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
EastEnders a reputation for making constant exits and returns since the programme's first year, until the character's death in 2015. , Adam Woodyatt, Leonard Fenton, Gillian Taylforth and Letitia Dean are the only members of the original cast remaining in the show, in their roles of Ian Beale, Harold Legg, Kathy Beale and Sharon Watts respectively. However, Fenton has only returned for a guest stint and will make his departure in the coming months. Ian Beale is the only character to have appeared continuously from the first episode without officially leaving, and is the longest-serving character in "EastEnders". "EastEnders" programme makers