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Will "Billie" Jackson[1][2] is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Devon Anderson from 1993 to 1997, and by Bluey Robinson for a brief return in 2004. The character will return in 2010 along with other members of the Jackson family.[3] It was confirmed in November 2009 that Devon Anderson will be reprising the role, 13 years after he was last seen on the soap.[1] [edit] Creation and development1994 was a "historic" year for EastEnders, as in April, a third weekly episode was introduced.[4] Due to the programme's increased frequency, a number of new characters were introduced to the regular cast in the latter part of 1993 and early 1994.[4] Among them were the Jackson family: mother Carol (Lindsey Coulson), her four children, Bianca (Patsy Palmer), Robbie (Dean Gaffney), Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), and Billie (Devon Anderson), as well as Carol's partner Alan Jackson (Howard Antony). Though Carol and Alan were not initially married in the serial, and though Alan was only the biological father of Billie, the whole family took on Alan's surname. The family was created by writer Tony McHale.[5] None of the actors cast as the Jackson family were matched for appearance or screen compatibility. Cassidy has commented, "it was all decided without doing that. I don't think it particularly mattered that none of us Jackson kids looked like each other because all our characters had different dads!"[5] Various members of the family began to appear sporadically from November 1993 onwards, but in episodes that aired early in 1994, the Jacksons moved from Walford Towers, a block of flats, to the soap's focal setting of Albert Square. Their slow introduction was a deliberate attempt by the programme makers to introduce the whole family over a long period.[4] The Jacksons have been described by EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake as a "classic problem family".[4] Anderson was 6 years old when he first appeared on-screen as Billie. [6] In a 2000 book, author Kate Lock described Billie as "angelic" and a "cheeky, curly-haired cherub whose princial dramatic function seemed to be to generate angst in the bosom of his family".[7] His most notable storyline in his initial stint was also his exit storyline. Following Lyndsey Coulson's decision to quit her role as Carol, the Jackson family were written out of the soap in 1997. In the storyline, Billie was kidnapped after witnessing an armed robbery and the whole family was relocated under a witness protection prgramme until Billie testified in court.[8] While the majority of the Jackson family returned to the serial, Billie was not seen again until 2004. It was announced in April that year that the character would be returning briefly to attend the wedding of his sister Sonia.[9] Producers decided not to bring back the original actor, and Billie was played by Bluey Robinson for several episodes in June 2004.[10] It was announced in October 2009 that Billie would be rejoining the soap along with the rest of the Jackson clan, excluding Alan, for a storyline to mark the 25th anniversay of EastEnders in February 2010. At the time the casting for the character had not been finalised;[3] however, it was confirmed in November 2009 that the original actor, Devon Anderson, would be reprising the role 13 years after he had last been seen in the soap. Anderson has commented, "I'm really happy to be back at EastEnders playing the role of Billie Jackson again. It was my first acting role and I can't wait to get started again. It is also very exciting that all of the Jackson family will be reunited and I'm sure that will be eventful for the viewers."[1] Executive producer Diederick Santer added, "Viewers will remember Devon as the original Billie Jackson, the cute kid with the big hair. Devon, like Billie, is all grown up, and 12 years on, I'm delighted to welcome this talented young actor back to the show."[1] He later described the character as "interesting", saying "He's a troubled soul, torn between being a good son to his mother and trying to have an exciting London life. And when your mother's Carol Jackson, that's quite a feat."[11] A source told the media website Digital Spy, "Billie's become a young man since the last time we saw him - he might even [be] referred to by his proper name Will. He's still the apple of his mother's eye but is he the angelic family man she wants him to be?"[1] Talking about the show's 25th anniversary week, Santer explained that he wanted great stories to get people talking, saying "That's [...] why we're doing the soap wedding of the year [...] with Ricky and Bianca. [...] The wedding is the perfect opportunity for us to bring back the much-loved Jackson characters — Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billie."[11] [edit] StorylinesBillie was the only son of Carol and Alan Jackson and he arrived in Walford in 1993 along with his half brother Robbie and his half sisters Bianca and Sonia. He was very close to his father and when Alan had an affair with the malicious Frankie Pierre and moved out of the family home, Billie took the separation badly. On Christmas Day 1996, he became so upset that Alan wasn't there for the festivities that he ran away from home, prompting most of the Square to abandon their Christmas dinners to search for him. He was eventually found by Nigel and Clare Bates, hiding out in a derelict building. They returned him to his worried parents and the Jacksons eventually had a happy Christmas together, including Alan. In February 1997, Billie accompanied his great grandmother Blossom on a trip to the local Alliance and York building society. Whilst there, the building society was held up at gunpoint and robbed by a gang of masked thieves. Billie and Blossom were unharmed, but another man was shot and killed and Billie, the only witness, got a glimpse of the thieves without their masks on. Billie was asked to provide testimony and help identify the thieves in a police line-up, which led to several arrests. Carol remained apprehensive about Billie's involvement throughout the ordeal. In September 1997, the Jacksons heard news that the court case to try the suspected robbers was soon to take place. Soon after, Carol's paranoid fears were realised when two large men walked up to her, offered to walk her home and threatened that something would happen to her unless she stopped Billie from testifying. Carol was petrified and wanted to pull Billie out of testifying, but the police managed to reassure her that it was just an idle threat and installed a panic button in their house just in case. However, things took a turn for the worse when Carol received an envelope stuffed with pictures of Billie and her house and she realised that she and her family were under surveillance. Carol then decided to pull Billie from testifying, but the police cautioned her that they could get a court order and offered her protection in a safe-house, which she refused. Carol proceeded to watch Billie like a hawk instead, accompanying him everywhere he went. After picking him up from school the following day, a woman claiming to be a supply teacher approached Carol and asked if she could have a word about Billie's behaviour. Whilst she was distracted, some men jumped out of a van, bundled Billie inside and were then joined by the fake supply teacher. Carol watched horrified as they drove off with Billie. After several days of intense worrying and a fruitless investigation by the police, Carol was finally contacted by the fake supply teacher, who said she was forced to go along with the abduction and now wanted to do a deal with the police. The police were then able to trace Billie and he was soon reunited with his family. After this the entire Jackson family, apart from Bianca, were placed in a witness protection program and rehoused away from the Square for their own safety. They departed on 16 October 1997. Following the trial, Robbie and Sonia returned to Walford and Carol also returned in 1999 when she split up with Alan for a second time. Billie remained living with his father and grandmother in Balham and Carol has since returned to live with them. A much older Billie returned to the Square briefly in June 2004 to attend Sonia's wedding to Martin Fowler, and flirted with Martin's niece, Vicki at the reception and got drunk. [edit] Referencess
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