Darren Miller
Encyclopedia
Darren Miller is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Charlie G. Hawkins
. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004 and departed in the episode broadcast on 20 September 2011.
The Miller family move to Walford in 2004. In November 2005, Darren finds thousands of pounds
belonging to Jake Moon
(Joel Beckett
), which Alfie Moon
(Shane Richie
) has accidentally thrown out in the rubbish. Darren uses the money to buy a mobile phone, and spends a lot of it on his girlfriend, Kylie, who eventually splits up with Darren because he is unable to buy alcohol. Darren shares the money with his twin sister Demi
, but it is found by their older half sister Dawn
's (Kara Tointon
) father, Mike Swann (Mark Wingett
). Mike steals the money, leaving the Millers with nothing.
Darren finds employment at Kevin Wicks
's (Phil Daniels
) car lot, and decides to stay in Walford when his parents split up in 2006, and his mother and sister move to the Cotswolds
. He becomes friendly with Libby Fox
(Belinda Owusu
) and they perform numerous pranks on their families together; an attraction develops, and they begin a relationship. Darren gets involved in a car scam when Kevin starts selling stolen cars that turn out to be dangerous cut and shuts. When Kevin dies due to an accident in one of the cars, Darren takes over control of the car lot. Darren blames Phil Mitchell
(Steve McFadden
) for Kevin's death, as he forced Kevin to sell the cars. Darren subsequently gets involved in a feud between Phil and Jack Branning
(Scott Maslen
), helping Jack to trick Phil into a confession about the stolen cars. Darren and Libby's relationship continues into 2008. Libby's mother, Denise Wicks (Diane Parish
), feels that Darren is a bad influence on her daughter, and when Libby opts not to apply to Oxford University so she can stay with Darren, Denise persuades him to end the relationship. Darren dumps Libby, leaving her heartbroken. She eventually discovers the truth; she reunites with Darren. Darren makes Libby promise that she will not ruin her future and persuades her to apply to university.
Keith and Mickey Miller leave Walford to join Rosie and Demi in the Cotswolds. Darren's last relatives in Walford, Dawn and her daughter Summer, also decide to leave with Garry Hobbs
(Ricky Groves
). Libby then goes to university, but returns when her father Owen Turner
(Lee Ross
) is released from prison. Darren asks for Owen's permission to propose to Libby, and she accepts his proposal. They celebrate in The Queen Victoria
pub, where Denise overhears them and tells them they cannot be engaged. However, Darren soon finds out that he is the father of Heather Trott's baby, George. Darren tells her that he will support George with money but nothing more. However, Darren begins to adapt to the idea of being a father to George. Darren gives Heather money he needed for a holiday with Libby. Heather returns it, in a card which Libby opens. Libby later overhears Heather and Shirley Carter (Linda Henry
) talking about Darren. Devastated, Libby tells Darren in front of everyone that she knows he is George's father. Libby then goes back to Oxford. When she returns to Walford, Darren is upset to learn that Libby is dating Adam Best
(David Proud
).
Darren meets Jodie Gold
(Kylie Babbington
), and the two start a relationship. Darren and his flatmate Minty
(Cliff Parisi
) plan to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup
final. Minty gives the tickets to Darren to look after, but they end up destroyed in the wash, when Darren leaves them in his pocket. An enraged Minty orders Darren to move out of the flat. When Abi Branning
(Lorna Fitzgerald
) hears that Darren is homeless, she convinces her father Max
(Jake Wood
) to let him stay with them. Abi starts to fancy Darren, and attempts to sabotage his dates with Jodie. On the first night that Darren attempts to get intimate with Jodie, she screams at the sight of his naked body, and runs away. Darren confronts her, and she apologises, but says that because Darren is not Jewish
, and therefore not circumcised
, she would find sex strange with him. Initially reluctant, Darren makes a call to book a circumcision. He does not tell Jodie he is having the operation and tells her he is going on holiday while he recovers. After the procedure, Jodie's father Harry (Linal Haft
) mistakes him for Max and knees him in the groin due to Max's affair with his wife Vanessa
(Zoe Lucker
). The next day, Jodie sees Darren and tells him she no longer wants to see him because he lied.
Darren tries to win Jodie back by making her laugh and tries to explain that he had a circumcision but she will not listen to him because he did not tell her about Max and Vanessa. However, she finally reads a letter he wrote and they reunite. They go on to have sex for the first time. Harry later returns to Walford with Vanessa to get to know Darren better. Darren worries when Max jokes that Abi must fancy him, not realising it is true. Max and his other daughter Lauren
(Jacqueline Jossa
) later tell Darren it was a joke and she would never fancy him. Abi however remains keen to show affection to Darren. She uses the opportunity of the death of her cousin Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson
) to get physically close to Darren to seek emotional support. Although Darren is at first willing to offer this support he later appears uncomfortable with Abi's close attention. When Harry asks Jodie to move out, she moves in with Darren. Harry then humiliates Vanessa and Darren confronts him but learns that Harry is not Jodie's real father. Darren begs Harry not to tell Jodie is it would break her heart. He then worries about what to do as he does not want to lie to Jodie. Later when Jodie says Harry has phoned her, Darren assumed he has told her when he has not. Darren then inadvertently reveals the truth to Jodie.
During a New Year's Eve party, a drunken Jodie persuades Darren to tell her he wants to marry her. Darren is unsure at first but goes to propose, but she stops him as she was not serious. Max decides to relaunch the car lot with Jack as his new business partner. Jealous, Darren tries to sabotage the relaunch by not sending out the flyers but Max finds out and sacks him. Darren blames his sacking on Jodie, so she dumps him. At the R&R nightclub, Darren kisses a girl, causing Jodie to storm out. The next day he tries to apologise, saying it meant nothing, but Jodie will not listen. Abi finally confesses her feelings to Darren and tries to kiss him, but he rejects her because of her age and because he still loves Jodie. Jodie overhears him telling Abi how much he loves Jodie, and then he tells Jodie that he would change nothing about her and proposes. Darren works for his friend Tamwar Masood
(Himesh Patel
) as a waiter until Vanessa convinces Max to reemploy Darren, which she does for Jodie's sake. When Heather suffers carbon monoxide poisoning
, Darren makes a responsible decision to take custody of George for his health and safety. Whilst in Jodie's care, George has an accident at the salon and Heather wants to take care of him again but Darren will not let her and tells Heather that he is going to court to gain permanent custody of him. After the accident, Jodie decides that she is too young to be a stepmum, and, rather than make Darren choose between her and George, ends their relationship. Darren realises that being a single parent is not easy, and drops the custody case. He and Jodie get back together. He later plans a trip to see his family, not wanting Jodie to go, but Jodie does not want to go anyway. When he returns, he starts stealing money from work in order to pay for the wedding. Jack discovers this and informs Jodie, who says the wedding is over until she speaks to Darren. However, Darren then gets drunk with Jodie's friend and bridesmaid Lauren and they kiss and have sex at the car lot. Jodie later arrives at the car lot and sees Darren and Lauren together but does not say anything and they are unaware that it is her that saw them together. Jodie later admits to Darren that she saw him and Lauren together but has forgiven him. On the wedding day, Vanessa finds out from Syed what has happened between Darren and Lauren and goes to confront Darren telling him he is not good enough for Jodie, comparing him to Max and Harry. Darren is on his way to the wedding when he changes his mind and goes to tell Jodie that he cannot marry her. After saying goodbye to his friends, Darren visits Jodie and tells her that he still loves her but is not worthy enough to marry her and then leaves Walford in the wedding car that Mickey had hired for them. As he is driving away, a heartbroken Jodie runs after him and catches the congratulations balloon which had fallen off the car.
In November 2011, Tamwar reveals that Darren is staying with Libby in Oxford
. Jodie realises she and Darren were meant to be together so leaves Walford to find him.
(Joe Swash
). The casting team held workshops, screen tests and script readings with the potential actors. Shana Swash
, the sister of Joe Swash, was cast as Mickey's younger half sister Demi Miller
. Other family members included stepfather Keith
(David Spinx
), mother Rosie
(Gerry Cowper
) and Demi's twin brother Darren, played by Charlie G. Hawkins
. The casting director Katrine Collins had worked with Hawkins before and decided to cast him as Darren Miller.
The family were publicised as "troublemakers" who were joining "in order to drum up conflict with existing characters." Louise Berridge said, "This lot are trouble. Even the dog is dodgy [...] They're set to cause havoc all over the square..." The family's introduction in September 2004 followed a survey in the Daily Mirror newspaper, which suggested that 57% of EastEnders viewers thought the soap had lost its appeal.
