Shirley Carter in EastEnders is the sharp-tongued, no-nonsense sister of Tina Carter and mother of Mick Carter – though he grew up thinking she was his older sister.
Along with son Mick, Shirley is mum to Dean Wicks and Carly Wicks, as well as Jimbo, who died aged 21 from Cystic Fibrosis.
Who plays Shirley Carter in EastEnders?
Shirley is played by actress Linda Henry. She was already a well-known actress thanks to her legendary role as Yvonne Atkins in Bad Girls. Linda also appeared in many other television shows including Birds of a Feather, Cracker, A Touch of Frost, and The Bill.
Linda also appeared in EastEnders for a while, back in the early 90s, when she played Lorraine Salter – mum of Mandy Salter.
Linda is married to Stavros Valiris. The pair tied the knot in 1992, and their daughter Ellie was born a year later.
Shirley and her kids
Shirley Carter arrived in EastEnders when ex-husband Kevin Wicks tracked her down. Shirl was glad to see her kids, Carly and Dean (then going by the name Deano), but they weren’t as pleased that she was back in their lives. They were upset she had walked away when their brother Jimbo was dying and hadn’t gone to his funeral.
Read more: Who is Buster in EastEnders? What happened between him and Shirley?
Shirley worked hard to build bridges with her kids, though her revelation that Kevin wasn’t their dad hit them hard.
When Shirley, Mick and Tina bought The Queen Vic, Dean came back to Albert Square. He raped Linda Carter and when Mick found out he attacked him. He only stopped when Shirley shouted that Dean was his brother – revealing the truth that she was Mick’s mum.
Since then, Shirley’s proved herself a valuable support to her family, standing by Linda as she dealt with Dean’s rape, and helping Mick through his memories of being abused.
Shirley Carter in EastEnders and her love life
Shirl’s grand-daughters Nancy and Frankie are busy trying to set her up with newcomer Rocky. She may be going through a dry spell right now but Shirley’s had her fair share of romances in her time in the Square.
When she first arrived, she tried to cause trouble for her ex, Kevin Wicks by interfering in his relationship with Denise Fox.
After Kevin was killed, Shirley started a relationship with Vinnie Monks, but they broke up because he thought she was secretly in love with Phil Mitchell. And it seemed he was right.
Shirley and Phil Mitchell
At first, Phil treated Shirl badly, seeing her as little more than a surrogate mum for his son, Ben. But they fell in love and Shirley stood by Phil through his crack addiction and his battle for custody of daughter, Louise.
But when Ben killed Shirley’s best friend, Heather Trott, Shirley couldn’t cope. She broke up with Phil and started drinking. Phil helped her by getting her to stay with her daughter Carly, but she struggled to forgive him for covering up Ben’s crime.
It wasn’t all over for Phil and Shirl, though. When Phil and Sharon planned to get married, poor Phil discovered it was all a scam. Shaz wanted to tie the knot and fleece him. He and Shirley began an affair and plotted against Sharon.
But when Shaz and Phil both found out the other knew about their plans they tied the knot anyway. Shirley was devastated and shot Phil!
She left the Square for a while to let the dust settle.
Who was Buster Briggs?
Shirley rekindled her romance with childhood sweetheart Buster Briggs, and revealed that he was dad to both Dean and Mick.
Shirley was drawn back to Phil. Buster told her to forget about him and Shirley decided to do as he said and concentrate on her family instead.
But Buster was having an affair with Kathy Beale. And while Shirley was looking after Phil – who’d started drinking again – Buster did a runner, scarpering from Walford without even saying goodbye.
Shirley was broken-hearted. And now she and Kathy seem to be love rivals again thanks to Rocky’s arrival in the Square. Will Shirley find happiness this time?
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