Marge Green
Encyclopedia
Marjorie "Marge" Green is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by the late Pat Coombs
. Introduced in 1989, elderly Marge was scripted as comical and timid. The character was one of many to be axed in 1990 when the show changed Executive Producer.
in May 1989 as a friend of Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner
. Marge worked at the Bed & Breakfast as a cleaner, first for Doris then for Pat Butcher
. When poor health forced Pauline Fowler
to give up working at the launderette, Marge worked there in her place for a few months, but always succeeded in muddling up the service washes. Marge was an elderly spinster
and as well as her day job cleaning she also held the position of Brown Owl for unruly Walford
Brownies
group. That was until Mo Butcher
muscled in, and relieved her of her duties. However, Mo was sacked for lying about her age.
Marge was a bit timid and a bit of a soft-touch too, and Mo would regularly boss her around and make her do the scivvying when they were together, although, after a bit of coaxing from Ethel she did manage to stand up to Mo in the end, which stopped her bossing (albeit temporarily).
Marge lived at 93 Victoria Road and devoted her life to caring for her sickly 93 year old mother. This was a massive strain on her, particularly when her mother's health suddenly deteriorated after a second stroke
in December 1989. Noticing that Marge was becoming exhausted with the palliative care of her mother, her friends, Dot, Ethel and Mo, decided to take her on holiday to Clacton, where they all took part in a dancing competition. Marge attracted the attention of a senior bachelor, Mr Conroy, but she had led a sheltered life and she was far too shy to allow the romance to develop. Nevertheless, Mr Conroy persisted and even ended up proposing, which Marge regretfully turned down because of her commitment to her mother. Soon after, however, Marge received the news that her mother had died and she subsequently decided to accept Mr Conroy's proposal. Unfortunately for Marge, he had already departed, so she returned to Walford nursing a broken heart.
Although Marge was devastated to lose her mother, her friends helped her through it and she eventually came to look forward to a future where she could concentrate on her own needs instead of caring for others. However, the following year, Marge's cousin Fred arrived in Walford and conned her into becoming his invalid mother's companion on a cruise ship
. Despite Mo warning her against it, Marge felt obligated to care for her sick relative, so in February 1990 she left Walford and has not been seen since.
has suggested that 1989 was a year of big change for EastEnders, both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer Keith Harris left the show, and co-creators Tony Holland
and Julia Smith
both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coincided with the exit of one of EastEnders most successful characters, Den Watts
(Leslie Grantham
). Producer Mike Gibbon
was given the task of running the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale
.
According to Brake, the departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and Angie Watts
(Anita Dobson
), had left a void in the programme, which needed to be filled. In addition, several other long-running characters left the show that year including two original cast members, Sue
and Ali Osman
(Sandy Ratcliff
and Nejdet Salih) and their family; Donna Ludlow
(Matilda Ziegler
); Carmel Jackson
(Judith Jacob
) and Colin Russell (Michael Cashman
). Brake has indicated that the production team decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford, commenting, "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start".
At the time, the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing
, and according to Brake, the programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in Albert Square
. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted. Such characters included Julie Cooper
(Louise Plowright
); Trevor Short
(Phil McDermott
), the "village idiot", and his friend, northern heartbreaker Paul Priestly
(Mark Thrippleton
); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham); Laurie Bates
(Gary Powell
), who became Pete Beale
's (Peter Dean) sparring partner and Marge Green played by veteran comedy actress Pat Coombs
.
Brake describes Marge as a "well-meaning, slightly batty older lady" who he said worked well in partnership with the much tougher older character Mo Butcher
(Edna Dore
). Marge has been described by author Hilary Kingsley as an innocent spinster "who yearns for love and deserves it." Referring to the character's role as Walford Brownie's Brown Owl, Kingsley says, "She was always more of a mouse than an owl, a funny, easily flustered frump who was scared of men and the modern world because she'd hidden away from both for most of her life [...] Poor Marge was put upon by her domineering mother [...] Friendless, except for Tibby, her mother's cat [...]" Describing her backstory, Kingsley said, "In her youth, she was briefly engaged to a soldier but he married her best friend." Coombs, described by Kingsley as one of Britain's best comedy actresses, was already a known comedy actress in the UK and reportedly "relished" the role.
Brake suggests that humour was an important element in EastEnders storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. He has classed 1989's changes as a brave experiment, and has suggested that while some found this period of EastEnders entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat. Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence
, drugs, rape
and racism
, Brake reflected that the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".
By the end of the year, EastEnders had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson
, who had previously been a successful producer on ITV
's The Bill
. Brake has suggested that Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality, and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, Phil
(Steve McFadden
) and Grant
(Ross Kemp
), successful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year. Among them was Marge, as well as many other characters that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Brake has said that Pat Coombs was upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief".
' image. The BBC had to make a public apology for the misinterpretation of the movement. Brake has suggested that the mishap was a "salutary lesson to those [...] in the script department to be very vigilant in ensuring, as far as possible, that no group or individual was offended by an unintentional slight in a script."
