Walford Web   Fantasy EastEnders   Walford Web Forums   Fictionbox

 

• Home
• Pages which need fixing!
• Who Lives Where?
• Request an account

Della Alexander

Overview

Character:	Della Alexander
Played by:	Michelle Joseph
Dates on screen:	1 May 1994 to 16 May 1995
Episodes:	80

Summary

Della first arrived in Walford a new assistant to Sanjay Kapoor, the market trader. A former hairdresser, she had been at the same school as Steve Elliot, who soon realised her hairdressing talents, and the two went into business together, opening the hairdressing salon, called Kool for Kutz, in George Street, in April 1994.

After some problems at home, moved in with him at the Vic, but he soon developed feelings for her, and actively pursued her, which she seemed to encourage - she was only leading him on, in order to mask her homosexuality, and, days later, he caught her in bed with her girlfriend Binnie Roberts. He threw her out, starting a feud between he and Binnie. Della, mortified that her sexuality had been uncovered, was often a major source of concern for her girlfriend, who was far more open. Steve was eventually forced to come to terms with Della's homosexuality, although he harboured feelings for her for a long time after, and made several attempts to "convert" her.

Binnie and Della soon moved into a bedsit on the Square, but problems arose when Natalie Price heard, and spread, a rumour that they were lesbians, telling anyone who cared to listen, about how disgusting and unnatural the pair were. This reaction increased Della's trepidation about living as a lesbian, and she started denying the rumours, claiming that she'd never slept with a woman before in her life. Infuriated by Della's shame, Binnie threatened to leave the Square, which forced her to prioritise. In order to convince Binnie to stay, she kissed her in the middle of Bridge Street, which, needless to say, exacerbated the gossip somewhat.

Binnie spent most of her time on the Square trying to force Della to conform to her lesbian ideals, and regularly pressurised her to come out to her mother and generally bossed her around making demands, which often caused blazing rows between them. Despite this, Binnie usually had Della's best interests at heart and the two genuinely loved each other. However, in January 1995 they began to go through a bad patch in their relationship, and Della turned to her old friend Steve for support. They arranged an evening out, which again led Steve to think that she had changed her mind about dating him. After a flirtatious night and plenty of cocktails, Steve tried to convince Della that she wasn't really gay and went to kiss her. Furious, Della stormed off and once again left Steve looking the fool. Back in Walford an insanely jealous Binnie jumped to all the wrong conclusions and berated Della for sleeping with Steve. After witnessing them argue, Steve decided to cut his losses and pull out of partnership at the salon. He signed the lease over to a grateful Della, and promised to never make a pass at her ever again. Binnie eventually accepted their explanation and she and Della reconciled.

Later in the year, Della began to grow disillusioned with life in Walford, and she and Binnie decided to make new start of things in Ibiza. After tying up loose ends, including selling the lease of her salon and firing her obnoxious assistant Lydia, Della decided that the time had come to inform her mother, Alice, about her sexual orientation. However, after continuous stalling, Alice eventually showed up in Walford and was accidentally informed by Peggy instead. Unaware of this, Della continued to lie to her mother about her relationship with Binnie, but on her final day she finally plucked up the courage and telephoned her mother with the news. Alice relayed that she already knew, and was happy that she had finally told her the truth. Della then left with her conscience clear. Her last appearance was in May 1995.

Related links