Hawkins discussed his character in 2004: "Darren's a bit of a rough kid. He's a great character to play. There are resemblances of myself in there, although that's a matter of opinion. It's good to play someone like that, where you can have a laugh".
) become pregnant by an unknown man. Several characters were given as possible fathers, including Darren. Before the father was revealed on screen, Hawkins gave an interview in which he talked about what would happen if Darren was the father: "It would change everything. Darren would worry that [his girlfriend] Libby
wouldn't marry him — and what about Libby's parents Denise and Owen
? I think he'd be alright as a dad, but he wouldn't want the burden. It'd rock the boat if it was Darren." Darren was revealed to be the father of baby George Trott in the episode broadcast on 23 October 2009. Fergison told entertainment website Digital Spy
, "Darren will be a good dad but he'll be very businesslike about it. He'll say that he doesn't really want to have anything to do with George but will pay his way for him. You'll see him change, though, and you'll start to see him getting attached. [Heather's friend] Shirley doesn't want Darren to go anywhere near George, though! It'll be interesting to see how they write it from here for Darren, especially with the Libby angle."
In December 2009, the show's executive producer Diederick Santer
was asked what his favourite storyline of the year had been. He replied "I loved the way the 'Who's The Daddy?' story with Heather played, too. As time goes on, I expect we'll discover more about what happened that night. It makes sense to me — he's a horny, drunk 18-year-old! Everyone thinks that they did it in the [toilet] cubicle, but it's surely clear that they went home?"
that he could "barely remember life before EastEnders" and said he was leaving so he could "chill out and enjoy being a normal 20-year-old". Darren departed in the episode broadcast on 20 September 2011.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by Charlie G. Hawkins
Charlie G. Hawkins
Charlie George Hawkins is an English actor. He was raised in Islington where he has lived since birth.His most notable role is Darren Miller in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has starred in since 2004, although he has had other roles in films, dramas, documentaries and advertisements...
. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004 and departed in the episode broadcast on 20 September 2011.
Storylines
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
belonging to Jake Moon
Jake Moon
Jacob "Jake" Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Joel Beckett, who appeared from 30 December 2004 as a regular character.-Storylines:...
(Joel Beckett
Joel Beckett
Joel Beckett is an English actor, best known for playing Jake Moon in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders from December 2004 to October 2006 and as Lee in the British comedy series The Office...
), which Alfie Moon
Alfie Moon
Alfred William "Alfie" Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005...
(Shane Richie
Shane Richie
Shane Richie is an English actor, comedian, singer and media personality, known for his portrayal of the character Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Early life and career beginnings:...
) has accidentally thrown out in the rubbish. Darren uses the money to buy a mobile phone, and spends a lot of it on his girlfriend, Kylie, who eventually splits up with Darren because he is unable to buy alcohol. Darren shares the money with his twin sister Demi
Demi Miller
Demi Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shana Swash. She made her first appearance on 6 September 2004 and made her last on 7 July 2006 when she was axed by EastEnders executive producer Kate Harwood....
, but it is found by their older half sister Dawn
Dawn Swann
Dawn Roxanna Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005...
's (Kara Tointon
Kara Tointon
Kara Louise Tointon is a British actress, best known for playing Dawn Swann in BBC soap opera EastEnders. Tointon was the 2010 winner of BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing.-Early life:...
) father, Mike Swann (Mark Wingett
Mark Wingett
Mark Wingett , is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of Jim Carver in the ITV1 police procedural The Bill.-Career:...
). Mike steals the money, leaving the Millers with nothing.
Darren finds employment at Kevin Wicks
Kevin Wicks
Kevin Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Phil Daniels. He made his first appearance on 17 February 2006...
's (Phil Daniels
Phil Daniels
Philip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
) car lot, and decides to stay in Walford when his parents split up in 2006, and his mother and sister move to the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. He becomes friendly with Libby Fox
Libby Fox
Elizabeth "Libby" Fox is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Belinda Owusu. She made her first appearance on 22 May 2006 and left in 2010. She is the daughter of Denise Fox and Owen Turner, and half sister of Chelsea Fox. The Fox family were introduced by executive...
(Belinda Owusu
Belinda Owusu
Belinda Ruth Owusu is a British actress, who rose to prominence in 2006, aged 17, when she won the role of Libby Fox in BBC's EastEnders.-Career:...