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 the late Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs was an English actress. Coombs was considered one of Britain's great character actresses, specialising in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female — comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms...
. Introduced in 1989, elderly Marge was scripted as comical and timid. The character was one of many to be axed in 1990 when the show changed Executive Producer.
Storylines
Marge first arrived in Albert SquareAlbert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
in May 1989 as a friend of Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner
Ethel Skinner
Ethel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
. Marge worked at the Bed & Breakfast as a cleaner, first for Doris then for Pat Butcher
Pat Evans
Patricia Louise "Pat" Evans is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has been played by Pam St. Clement since 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired...
. When poor health forced Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler
Pauline 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. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
to give up working at the launderette, Marge worked there in her place for a few months, but always succeeded in muddling up the service washes. Marge was an elderly spinster
Spinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
and as well as her day job cleaning she also held the position of Brown Owl for unruly Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
Brownies
Brownies (Girl Guides)
A Brownie is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations for girls from their seventh birthday to their tenth birthday. Exact age limits are slightly different in each organisation.-History:...
group. That was until Mo Butcher
Mo Butcher
Maureen "Mo" Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She was introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's elderly mother. She was portrayed as a battle-axe, tough and interfering...
muscled in, and relieved her of her duties. However, Mo was sacked for lying about her age.
Marge was a bit timid and a bit of a soft-touch too, and Mo would regularly boss her around and make her do the scivvying when they were together, although, after a bit of coaxing from Ethel she did manage to stand up to Mo in the end, which stopped her bossing (albeit temporarily).
Marge lived at 93 Victoria Road and devoted her life to caring for her sickly 93 year old mother. This was a massive strain on her, particularly when her mother's health suddenly deteriorated after a second stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in December 1989. Noticing that Marge was becoming exhausted with the palliative care of her mother, her friends, Dot, Ethel and Mo, decided to take her on holiday to Clacton, where they all took part in a dancing competition. Marge attracted the attention of a senior bachelor, Mr Conroy, but she had led a sheltered life and she was far too shy to allow the romance to develop. Nevertheless, Mr Conroy persisted and even ended up proposing, which Marge regretfully turned down because of her commitment to her mother. Soon after, however, Marge received the news that her mother had died and she subsequently decided to accept Mr Conroy's proposal. Unfortunately for Marge, he had already departed, so she returned to Walford nursing a broken heart.
Although Marge was devastated to lose her mother, her friends helped her through it and she eventually came to look forward to a future where she could concentrate on her own needs instead of caring for others. However, the following year, Marge's cousin Fred arrived in Walford and conned her into becoming his invalid mother's companion on a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
. Despite Mo warning her against it, Marge felt obligated to care for her sick relative, so in February 1990 she left Walford and has not been seen since.
Creation and development
Writer Colin BrakeColin Brake
Colin Brake is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programs such as Bugs and EastEnders. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series Doctor Who...
has suggested that 1989 was a year of big change for EastEnders, both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer Keith Harris left the show, and co-creators Tony Holland
Tony Holland
Anthony John "Tony" Holland was an English television screenwriter best known as a writer and co-creator of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early career:...
and Julia Smith
Julia Smith
Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coincided with the exit of one of EastEnders most successful characters, Den Watts
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
(Leslie Grantham
Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. He is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal...
). Producer Mike Gibbon
Mike Gibbon
John Michael "Mike" Gibbon is an English television producer and director. Gibbon married Moya McCarthy in July 1976 and they have a daughter, Sophie....
was given the task of running the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale
Tony McHale
Tony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
.
According to Brake, the departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and Angie Watts
Angie Watts
Angela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out....
(Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
), had left a void in the programme, which needed to be filled. In addition, several other long-running characters left the show that year including two original cast members, Sue
Sue Osman
Susan "Sue" Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sandy Ratcliff. She was one of the serial's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 19 February 1985 and departing on-screen in May 1989. Created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, Sue was...
and Ali Osman
Ali Osman
Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original EastEnders cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly five years afterwards, making his final appearance on 10 October...
(Sandy Ratcliff
Sandy Ratcliff
Alexandria "Sandy" Ratcliff is an English former actress. Ratcliff made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she is best known for being one of the original cast members in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in the 1980s...
and Nejdet Salih) and their family; Donna Ludlow
Donna Ludlow
Donna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Matilda Ziegler between 1987-1989. Donna was scripted as a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her...
(Matilda Ziegler
Matilda Ziegler
Matilda Ziegler is a British television, stage and film actress best known for her roles as Irma Gobb in Mr. Bean and as Donna Ludlow in the long-running BBC1 serial EastEnders and Ruth in the BBC Three sitcom Swiss Toni.-Television career:Matilda Ziegler's first screen role remains her most...
); Carmel Jackson
Carmel Jackson
Carmel Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Judith Jacob. Carmel, a Health Visitor, was introduced in a recurring, minor role in 1986. Producers saw potential in the character. Script writers were asked to develop more promienent storylines, and Carmel...
(Judith Jacob
Judith Jacob
Judith Jacob , is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor Carmel Roberts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role she played from 1986 to 1989. During her stint in Albert Square, her character suffered from severe marital abuse and her husband's attempted murder and eventual...
