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
Michael Moon (EastEnders) lots more in 2012, please!" A writer for "The Sun" branded Michael a "hunk". Shepherd admitted that playing a villain has made him unpopular with viewers. He said that one woman screamed at him and a child hid behind her mother and would not speak. He commented: "It was quite upsetting, but the flip side is that they clearly believe in the drama." Michael Moon (EastEnders) Michael Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Steve John Shepherd. The character is a second cousin once removed of Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), and first appears on