) and they perform numerous pranks on their families together; an attraction develops, and they begin a relationship. Darren gets involved in a car scam when Kevin starts selling stolen cars that turn out to be dangerous cut and shuts. When Kevin dies due to an accident in one of the cars, Darren takes over control of the car lot. Darren blames Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
(Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden is an English actor, known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has played since1990.-Early life:...
) for Kevin's death, as he forced Kevin to sell the cars. Darren subsequently gets involved in a feud between Phil and Jack Branning
Jack Branning
Jack Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Scott Maslen. He made his first appearance on 29 October 2007. He is the youngest child of Jim and Reenie Branning and the brother of April Branning, Carol Jackson, Derek Branning, Suzy Branning and Max Branning...
(Scott Maslen
Scott Maslen
Scott Alexander Maslen is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's The Bill and now Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap EastEnders.-Early and personal life:...
), helping Jack to trick Phil into a confession about the stolen cars. Darren and Libby's relationship continues into 2008. Libby's mother, Denise Wicks (Diane Parish
Diane Parish
Diane Parish is a British actress best known for her role as Denise Johnson in the BBC Soap EastEnders and DC Eva Sharpe in The Bill.-Career:...
), feels that Darren is a bad influence on her daughter, and when Libby opts not to apply to Oxford University so she can stay with Darren, Denise persuades him to end the relationship. Darren dumps Libby, leaving her heartbroken. She eventually discovers the truth; she reunites with Darren. Darren makes Libby promise that she will not ruin her future and persuades her to apply to university.
Keith and Mickey Miller leave Walford to join Rosie and Demi in the Cotswolds. Darren's last relatives in Walford, Dawn and her daughter Summer, also decide to leave with Garry Hobbs
Garry Hobbs
Garry Pelé Hobbs is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ricky Groves. He made his first appearance on 18 September 2000...
(Ricky Groves
Ricky Groves
Richard "Ricky" Groves is an English actor best known for playing Garry Hobbs in EastEnders from 2000–09. Before his role in EastEnders he appeared in the series Burnside, a spin-off from The Bill.-Other TV work:...
). Libby then goes to university, but returns when her father Owen Turner
Owen Turner
Owen Turner is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lee Ross. He originally appeared in the show in 2006, and then returned in 2009. His character left in 2009 after being murdered by Lucas Johnson.-Storylines:...
(Lee Ross
Lee Ross (actor)
Lee Ross is an English professional actor best known for his role as Dodger in Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest. He has also starred in, Press Gang, Secrets & Lies, The Catherine Tate Show and most recently as Owen Turner in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:His first acting role was as Fat Sam in...
) is released from prison. Darren asks for Owen's permission to propose to Libby, and she accepts his proposal. They celebrate in The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
pub, where Denise overhears them and tells them they cannot be engaged. However, Darren soon finds out that he is the father of Heather Trott's baby, George. Darren tells her that he will support George with money but nothing more. However, Darren begins to adapt to the idea of being a father to George. Darren gives Heather money he needed for a holiday with Libby. Heather returns it, in a card which Libby opens. Libby later overhears Heather and Shirley Carter (Linda Henry
Linda Henry
Linda Henry is an English actress, best known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV television drama Bad Girls and Shirley Carter in the BBC's soap opera EastEnders.- Early life :...
) talking about Darren. Devastated, Libby tells Darren in front of everyone that she knows he is George's father. Libby then goes back to Oxford. When she returns to Walford, Darren is upset to learn that Libby is dating Adam Best
Adam Best (EastEnders)
Adam Best is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Proud, the first adult actor with a visible disability to appear regularly in the soap. Both Proud and his character live with spina bifida...
(David Proud
David Proud
David Proud is an English actor. He was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. He only began his acting career during his early twenties, having previously believed that it would be impossible for him to have a career in that field. His first professional acting role was as a wheelchair...
).
Darren meets Jodie Gold
Jodie Gold
Jodie Gold is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kylie Babbington. She first appeared on screen on 7 June 2010. On 24 October 2011, it was announced Babbington's contract would not be renewed and Jodie departed on 14 November 2011, along with Poppy Meadow...
(Kylie Babbington
Kylie Babbington
Kylie Jane Babbington is a British actress.Babbington was born in Havering, London in 1987. She studied acting and musical theatre at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and appeared in productions of Assassins, Elergies, Essex Girls and Odin.In 2010 she was cast in the BBC soap opera...