) and Colin Russell (Michael Cashman
Michael Cashman
Michael Maurice Cashman is a British former actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.- Acting :...
). Brake has indicated that the production team decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford, commenting, "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start".
At the time, the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, and according to Brake, the programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted. Such characters included Julie Cooper
Julie Cooper (EastEnders)
Julie Cooper is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Louise Plowright from 1989-1990. The character was one of Mike Gibbon's introductions, but she was axed in 1990 at the start of Michael Ferguson's reign as executive producer...
(Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright is a British actress, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera EastEnders from 1989 to 1990....
); Trevor Short
Trevor Short
Trevor Short is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Phil McDermott.Trevor was the inseparable sidekick of Paul Priestly. He was a well-meaning individual but he wasn't blessed with much intelligence and he managed to mess up almost every job he was given...
(Phil McDermott
Phil McDermott
Phil McDermott is a British actor. Before turning to acting he was a trainee priest, a scrap metal worker, a weighbridge operator and a carpenter. He is most famous for playing a regular character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He played the dim-witted odd-job man, Trevor Short from 1989-1990...
), the "village idiot", and his friend, northern heartbreaker Paul Priestly
Paul Priestly
Paul Priestly is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Mark Thrippleton.Paul, a builder, came to London with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. He found work around the Square — the money wasn't great but there were benefits — for instance,...
(Mark Thrippleton
Mark Thrippleton
Mark Thrippleton is an English actor from Leeds.Thrippleton worked as a roofer and tiler before taking up acting in the 1980s.In 1984 he appeared in How We Used to Live — a British educational drama tracing the lives and fortunes of fictional Yorkshire families from Ewardian times...
); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham); Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Gary Powell. Laurie was introduced by producer Mike Gibbon in September 1989 as a rival to the long-established character Pete Beale – he opened up a business in direct competition to him and then dated his...
(Gary Powell
Gary Powell (actor)
Gary Powell is a British actor. He is possibly best known for playing the character Laurie Bates in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Laurie made his first screen appearance in September 1989 as a love interest for Kathy Beale , but the character was one of many to be written out of the serial early...
), who became Pete Beale
Pete Beale
Peter "Pete" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Peter Dean. He made his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was created by Tony Holland, one of the creators of EasEnders; he was based on a member of...
's (Peter Dean) sparring partner and Marge Green played by veteran comedy actress Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs was an English actress. Coombs was considered one of Britain's great character actresses, specialising in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female — comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms...
.
Brake describes Marge as a "well-meaning, slightly batty older lady" who he said worked well in partnership with the much tougher older character Mo Butcher
Mo Butcher
Maureen "Mo" Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She was introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's elderly mother. She was portrayed as a battle-axe, tough and interfering...
(Edna Dore
Edna Doré
Edna Doré is a British actress. Doré is one of Britain's best known senior citizen actresses. She is known for her bit-part roles in situation comedies and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in the BBC soap opera EastEnders .- Career :She began her career as a chorus girl in ENSA, then spent...
). Marge has been described by author Hilary Kingsley as an innocent spinster "who yearns for love and deserves it." Referring to the character's role as Walford Brownie's Brown Owl, Kingsley says, "She was always more of a mouse than an owl, a funny, easily flustered frump who was scared of men and the modern world because she'd hidden away from both for most of her life [...] Poor Marge was put upon by her domineering mother [...] Friendless, except for Tibby, her mother's cat [...]" Describing her backstory, Kingsley said, "In her youth, she was briefly engaged to a soldier but he married her best friend." Coombs, described by Kingsley as one of Britain's best comedy actresses, was already a known comedy actress in the UK and reportedly "relished" the role.
Brake suggests that humour was an important element in EastEnders storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. He has classed 1989's changes as a brave experiment, and has suggested that while some found this period of EastEnders entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat. Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, drugs, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, Brake reflected that the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".
By the end of the year, EastEnders had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson
Michael Ferguson (director)
Michael Ferguson is a British script writer, television director and television producer. Ferguson has been described as a “long term champion of realistic popular drama”. Ferguson was executive producer of the BBC soap opera, EastEnders between 1989 and 1991...
, who had previously been a successful producer on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. Brake has suggested that Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality, and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, Phil
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:...
) and Grant
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
Grant Anthony Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. Grant first appeared in 1990, introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show. Kemp remained until 1999 when he opted to leave...
(Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
), successful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year. Among them was Marge, as well as many other characters that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Brake has said that Pat Coombs was upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief".
Reception
According to Brake, the storyline involving Marge and the unruly Brownies was intended to be fun, but references to Brownies behaving badly caused great offence to the Brownie movement, and an official complaint was made and upheld. The broadcasting commission said the EastEnders Brownie episodes "came near to parody," were unfair to the Brownies and harmed the Girl GuidesGirl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...
' image. The BBC had to make a public apology for the misinterpretation of the movement. Brake has suggested that the mishap was a "salutary lesson to those [...] in the script department to be very vigilant in ensuring, as far as possible, that no group or individual was offended by an unintentional slight in a script."