User:AnemoneProjectors/Donna Yates

Donna Yates
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Lisa Hammond
Duration	2014–
First appearance	Episode 4837 14 April 2014 (2014-04-14)
Classification	Present; regular
Introduced by	Dominic Treadwell-Collins
In-universe information Occupation Market stall holder Adoptive mother Claudette Hubbard (foster) Brothers Vincent Hubbard (foster) Glen (foster) Linford Short (foster)

Donna Yates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lisa Hammond. Donna's first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2014.

Storylines

Donna, a market trader, arrives on Bridge Street market following the decision to merge it with Spring Lane market. Donna is hostile towards the other traders, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) and Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer), as they also sells clothes. Donna is attracted to Terry Spraggan (Terry Alderton) and takes a disliking to his former wife, Nikki Spraggan (Rachel Wilde). Donna also clashes with Fatboy (Ricky Norwood), a fellow stallholder. However, Donna is friends with Pam Coker (Lin Blakley), a former social worker who now has a flower stall there and has also moved from Spring Lane. It is revealed that Pam was once Donna's social worker and placed her with her long-term foster family. Pam encourages Donna to make peace with Kat and Fatboy, and Donna helps Fatboy with his supplier receipts. Later, Fatboy drives Donna to the hospital for an appointment and she tells him that she goes to the hospital regularly for blood tests and painkiller injections in hopes of prolonging the energy she has before undergoing joint replacement.

At Donna's 30th birthday, Martin Fowler (James Bye) shows an interest in her. When it becomes clear this is only down to Martin trying to annoy his estranged wife, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), Fatboy punches him, and an upset Donna leaves the party. However, she is pleased when Pam reveals she has secretly invited her foster mother, Claudette Hubbard (Ellen Thomas), and is touched when Fatboy gives her a hoodie as his present to her. Her foster brother, Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood), visits her and reveals that he is Kim Fox's (Tameka Empson) husband and the father of Kim's daughter, Pearl Fox-Hubbard, leaving her shocked. She later goes for a drink with Vincent where she is confronted by Kim who assumes that Donna is Vincent's date. Donna reveals that she is Vincent's sister and when Donna calls Kim's half-sister Denise Fox (Diane Parish) a "dog", Kim stabs a tyre on Donna's wheelchair with a fork.

Donna and Fatboy kiss and end up having sex. The next morning, they enjoy the gossip around them, but Fatboy feels that it is making their friendship awkward, and later tells Donna this, but she does not take it well and goes to Claudette's house in tears, saying that she wants a long-term relationship with someone who will love her for who she is. When Vincent finds out about Fatboy's treatment of Donna, he angrily confronts him and locks him in a staircase as punishment. The next day, on Vincent's advice, Fatboy tells Donna that he will be showing his true self to her from now on. Although initially confused, Donna accepts this. However, the relationship does not last and Fatboy soon leaves Walford. Donna is confused when Claudette disappears, so Vincent says that Claudette left after an argument with Kim and is staying with her sister Cynthia, but Donna discovers this is a lie. Donna later reveals to Vincent that Claudette had told her that Vincent buried her in his basement after she fell down the stairs during a scuffle with Patrick. Vincent says Claudette killed her husband, Henry, but Donna does not believe him, so he reveals that Claudette had indirectly killed Fatboy. Donna tells Vincent and Claudette to leave, but Patrick arrives and confirms that Vincent is telling the truth about Henry. Claudette claims Henry's death was an accident and threatens to go to the police if Patrick calls the police on her, but Donna accuses Claudette of only fostering her to ease her guilt. Vincent tells Claudette to leave Walford, and gives Donna Fatboy's necklace. Donna tells him they should stick together as he is now the only family she has left. However, several months later, Claudette returns to Walford and Donna starts meeting her in secret, but fails to convince Vincent to talk to Claudette.

When there is no market inspector, the market turns to anarchy, upsetting Donna. She fails to do anything about it and gets drunk, later asking Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) to father a child for her, but she regrets it the next day. Pam encourages Donna to apply to be market inspector. Donna later asks Vincent if he will be the father of her baby. He eventually agrees and reluctantly tells Kim the plan, who is against it. Kim calls Claudette to try to stop the plan but Claudette is supportive despite Vincent still hating her, and Vincent manages to convince Kim. Donna inseminates herself with Vincent's donated sperm, and Kim, realising how hard it will be on her family, attempts to stop it but she is too late. However, Donna does not get pregnant. Donna is determined to keep trying but when she finds out Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) is pregnant and Whitney says she would not be able to raise a baby on her own, Donna realises she will not be able to look after a baby by herself and decides to stop trying for a baby for now, with Kim reassuring her that she will find the right man for her in the meantime. When a bus crashes into the market and the viaduct, Vincent finds parts of Donna's wheelchair when helping the injured. But he eventually finds her lying conscious in the alleyway of The Queen Victoria pub.

Creation

Donna was not originally a disabled character, but this was changed when Hammond, who has dwarfism, impressed producers during her audition. Donna is the second regular disabled character to appear in EastEnders after Adam Best (David Proud). Of her casting, Hammond said "I'm really excited to join EastEnders. Donna is a bit of a handful but they are always the most fun characters – it feels good to be bad." Donna is a market trader, who clashes with rival stall holders Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) and Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace). Series producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins described Donna as being "flinty, aggressive and difficult". He added that initially she would be difficult to like, but eventually her funny and loyal side would come out. Donna has foster parents.

In an interview with Inside Soap, Hammond said, "there will be a humorous side to Donna." Despite being billed as aggressive and difficult, Hammond insists that she will not be totally unlikeable. She continued, "Initially, Donna is very opinionated. But there is a humorous side to her. I don't want her to just be a hard-faced cow. There needs to be a glint in her eye, tinged with a bit of sarcasm as well. It was hard to launch into being such a fiery character. Once I settled in, I thought, 'This is fun – people will hate me!'" It was reported that her character would get on the wrong side of Bianca and Kat immediately, following their assumption she is from the council. Hammond said: "Not only did I come in on my first day as someone who is difficult and a bit nosey, but I had to do it with Kat and Bianca! They are really strong women, so it was daunting. But Patsy (Bianca) and Jessie (Kat) have always been a good laugh in between scenes, so it was very easy to settle in." She also confirmed that her mentor is Patsy Palmer; "Patsy is my mentor. She told me to come straight to her with any questions."

Reception

Hammond has received two award nominations for her portrayal of Donna. The first was in the "Best Bitch" category at the 2014 Inside Soap Awards. In August 2017, Hammond was longlisted in the "Funniest Female" category at the Inside Soap Awards, but did not progress to the viewer-voted shortlist.

References

Category:EastEnders characters Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2014 Category:Fictional characters with dwarfism Category:Fictional market stallholders Category:Female characters in television