EastEnders (Mark Thrippleton); wheeler-dealer Vince Johnson (Hepburn Graham) and Laurie Bates (Gary Powell), who became Pete Beale's (Peter Dean) sparring partner. The majority of "EastEnders" characters are working-class. Middle-class characters do occasionally become regulars, but have been less successful and rarely become long-term characters. In the main, middle-class characters exist as villains, such as James Wilmott-Brown, May Wright, Stella Crawford and Yusef Khan, or are used to promote positive liberal influences, such as Colin Russell or Rachel Kominski. "EastEnders" has always featured a culturally diverse cast which has included black, Asian, Turkish, Polish and Latvian characters. "The expansion of minority representation
George Palmer (EastEnders) East End villain these days. They swan around in these dapper suits and get someone else to hide the money-or the bodies." The character was one of many to be axed in 1998 by Executive Producer Matthew Robinson, following a dip in ratings. George Palmer (EastEnders) George Palmer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Paul Moriarty. He appeared between 1 July 1996 and 8 December 1998, but was one of many characters axed by then executive producer Matthew Robinson. George, a prominent figure in the East End criminal underworld, owns an illegal gambling den/money