), and the two start a relationship. Darren and his flatmate Minty
Minty Peterson
Richard "Rick" Peterson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Cliff Parisi. He made his first appearance on 11 March 2002. His nickname was given to him because he was always late for work, turning up "after eight" when he was an apprentice mechanic...
(Cliff Parisi
Cliff Parisi
Cliff Parisi is an English actor of Italian descent, largely recognised for his performance as Rick 'Minty' Peterson in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
) plan to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
final. Minty gives the tickets to Darren to look after, but they end up destroyed in the wash, when Darren leaves them in his pocket. An enraged Minty orders Darren to move out of the flat. When Abi Branning
Abi Branning
Abigail "Abi" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lorna Fitzgerald. She first appeared in the show on 3 July 2006.- Storylines :...
(Lorna Fitzgerald
Lorna Fitzgerald
Lorna Katie Fitzgerald is a British actress from Northampton. She lives in Hunsbury. Her most notable role to date is that of Abi Branning in the British soap opera EastEnders.- Personal life :...
) hears that Darren is homeless, she convinces her father Max
Max Branning
Max Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jake Wood. He made his first appearance on 27 June 2006.-Backstory:Max is the fifth child and second son of Jim and Reenie Branning...
(Jake Wood
Jake Wood
Jake Dylan Wood is an English actor, best known in his homeland for playing Max Branning on "EastEnders" and in the United States as the current voice of the GEICO gecko.-Biography:...
) to let him stay with them. Abi starts to fancy Darren, and attempts to sabotage his dates with Jodie. On the first night that Darren attempts to get intimate with Jodie, she screams at the sight of his naked body, and runs away. Darren confronts her, and she apologises, but says that because Darren is not Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and therefore not circumcised
Foreskin
In male human anatomy, the foreskin is a generally retractable double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane that covers the glans penis and protects the urinary meatus when the penis is not erect...
, she would find sex strange with him. Initially reluctant, Darren makes a call to book a circumcision. He does not tell Jodie he is having the operation and tells her he is going on holiday while he recovers. After the procedure, Jodie's father Harry (Linal Haft
Linal Haft
Linal Haft, sometimes known as Lionel Haft, is a British actor.- Biography :Haft made his acting debut in an episode of Homicide as Harry Bruce in 1968. He went on to play his second role later the same year, as Adams in an episode of Contrabandits...
) mistakes him for Max and knees him in the groin due to Max's affair with his wife Vanessa
Vanessa Gold
Vanessa Gold is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She is portrayed by Zöe Lucker, and has appeared in EastEnders since 4 June 2010. A "dynamic and assured" businesswoman, Vanessa was created by series consultant Simon Ashdown to be "a Zöe Lucker-type"...
(Zoe Lucker
Zöe Lucker
Zöe Elizabeth Lucker is an English actress best known for playing the roles of Tanya Turner on ITV's Footballers' Wives and Vanessa Gold in EastEnders.-Career:...
). The next day, Jodie sees Darren and tells him she no longer wants to see him because he lied.
Darren tries to win Jodie back by making her laugh and tries to explain that he had a circumcision but she will not listen to him because he did not tell her about Max and Vanessa. However, she finally reads a letter he wrote and they reunite. They go on to have sex for the first time. Harry later returns to Walford with Vanessa to get to know Darren better. Darren worries when Max jokes that Abi must fancy him, not realising it is true. Max and his other daughter Lauren
Lauren Branning
Lauren Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She first appeared in the show on 3 July 2006 played by Madeline Duggan, was absent from 23 June to 27 September 2010, and returned as played by Jacqueline Jossa.-Storylines:...
(Jacqueline Jossa
Jacqueline Jossa
Jacqueline Mary Jossa is an English actress from Bexley, London, best known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lauren Branning.Jossa was born in the London Borough of Bexley...
) later tell Darren it was a joke and she would never fancy him. Abi however remains keen to show affection to Darren. She uses the opportunity of the death of her cousin Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson
Devon Anderson
Devon Carlo Anderson is an English actor who has been acting since an early age and became a CBBC presenter on BBC One and the CBBC Channel...
