Diane Butcher  Diane Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Sophie Lawrence. Diane appears as a regular character between 1988 and 1991, when Lawrence decided to leave. The character makes several brief returns in 1993, 1994, and 1997. In 2008, she returns for her father Frank Butcher's (Mike Reid) funeral; on 20 June 2012 she returns for her sister Janine Butcher's (Charlie Brooks) wedding, departing on 29 June 2012. Over the years Diane develops from a rebellious teenager who runs away from home, to a free-spirited single mother having difficulty looking after her young son. More recently, a more-mature Diane settled in France and, in a departure from a character previously depicted as heterosexual, she is stated to be in a long-term relationship with another woman. Diane arrives in Albert Square in 1988 as the daughter of second-hand car salesman Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) and sister to Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen). Her mother June died in 1987, and when her father marries Pat Wicks (Pam St. Clement) and takes over as landlord of the Queen Victoria public house, she lives with them there. Later the family move out of the pub to run a bed and breakfast elsewhere on the Square. Problematic and strong-willed, she falls for the Butchers' lodger Paul Priestly (Mark Thrippleton) in 1989, much to Frank's annoyance. Diane takes the relationship more seriously than Paul, and she is devastated when he finishes with her to begin a fling with hairdresser Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright). Paul and Julie do not last, and he immediately returns to Diane. Scorned, Diane cannot forgive Julie for taking Paul, and she plays various vengeful tricks on her as payback, such as sabotaging her salon's opening day and sending her a male escort to make her look desperate. Julie responds by flirting with Paul to infuriate Diane further, and their feud culminates in a showdown in The Queen Vic one night, at which Julie humiliates Diane. Paul quickly loses interest in Diane. Ignoring his reticence, Diane convinces herself that Paul is contemplating proposing marriage to her, so she is broken-hearted when he returns to his hometown in Leeds in December 1989; he leaves without saying goodbye. Feeling misunderstood and unloved after believing that her family have forgotten her 16th birthday, Diane runs away from home in January 1990 and joins the down-and-outs on the streets of London.