Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler (also Holloway) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Susan Tully from the first episode in 1985 until the character's departure in 1995. In December 2016, it was announced Michelle would be returning to the show after 21 years, with actress Jenna Russell taking over the role making her first appearance on 24 December 2016. In her first stint Michelle made some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square mainly through having a habit of choosing the wrong men and her stubborn nature meant that she rarely accepted help or listened to good advice. Being determined and outspoken, she has never been afraid to defend herself or her beliefs. Since the recast to Russell in 2016, Michelle's storylines have revolved around her having had an illegal relationship with her student, Preston Cooper (Martin Anzor) in America, a love triangle involving her niece Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield), crashing Phil Mitchell car into the local chip shop and being stalked by Tom Bailey (Daniel Casey). Russell's departure from the show was announced in March 2018, and Michelle departed on 17 April 2018.
Diane Butcher
Subsequent storylines featuring Diane included involvement in the plight of pregnant runaway Disa, whom Diane brought back to Walford to bond with her baby—Disa had initially abandoned the baby on Diane's doorstep on Christmas Day 1990. The bulk of the character's narrative concerned a blossoming romance with one of "EastEnders"' original characters, Mark Fowler (Todd Carty), who returned to the serial as a regular character in 1990 after a three-year absence. The relationship was never consummated however, because in January 1991 Mark revealed to Diane that he was HIV positive—he was the first mainstream soap opera character to be diagnosed. The episode, written by Tony McHale, has been described as the "important" beginning to Mark's HIV storyline, as Mark's secret HIV status was finally revealed to the audience as well as Diane. In the on-screen events, Diane tried to be supportive to Mark and persuaded him to have counselling at the Terrence Higgins Trust, though their relationship was never quite the same again; when Mark, prompted by his mother Pauline, asked Diane to marry him, she turned him down and left the serial to move to France shortly after.