood, but he has a completely different sensibility about how the gang operates. Jack Dalton was quite old school. If you upset him you'd get your knee-caps broken or get killed. I think Andy plays more of a psychological game - information is power for him."
Discussing Andy's relationship with Kat Slater (
Jessie WallaceJessie Wallace is an English actress.-Biography:Wallace was born at 204 Durants Road, Enfield, North London...
), Higgs said, "I think you do see a soft side of him with Kat. He's totally in love with her, which makes him very vulnerable. He's been married before, but the marriage didn't work out. You get the sense that there's some hurt there, some pain that's stopped him becoming involved with other women [...] he likes the spirit of her. She's no-nonsense, in-your-face and slightly larger than life. Andy likes that scared of no one approach. Kat reminds Andy of his mum, with her dark hair and feistiness. He likes the fact that she's a family girl - that's what he wants."
Storylines
Andy was an employee of The Firm, of which he took control after the murder of Jack Dalton by
Dennis RickmanDennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman.Dennis first appeared in the show on 14 April 2003 and his last appearance was screened on 30 December 2005 .-Arrival in the Square:Dennis was the product of a fling between his...
. He had been married and divorced to a woman named Bev previously.
He originally had a crush on
Kat SlaterKathleen "Kat" Moon is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Jessie Wallace. She was also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001. She appeared in the show in September 2000 to November 2004 then returned to the show in May 2005 then left again in...
and even asked her out on a date one day in
The Queen VictoriaThe Queen Victoria is the fictional Victorian public house in the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Story and appearance:...
, but she turned him down, and not gently either. However he kept on trying and she did eventually accept his advances; after some weeks he even proposed to her. She accepted the proposal, but things were to turn out for the worse for Andy as
Alfie MoonAlfred William "Alfie" Moon is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shane Richie.-Personality:Alfie was a cheeky Cockney chappie who was good at having a laugh with his mates and dispensing advice to anyone who needed him. He tended to put up a front and hide...
also fancied Kat and on their big day, he gate-crashed their wedding before Kat could say "I do".
Kat left Andy for Alfie thus making Andy and Alfie enemies. However Andy got his revenge as Alfie owed him a large amount of money. Andy blackmailed Kat to have sex with him behind Alfie's back, in order to pay off the money and if she refused, he would have Alfie killed. Alfie produced the money, but not before Andy slept with Kat.
As they were in bed together, Andy secretly filmed the whole thing with a hidden video camera, and gave the tape to Alfie in
The Queen VicThe Queen Victoria is the fictional Victorian public house in the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Story and appearance:...
where he and Kat lived and worked.
His dream came true as Alfie watched the tape out of curiosity. He was heartbroken at what he saw, and confronted Kat about it, nearly ending their relationship. That was what Andy had also hoped for, but he didn't succeed as Alfie and Kat were still going strong, and Alfie also got his revenge by giving Andy a tape thinking that it was the same tape that Andy sent them. However, as Andy started to watch it, he was taken aback as he discovered it was a different tape of Alfie and Kat's wedding. After that, Andy left them to their relationship but still bullied Alfie from time to time.
Throughout most of the ordeal, Andy had been having a relationship with
Sam MitchellSamantha Ann "Sam" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She appeared intermittently between 1990 and 2005 and returned in 2009. The third member of the Mitchell family to be introduced, Sam entered as a 15 year old school girl in July 1990, and was initially...
whom he later married, but when
Dirty DenDennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well-known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
and Marcus Christie tricked Sam into selling the pub to Den, and signing her house over to Andy, Andy divorced her, taking Sam for every penny she had and leaving her homeless.
When
Den WattsDennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well-known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
and
Zoe SlaterZoe Slater is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Ryan.-Storylines:Zoe arrives in Walford with her family, presumed father Charlie , sisters Kat , Lynne and Little Mo , and grandmother Mo , in September 2000...
were trying to keep
DennisDennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman.Dennis first appeared in the show on 14 April 2003 and his last appearance was screened on 30 December 2005 .-Arrival in the Square:Dennis was the product of a fling between his...
and
SharonSharon Anne Rickman is a fictional character from the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean, who was a regular cast member for the first 10 years after the programme began on 19 February 1985...
apart, Andy found out what Den and Zoe were doing.
In 2004,
Paul TruemanPaul Trueman is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gary Beadle.-History:Paul Trueman had a less-than-reputable past, which often created problems for him in his new life running the Abercorn Bed & Breakfast with his brother, Anthony and acting-father,...
grassed Andy to the police for his shady dealings, which would prove to be his undoing as well. Andy took his revenge on Paul by hiring a hitman from
The FirmThe Firm is a fictional gangland organisation in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, probably inspired by the notorious real-life criminal gang run by the Krays....
to kill him. Paul was killed in December 2004. Paul's father,
PatrickPatrick Neville Loftus Alfonso Trueman is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Rudolph Walker...
began searching for him and identified his body when it was recovered. Patrick soon discovered that Andy was involved with Paul's death. Andy told Pat that he had hired a hitman to kill Paul and threatened to kill her if she said anything. Patrick told the police that Andy was involved but there was no evidence against him. With nothing he could do, Patrick swore revenge on Andy.
Andy's luck finally ran out when he tried to rip
Johnny AllenJonathan "Johnny" Allen is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Billy Murray.-Storylines:Johnny Allen was a businessman and retired gangster, who grew up in Walford but moved away to start up an empire of his own which he named J.A. Enterprises...
off to the tune of £750,000 and Johnny pushed him off a motorway footbridge, killing him instantly. The
policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
were informed of Andy's death but decided that it was
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
. He died on the same night that
Den WattsDennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well-known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
was bludgeoned to death by his wife Chrissie with
Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by the late actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006...
's doorstop.
After his death, Sam was asked to attend Andy's will reading. Expecting to get all his assets and money, he callously left her his engagement ring saying, "To my wife, I leave her the engagement ring so she can sell it, get her roots done, and still be the dumbest blonde I had ever known", while leaving much more behind to be donated to a dogs home. He left the house to Pat and gave the bookies to Dennis.
Johnny confessed to his murder to the police in March 2006, along with ordering the murder of Dennis Rickman.
External links