- Donna Ludlow
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Donna Ludlow 
EastEnders character Portrayed by Matilda Ziegler Introduced by Julia Smith Duration 1987–89 First appearance 27 August 1987 Last appearance 13 April 1989 Classification Former; regular Profile Date of birth 1965 Date of death 13 April 1989 Occupation Unemployed Family Father Marcus Duffy Mother Kathy Mitchell Adoptive father Gerald Ludlow Half brothers Ian Beale
Ben MitchellGrandfathers Dennis Hills Grandmothers Brenda Hills Uncles Ted Hills
Jonathan Hills
Colin HillsAunts Stephanie Hills Cousins Tony Hills
Sarah HillsNephews Peter Beale
Bobby BealeNieces Lucy Beale Donna Ludlow (née Hills) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Matilda Ziegler between 1987-1989.[1] Donna was scripted as a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her. In her storyline, after finding out she was conceived from rape and then rejected by her mother, Donna set herself on a path of self-destruction. She turned to manipulation, blackmail and prostitution to fund her drug-habit, before choking to death on her own vomit in 1989.
Contents
Storylines
Backstory
Donna was conceived as a result of rape. 14-year-old Kathy Hills was raped by her music teacher, Marcus Duffy, and gave up her baby girl for adoption. She was adopted by the Ludlow family and named Donna; when she learned that she was an adoptee, she hoped for a reconciliation with Kathy.
1987-1989
In 1987, Donna's godmother, June Watkins, visits Kathy to inform her that Donna wants to meet her. Kathy refuses, telling June she wants nothing to do with Donna, but does not disclose the circumstances of Donna's conception. Undeterred, Donna moves to Walford to be near her mother. For the first year she keeps her identity a secret, compulsively lying to substantiate her fake persona. She works as a barmaid at The Queen Vic and takes to anonymously ringing up the Samaritans, where Kathy volunteers, but Kathy starts to suspect the caller's identity. Kathy becomes more concerned when Donna shows interest in her son Ian, and Ian seems to be attracted to her, not realizing that she's his half-sister. When Kathy tells Donna to stay away from Ian, Donna finally tells her who she is. Mortified, Kathy orders Donna to leave, telling her she wants nothing to do with her.[2]
Hurt by such rejection, Donna retaliates by causing as much trouble for Kathy as she can. She continues to flirt with Ian, forcing Kathy to confess her identity to him; then she hints to Kathy's husband Pete that Kathy might be having an affair with James Wilmott-Brown. Finally Kathy informs Donna that she was the product of rape. Unhinged by this bombshell, Donna spends the rest of the year in a downward spiral. She stalks Simon Wicks who only uses her for sex, and when he pits her against his new fling, Cindy Williams, the subsequent fights culminate in her losing her job at The Vic; by August 1988 she is homeless. Michelle Fowler and Sharon Watts take pity and allow her to stay with them, but after Donna tries to come between them, they throw her out. By September she is living in an abandoned squat on the Square.
After Donna's manipulations are discovered, the community shuns her. Depressed, she starts using heroin with the other junkies dossing in her squat. She is soon addicted and stealing to fund her habit; by December 1988 she turns to extortion. One day, Ali Osman comes into the Vic to celebrate his sizable win at the horses. His boasting attracts Donna's attention and she takes advantage of his inebriation to seduce him. Then she threatens to tell his wife Sue about the one-night stand unless he supplies her with regular monetary instalments. But by February 1989 that well runs so dry that Donna resorts to prostitution, agreeing to sleep with her drug-dealer, Spike Murphy, in exchange for smack. Spike brings 5 of his sleazy friends along and a vicious gang rape is only stopped by Rod Norman's chance appearance. Following this, Rod tries unsuccessfully to get Donna off heroin.
Next Donna tells the community that her adoptive parents have been killed in a car crash, and soon a fund is building up to "help" her. Then a woman enters the pub and announces that she is Donna's adoptive mother and that Rod had summoned her to the Square. Except for Dot Cotton, who takes her in, everyone shuns Donna; she promptly spreads rumors that Colin Russell has AIDS and tells Sue Osman about her affair with Ali, destroying their marriage. These are hollow victories, and after Rod abandons her and Kathy rejects her yet again, Donna overdoses on heroin and chokes to death on her own vomit. Donna is found dead by Dot on 13 April 1989.[3] Few mourn her passing.
Years later, in 2011, Dot remembers and mentions her when she's trying to help Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks).
Creation and development
Introduced in August 1987, Donna was brought in as an apparent stranger, seemingly unrelated to any other characters in the Square.[4] But Donna was actually the illegitimate daughter of one of regular Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). According to Kathy's backstory, scripted prior to the events of the programme, she had been raped as a teenager and gave her baby up for adoption: Donna was this child, now grown. Her first appearance had been primed by Donna's godmother visiting Kathy, who had told her she wanted no contact with Donna.[4] Thus, according to writer Colin Brake, Donna's entrance was meticulous planned to avoid giving away the secret of her identity too soon. Scriptwriters quickly established her as a compulsive liar, telling different people different versions of her past--never the truth. Despite this, Brake has claimed that "some quick viewers still guessed the truth" earlier than had been hoped.[4] When Donna's real identity was revealed onscreen in April 1988, Kathy's immediate rejection of her sent her narrative spiraling downward.[4]
Author Hilary Kingsley has described Donna as "the complete reverse of her mother. