Nina Harris
Encyclopedia
Nina Harris is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Troy Titus-Adams
between 1999 and 2000. The character was axed by John Yorke, making her final appearance in June 2000. Titus-Adams has been critical about the lack of material given to her, accusing the BBC of tokenism
.
looking for a fresh start away from her past as a prostitute. Nina had helped imprison her violent pimp Vinny, a former boyfriend who had got her addicted to drugs and then persuaded her to turn to prostitution so she could feed their habit. She stays with aunt Irene Raymond
(Roberta Taylor
) and settles in by becoming a barmaid in The Queen Victoria
public house.
Nina had been neglected as a child by her mother Jenny, Irene's sister, and her troubled past fuelled her ambition to become a probation officer; she studies hard to achieve this goal. While in Albert Square
her good looks do not go unnoticed by the male population as she moves in with good friend and admirer Beppe di Marco
(Michael Greco), then starts dating his enemy Grant Mitchell
(Ross Kemp
), who is smitten with her. The two men come to blows when Nina's past is revealed by an ex-client called Dean Collins who has been blackmailing her. Grant reacts in disgust; he tells the rest of Walford about Nina's past and their relationship ends with no hope of a reconciliation.
A few months later she dates Mick McFarlane
(Sylvester Williams) but has to leave the Square behind to look after her dying father who has been absent most of her life. Nina knows it is the right thing to do; she bids farewell to her friends and family and leaves for good.
, which eventually went to Lucy Benjamin
. She has commented, "the EastEnders role came out of the blue. My agent called me while I was in the US, to tell me that they were look for new characters, so I flew back for an audition. Initially I auditioned for the role of market inspector Lisa (played by Lucy Benjamin), but was offered the part of Nina".
She has claimed that she only accepted the part after persuasion from the show's producers who convinced her Nina would be a positive role model for black women: "A lot of my friends and family are West Indian and Afro-Caribbean, so I do feel a sense of responsibility. I spoke to the producers because I wondered how they were going to tackle certain issues and how many black writers were on the show. I was concerned about why a black person had to be an ex-prostitute. But what's good about Nina is that she has turned her life around. She's come from being in care when she was younger and arrived in Walford to work in the bar and study for a degree."
The character was axed by John Yorke in 2000. Titus-Adams has since reflected on her time in the soap, saying, "Being in EastEnders was a fantastic experience and I loved playing Nina. Even now people come up to me and tell me how much they liked the character. So it was a shame when my contract came to an end and they didn't renew it."
She was unhappy with the direction the writers took the character and claims that she had been given the impression that Nina would be a strong individual. She said, "I was e-mailed a biography of Nina and I stayed up all night reading about this amazingly strong character. I'd been told Nina was gritty with a great background - but she turned into a barmaid who was an ex-prostitute who just stood there and polished glasses all day. [Black characters] always have a shady past. So, surprise, surprise, [Nina] became a prostitute. All black actors seem to be token blacks. And I ended up feeling like that - an outsider [...] If you look at the background of someone like Sylvester Williams, who plays Mick McFarlane, it's amazing. He's done great theatre. He's been on the show for four years and they have wasted him. Has he ever been at the forefront of anything? He's very under-used. Black actors just get piddly little scenes. They are surplus to requirements."
Titus-Adams felt that the reason her character was written out was actor Ross Kemp who played Nina's love interest Grant Mitchell had decided to quit the soap. She commented, "There was nowhere left for me to go after he went. I was so excited when I learned that Nina was to be involved with Grant because he was the show's biggest character [...] but in the event it was the beginning of the end. After the affair with [Grant] there was nothing for [Nina]. I was left there just polishing the glasses."
It was initially reported that Titus-Adams had quit the show, but she revealed to the press in 2000 that she had actually been axed by executive producer John Yorke.
Titus-Adams has claimed that she got lots of fan mail from young Black, mixed-race and Asian women, "who saw me as a kind of role model". However, she adds that she "was disappointed with my exit from the show, as it would have been great if I could have stayed and developed my relationship with Mick, (played by Sylvester Williams) and who knows, we might have formed a Black family."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by Troy Titus-Adams
Troy Titus-Adams
Troy Titus-Adams is a British actress.She has appeared in soap operas EastEnders as Nina Harris and Family Affairs, as Kim Davies as well as several films and stage productions.- External links :*...
between 1999 and 2000. The character was axed by John Yorke, making her final appearance in June 2000. Titus-Adams has been critical about the lack of material given to her, accusing the BBC of tokenism
Tokenism
In the arts, employment, and politics, tokenism is a policy or practice of limited inclusion or artistic and/or political representation of members of a traditionally marginalized group, usually creating a false appearance of inclusive practices rather than discrimination, intentional or not...
.
Storylines
Nina arrives in WalfordWalford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
looking for a fresh start away from her past as a prostitute. Nina had helped imprison her violent pimp Vinny, a former boyfriend who had got her addicted to drugs and then persuaded her to turn to prostitution so she could feed their habit. She stays with aunt Irene Raymond
Irene Raymond
Irene Constance Ethel Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Roberta Taylor. Introduced in 1997 as the matriarch of the Hills family, Irene remained in the serial until 2000, when the actress opted to leave...
(Roberta Taylor
Roberta Taylor
Roberta Taylor is an English actress and author. She is probably best known for her roles of Irene Raymond in EastEnders , and Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill .-Career:...
) and settles in by becoming a barmaid in The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
public house.
Nina had been neglected as a child by her mother Jenny, Irene's sister, and her troubled past fuelled her ambition to become a probation officer; she studies hard to achieve this goal. While in Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
her good looks do not go unnoticed by the male population as she moves in with good friend and admirer Beppe di Marco
Beppe di Marco
Beppe di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Greco.Beppe was his family's pride and joy, so it was a big shock to them when he was fired from the police force for attempting to frame local hardman Grant Mitchell...
(Michael Greco), then starts dating his enemy Grant Mitchell
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
Grant Anthony Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. Grant first appeared in 1990, introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show. Kemp remained until 1999 when he opted to leave...
(Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
), who is smitten with her. The two men come to blows when Nina's past is revealed by an ex-client called Dean Collins who has been blackmailing her. Grant reacts in disgust; he tells the rest of Walford about Nina's past and their relationship ends with no hope of a reconciliation.
A few months later she dates Mick McFarlane
Mick McFarlane
Mick McFarlane is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sylvester Williams.Mick was an easy-going guy, who hoped to make it big as a musician. However his music career failed and he ended up selling CDs on a market stall in Albert Square...
(Sylvester Williams) but has to leave the Square behind to look after her dying father who has been absent most of her life. Nina knows it is the right thing to do; she bids farewell to her friends and family and leaves for good.
Creation and development
Nina Harris was introduced in 1999 by producer Matthew Robinson. Former model Troy Titus-Adams was given the role after initially being lined up to audition for the part of Lisa ShawLisa Fowler
Lisa Deborah Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lucy Benjamin from 1998 to 2003 and in 2010. Lisa was instrumental in one of EastEnders most highly publicised and anticipated storylines, dubbed Who Shot Phil? in 2001, where she gunned down her former...
, which eventually went to Lucy Benjamin
Lucy Benjamin
-Career:Born Lucy Jane Baker in Reading, Berkshire, England, she took the stage name of Benjamin after her brother. Benjamin trained at the Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead. Her first acting role was as a child actor in Doctor Who in 1983 playing a young version of the character Nyssa...
. She has commented, "the EastEnders role came out of the blue. My agent called me while I was in the US, to tell me that they were look for new characters, so I flew back for an audition. Initially I auditioned for the role of market inspector Lisa (played by Lucy Benjamin), but was offered the part of Nina".
She has claimed that she only accepted the part after persuasion from the show's producers who convinced her Nina would be a positive role model for black women: "A lot of my friends and family are West Indian and Afro-Caribbean, so I do feel a sense of responsibility. I spoke to the producers because I wondered how they were going to tackle certain issues and how many black writers were on the show. I was concerned about why a black person had to be an ex-prostitute. But what's good about Nina is that she has turned her life around. She's come from being in care when she was younger and arrived in Walford to work in the bar and study for a degree."
The character was axed by John Yorke in 2000. Titus-Adams has since reflected on her time in the soap, saying, "Being in EastEnders was a fantastic experience and I loved playing Nina. Even now people come up to me and tell me how much they liked the character. So it was a shame when my contract came to an end and they didn't renew it."
Reception
Actress Titus-Adams accused the BBC of treating her like a "token black" while she appeared in EastEnders. She claims that she gave up the opportunity of a "wonderful life" by moving from the USA to the UK to accept the part of Nina, a token black and "a barmaid with a chequered past! Although I didn't realise that's what I was doing at the time."She was unhappy with the direction the writers took the character and claims that she had been given the impression that Nina would be a strong individual. She said, "I was e-mailed a biography of Nina and I stayed up all night reading about this amazingly strong character. I'd been told Nina was gritty with a great background - but she turned into a barmaid who was an ex-prostitute who just stood there and polished glasses all day. [Black characters] always have a shady past. So, surprise, surprise, [Nina] became a prostitute. All black actors seem to be token blacks. And I ended up feeling like that - an outsider [...] If you look at the background of someone like Sylvester Williams, who plays Mick McFarlane, it's amazing. He's done great theatre. He's been on the show for four years and they have wasted him. Has he ever been at the forefront of anything? He's very under-used. Black actors just get piddly little scenes. They are surplus to requirements."
Titus-Adams felt that the reason her character was written out was actor Ross Kemp who played Nina's love interest Grant Mitchell had decided to quit the soap. She commented, "There was nowhere left for me to go after he went. I was so excited when I learned that Nina was to be involved with Grant because he was the show's biggest character [...] but in the event it was the beginning of the end. After the affair with [Grant] there was nothing for [Nina]. I was left there just polishing the glasses."
It was initially reported that Titus-Adams had quit the show, but she revealed to the press in 2000 that she had actually been axed by executive producer John Yorke.
Titus-Adams has claimed that she got lots of fan mail from young Black, mixed-race and Asian women, "who saw me as a kind of role model". However, she adds that she "was disappointed with my exit from the show, as it would have been great if I could have stayed and developed my relationship with Mick, (played by Sylvester Williams) and who knows, we might have formed a Black family."