claudia fielding (née duncan), played by romla walker, is the sister of saskia duncan (deborah sheridan-taylor), who arrives in walford after her sister's death on 14 february 1999. she arrives in walford as it was the last place saskia was seen, and her disappearance is being investigated by the police. claudia is suspicious of steve owen (martin kemp), her sister's former fiancé (and killer), but then becomes dependent on him, alternating between the two and irritating steve. matthew rose (joe absolom), who witnessed saskia's death, is worried that claudia will discover that her sister is dead. she eventually returns home after saskia's body is found buried in epping forest. claudia testifies at steve's trial and is devastated when he is cleared of saskia's murder, with matthew found guilty instead.