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Tom Banks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Colm Ó Maonlaí. Introduced in April 2002 as a love interest for Sharon Watts, producers made the decision to axe the character and he was killed-off in November 2002. The character was allegedly popular with female viewers who voted him the 8th sexiest, male character to appear in EastEnders in a 2005 poll.
[edit] Creation and developmentThe character was introduced in 2002 by executive producer John Yorke as part of Sharon Watts's (Letitia Dean) returning storyline to EastEnders. Despite first appearing in April 2002, the character was given a backstory linking him with several original characters in the series, a childhood acquaintance of Sharon, Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) and Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). Irish actor Colm Ó Maonlaí won the role after the casting director remembered him from a previous audition.[1] Five years earlier he had auditioned for the part of Conor Flaherty, which was given to Sean Gleeson.[2] Conor and his daughter Mary (Melanie Clark Pullen) were axed in 1999 and Tom Banks was the first character of Irish descent to be given a regular role in the serial since the Flahertys' departure.[1][2] Tom was scripted to be a love interest for Sharon. A love triangle storyline featured initially as Tom battled for Sharon's affections with her former lover Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). In the storyline, Tom was shown to be keeping secrets from Sharon regarding his past marriage, secrets that were unveiled by Phil.[3] Explaining his character's motives, O'Maonlai said, "Tom likes Sharon ever such a lot. I don’t think he expected to have so many feelings for her, but he does. He obviously enjoys the chase, wooing her with flowers, but we’ll have to wait and see to find out if he’s the real thing. I think he is genuine about her. He’s not playing games, even though he does have his secret. After they sleep together, he realises that there’s real feeling there. They’re keen on each other and I think Tom is probably a little nervous about his feelings for her [...] He used to like her at school so is in shock that now they’re grown up, she likes him back - a lot, it seems. Even so, Tom is not the sort of guy who likes to look too far into the future. He’s too busy just having a really good time with Sharon to think about any long-term commitment. They go out together, have a lot of fun and are becoming great friends as well, which is always good. Tom is a little concerned that Phil has been prying into his affairs, and he is nervous that his secret might come out, but he is concentrating on Sharon. And, although Tom is a bit scared of Phil, I think he’s not afraid to stand up to him, if needed."[4] In July 2002, following the introduction of a new executive producer, Louise Berridge, it was announced that Tom was being written out of EastEnders. A spokesperson denied that the actor had been fired, commenting, "He was brought in to play out a specific storyline" and that he was due to "go out with a bang".[5] According to The Mirror, EastEnders' bosses decided that there was nowhere else to go with the character, that they could not work out how to develop him and that he had fulfilled a specific role.[6] Part of Tom's exit storyline saw the character discovering that he had an inoperable brain tumour.[7] Despite the initial upset this caused to his relationship with Sharon, the couple resolved to stay together and marry. However, in a plot twist, Tom was killed off in an episode airing to celebrate Halloween in October 2002. His death coincided with the exit of another character, Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns).[8] In the episode, Tom rushes in to a house fire to save Trevor who is holding his baby and his ex-wife Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) hostage, but despite rescuing Mo and the baby, he and Trevor both die in an explosion. O'Maonlai claimed he cried when filming his character dying, partly due to the exhaustion of the filming and stunt work needed for the scenes. He commented, "I found working with fire tough, it was so hot. It wasn't just that I was in the heat, I also had to carry a baby and Little Mo out. I can look after myself but if I've got someone over my shoulder, it's quite freaky. I was well looked after, everybody was there to make sure it went smoothly."[9] [edit] Storylines Tom was a Merchant Marine who had been friends with Mark Fowler and Sharon Watts when they were children. He also knew Ian Beale, but used to bully him, and revealed the nickname he had given him as a child to the rest of Walford, "Squeal Beale". Tom had left the Marines by 2002 and is first seen at the funeral of Sharon's mother Angie (Anita Dobson). He is now a firefighter and starts a relationship with Sharon, despite interference from her ex-lover Phil, but his psychotic ex-wife Sadie (Isobel Middleton) tries her hardest to split them up. She uses his stepdaughter, Charlotte (Hannah Bridges) as an excuse to get back into Tom's life and convinces Sharon that they are having an affair behind her back. Eventually realising that Sadie is lying, Sharon stands by Tom, but the rest of Walford turns against the couple as a result. Sadie becomes deranged and holds Sharon hostage in her flat, threatening to harm her unless Tom returns to her. She then attempts suicide but Sharon and Tom manage to convince her to get psychological help. Things take a turn for the worse when Tom discovers he has a brain tumour but does not tell Sharon. Sharon proposes to him when they swap roles for a day, and, realising that he and Sharon could never have a full, long life together, he breaks up with her, claiming it had all just been a 'bit of fun'. Sharon refuses to give up and can see that there is something else effecting Tom. He eventually tells her about his illness and that he wants Sharon as a girlfriend, not a nurse. As Tom crumbles, Sharon promises him that she will be there for him until the end. They plan to travel around the world but Tom decides he wanted to spend his last days in Walford and proposes to Sharon using her father Den Watts' (Leslie Grantham) signet ring. When Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns) started a fire at 23 Albert Square, Tom runs in to rescue Trevor's hostages Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) and his son Sean (Oliver Bradley). He takes them to safety, and then goes back to rescue Trevor, when Trevor's petrol can explodes. They both die instantly. [edit] ReceptionThe character was reportedly popular with female viewers with Ó Maonlaí receiving "raunchy" fan mail and being a hailed as a "sex symbol".[2] In a magazine that marked EastEnders' 20th anniversary in February 2005, Tom Banks came 8th in a poll for EastEnders' "sexiest hunk".[10] O' Maonlai was nominated for Best Newcomer in the National TV Awards for the role of Tom.[11] Ian Hyland, critic for The Mirror, was critical about the way the character was introduced, describing it as "cack-handed". He also mocked the character's apparent flirtations, suggesting that he wore a chest hair wig.[12] The storyline involving Tom's brain tumour was used as an example by The Telegraph of the phenomena dubbed "telly belly", whereby viewers, noticing symptoms of sickly characters in soaps, visit their own GPs complaining of the same symptoms. A study examinining doctors "concluded that media stories on health issues, such as those featured on the news or in soap operas, had a significant effect on people's perception of their well-being". A researcher commented, "[A viewer] has a headache and gets immersed in a storyline and thinks 'is this a headache or something worse?' In the end Tom [Banks] died in a fire." Dr John Henry, professor of accident medicine at St Mary's Hospital & Imperial College Medical School in London, said, "Anything which empowers patients to take more responsibility for their own well-being is to be applauded".[13] [edit] References
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