della alexander is played by michelle joseph. first seen in march 1994, della becomes a potential love interest for her business partner, steve elliot (mark monero). however, it is soon revealed that della is a lesbian, and steve (along with some other residents of albert square) struggles to accept this. della and her girlfriend binnie roberts (sophie langham) are the first lesbian couple to be featured in "eastenders". their inclusion was an attempt to portray positive examples of homosexual characters. della and binnie soon grow disillusioned with walford, and the couple leave for ibiza in may 1995.