) to get physically close to Darren to seek emotional support. Although Darren is at first willing to offer this support he later appears uncomfortable with Abi's close attention. When Harry asks Jodie to move out, she moves in with Darren. Harry then humiliates Vanessa and Darren confronts him but learns that Harry is not Jodie's real father. Darren begs Harry not to tell Jodie is it would break her heart. He then worries about what to do as he does not want to lie to Jodie. Later when Jodie says Harry has phoned her, Darren assumed he has told her when he has not. Darren then inadvertently reveals the truth to Jodie.
During a New Year's Eve party, a drunken Jodie persuades Darren to tell her he wants to marry her. Darren is unsure at first but goes to propose, but she stops him as she was not serious. Max decides to relaunch the car lot with Jack as his new business partner. Jealous, Darren tries to sabotage the relaunch by not sending out the flyers but Max finds out and sacks him. Darren blames his sacking on Jodie, so she dumps him. At the R&R nightclub, Darren kisses a girl, causing Jodie to storm out. The next day he tries to apologise, saying it meant nothing, but Jodie will not listen. Abi finally confesses her feelings to Darren and tries to kiss him, but he rejects her because of her age and because he still loves Jodie. Jodie overhears him telling Abi how much he loves Jodie, and then he tells Jodie that he would change nothing about her and proposes. Darren works for his friend Tamwar Masood
Tamwar Masood
Tamwar Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Himesh Patel. He made his first appearance on 1 October 2007.- Storylines :...
(Himesh Patel
Himesh Patel
Himesh Jitendra Patel is a British actor who began his career in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, playing Tamwar Masood. His first appearance on the programme was on 1 October 2007. Patel is also a member of the National Youth Theatre. He also appears in the 2010 spin-off series EastEnders: E20.-...
) as a waiter until Vanessa convinces Max to reemploy Darren, which she does for Jodie's sake. When Heather suffers carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
, Darren makes a responsible decision to take custody of George for his health and safety. Whilst in Jodie's care, George has an accident at the salon and Heather wants to take care of him again but Darren will not let her and tells Heather that he is going to court to gain permanent custody of him. After the accident, Jodie decides that she is too young to be a stepmum, and, rather than make Darren choose between her and George, ends their relationship. Darren realises that being a single parent is not easy, and drops the custody case. He and Jodie get back together. He later plans a trip to see his family, not wanting Jodie to go, but Jodie does not want to go anyway. When he returns, he starts stealing money from work in order to pay for the wedding. Jack discovers this and informs Jodie, who says the wedding is over until she speaks to Darren. However, Darren then gets drunk with Jodie's friend and bridesmaid Lauren and they kiss and have sex at the car lot. Jodie later arrives at the car lot and sees Darren and Lauren together but does not say anything and they are unaware that it is her that saw them together. Jodie later admits to Darren that she saw him and Lauren together but has forgiven him. On the wedding day, Vanessa finds out from Syed what has happened between Darren and Lauren and goes to confront Darren telling him he is not good enough for Jodie, comparing him to Max and Harry. Darren is on his way to the wedding when he changes his mind and goes to tell Jodie that he cannot marry her. After saying goodbye to his friends, Darren visits Jodie and tells her that he still loves her but is not worthy enough to marry her and then leaves Walford in the wedding car that Mickey had hired for them. As he is driving away, a heartbroken Jodie runs after him and catches the congratulations balloon which had fallen off the car.
In November 2011, Tamwar reveals that Darren is staying with Libby in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. Jodie realises she and Darren were meant to be together so leaves Walford to find him.
Casting
In April 2004, it was announced that a family would be introduced around the character of Mickey MillerMickey Miller
Michael "Mickey" Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Joe Swash. He made his first appearance on 15 April 2003. Introduced as a guest character, Mickey proved popular and was turned into a regular by executive producer Louise Berridge. The character is...
(Joe Swash
Joe Swash
Joseph Adam Swash is an English actor and presenter. He once played Mickey Miller in the British television soap opera EastEnders. He is the older brother of Shana Swash, who played his on-screen younger sister Demi Miller until July 2006. He also won the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me...
). The casting team held workshops, screen tests and script readings with the potential actors. Shana Swash
Shana Swash
Shana Frances Swash is an English actress best known for playing the role Demi Miller in the British television soap opera EastEnders...
, the sister of Joe Swash, was cast as Mickey's younger half sister Demi Miller
Demi Miller
Demi Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shana Swash. She made her first appearance on 6 September 2004 and made her last on 7 July 2006 when she was axed by EastEnders executive producer Kate Harwood....
. Other family members included stepfather Keith
Keith Miller (EastEnders)
Keith Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Spinx. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004. It was announced on 25 February 2008 that the characters of Keith and Mickey had been axed by EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer...
(David Spinx
David Spinx
David Spinx is an English actor, probably best known for playing Keith Miller in the BBC television soap opera EastEnders since 2004. He has previously appeared in EastEnders as a guest character in an episode in 1999 as the cellmate of Steve Owen and provided the voices on the radios in Barry...
), mother Rosie
Rosie Miller
Rosemary "Rosie" Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gerry Cowper. Her first appearance was 9 September 2004 and she was axed in 2006, with her final scenes airing July 2006....
(Gerry Cowper
Gerry Cowper
Geraldine Cowper is an English actress who is best known for playing Rosie Miller in EastEnders. In the mid 1980s she took the part of Clare France in After Henry on BBC radio and also appeared on television as Jim Hacker's daughter in Yes Minister.-Career:Cowper was Clare France, the youngest of...
) and Demi's twin brother Darren, played by Charlie G. Hawkins
Charlie G. Hawkins
Charlie George Hawkins is an English actor. He was raised in Islington where he has lived since birth.His most notable role is Darren Miller in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has starred in since 2004, although he has had other roles in films, dramas, documentaries and advertisements...
. The casting director Katrine Collins had worked with Hawkins before and decided to cast him as Darren Miller.
The family were publicised as "troublemakers" who were joining "in order to drum up conflict with existing characters." Louise Berridge said, "This lot are trouble. Even the dog is dodgy [...] They're set to cause havoc all over the square..." The family's introduction in September 2004 followed a survey in the Daily Mirror newspaper, which suggested that 57% of EastEnders viewers thought the soap had lost its appeal.
Hawkins discussed his character in 2004: "Darren's a bit of a rough kid. He's a great character to play. There are resemblances of myself in there, although that's a matter of opinion. It's good to play someone like that, where you can have a laugh".
Storyline development
In 2009, a "whodunnit"-style storyline saw the character of Heather Trott (Cheryl FergisonCheryl Fergison
Cheryl Fergison is a British actress most notable for playing Heather Trott in the long running BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
) become pregnant by an unknown man. Several characters were given as possible fathers, including Darren. Before the father was revealed on screen, Hawkins gave an interview in which he talked about what would happen if Darren was the father: "It would change everything. Darren would worry that [his girlfriend] Libby
Libby Fox
Elizabeth "Libby" Fox is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Belinda Owusu. She made her first appearance on 22 May 2006 and left in 2010. She is the daughter of Denise Fox and Owen Turner, and half sister of Chelsea Fox. The Fox family were introduced by executive...
wouldn't marry him — and what about Libby's parents Denise and Owen
Owen Turner
Owen Turner is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lee Ross. He originally appeared in the show in 2006, and then returned in 2009. His character left in 2009 after being murdered by Lucas Johnson.-Storylines:...
? I think he'd be alright as a dad, but he wouldn't want the burden. It'd rock the boat if it was Darren." Darren was revealed to be the father of baby George Trott in the episode broadcast on 23 October 2009. Fergison told entertainment website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
, "Darren will be a good dad but he'll be very businesslike about it. He'll say that he doesn't really want to have anything to do with George but will pay his way for him. You'll see him change, though, and you'll start to see him getting attached. [Heather's friend] Shirley doesn't want Darren to go anywhere near George, though! It'll be interesting to see how they write it from here for Darren, especially with the Libby angle."
In December 2009, the show's executive producer Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010...
was asked what his favourite storyline of the year had been. He replied "I loved the way the 'Who's The Daddy?' story with Heather played, too. As time goes on, I expect we'll discover more about what happened that night. It makes sense to me — he's a horny, drunk 18-year-old! Everyone thinks that they did it in the [toilet] cubicle, but it's surely clear that they went home?"
Departure
It was announced on 30 April 2011 that Hawkins had decided to leave the series. He said "I've enjoyed my time at EastEnders immensely, it's been a terrific chapter in my life and I've loved every minute of it. I've had tremendous support throughout my duration on the show and I would like to thank Bryan and the whole team for believing in me." Hawkins told the Sunday MirrorSunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
that he could "barely remember life before EastEnders" and said he was leaving so he could "chill out and enjoy being a normal 20-year-old". Darren departed in the episode broadcast on 20 September 2011.