User:Bluebolt94/Faith Olubunmi

Faith Olubunmi
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Modupe Adeyeye
Duration	2011—
First appearance	13 September 2011
Classification	Present; guest
Introduced by	Bryan Kirkwood
Spin-off appearances	EastEnders: E20 (2011)
In-universe information Sisters Mercy Olubunmi Grandmothers Grace Olubunmi

Faith Olubunmi is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Modupe Adeyeye. Faith is the younger sister of Mercy Olubunmi (Bunmi Mojekwu). Faith is one of three main characters in the third series of EastEnders spin-off EastEnders: E20, and the only one to appear in EastEnders as well. She appears in EastEnders from 13 September 2011, before appearing in the spin-off. Faith was sent to Nigeria by her grandmother Grace Olubunmi (Ellen Thomas) "to get back on the straight and narrow, but she is back and worse than ever!"

Storylines

EastEnders

Faith arrives in Walford to tell Mercy's husband Fatboy (Ricky Norwood) that she has had the marriage annulled and asks for his wedding ring so she can sell it. She stays with her grandmother, Grace and attends a party where she kisses several men. Grace tells her she will obey her rules if she is to live in her house. Regardless, Faith later holds a party at Grace's house and has sex with Fatboy but they are caught by Grace. The next day, when Faith returns home drunk, Grace slaps her and kicks her out of the house.

EastEnders: E20

After being ejected from her grandmothers home, Faith struggles to find a place to live, so she starts squatting in Number 4 Albert Square with Donnie Lester (Samuell Benta) and Ava Bourne (Sophie Colquhoun). They The following day, Faith and the others attempt to steal in order to get some food and eventually end up with some fish and chips. As soon as they escape into the squat, Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks) bangs the door and the three hide. Faith hides in the shower and soaks herself in cold water and Janine threatens to call her grandmother. The next day, Faith is in need of a shower but refuses to use the one in the squat as there is no hot water. She attempts to ask Grace to use her shower but is unsuccessful. She later meets Fatboy after he says there is a shower in the launderette and they have sex a second time, but Fatboy reveals after there is no shower. The trio are arrested upon return to the house after Janine tips the police off that Ava and Donnie are in Walford. When they return to the house, it has been transformed into a hostel and Faith is put into care by her grandmother. The manager, Richard, says they must do as they are told or he will tell the police that Donnie and Ava are the pair from the bus crash. Faith escapes with Donnie.

Creation and development

Casting and personality

"I first heard about the role of Faith towards the beginning of the year. The audition process was really long - there were six rounds, so with every round they were cutting people down and there were over 350 people who auditioned for this part."

—Adeyeye explains her casting

Faith is described as someone who can be "an incredible amount of fun and excitement, and she has a cheekiness that charms most people. But she's not nearly as bright as she thinks she is—she can sometimes be reckless and downright dangerous. When Faith runs into [E20 characters] Donnie and Ava, she sees it as her chance to cause even more mischief!" Faith also has a profile on Twitter.

Adeyeye revealed that Faith is keen to repair her fractured relationship with her Grandmother, Grace. Adeyeye told Digital Spy: "Faith's main storyline is that she wants to get back to Grace's house - she really wishes she could get back there. She soon realises that she wants to be living with someone who she loves, and someone who loves her too. Faith is a girl who really craves love, but she just doesn't know how to go about it. As Faith's journey goes on, things get a lot harder for her and she realises that she needs her grandma". Discussing the experience of appearing in both shows, Adeyeye added: "I think it was a good opportunity as Faith is in EastEnders and it leads into E20, so it builds up the buzz for what's going to happen in E20. I think it was a really smart thing to do, as the viewers are going on a journey with the story and it takes them into E20. So even though Faith then comes out of EastEnders, she goes into E20 and you see a lot more of what happens - the grittier side".

Character development

EastEnders newcomer Modupe Adeyeye – who plays Faith Olubunmi in both the regular show and web spin-off E20 – has revealed that she thinks her character would be a “good match” for Fatboy Chubb (Ricky Norwood). Speaking to Digital Spy, Adeyeye also explained that although Faith is attracted to Fatboy, she’s also keen on Donnie. She said: "Faith really likes Donnie. I think Donnie would like Faith too, but she gives away everything on a plate. She doesn’t let you find anything out about her or keep anything back, she just puts it all out there". She continued: "Fatboy actually cares about Faith and wants to take care of her, but with Donnie, he’s more interested in Ava because she keeps things back and lets you find them in her. I think Donnie likes that a lot more". She also explained that there are tense scenes ahead between Faith and Ava Bourne after they had a short feud. She said: "Faith and Ava are two completely different people – they are so not alike...So that already is a reason for them not to get along, and it’s very difficult for them to agree on things. They have different morals".

External links

• Faith Olubunmi character profile at the EastEnders: E20 website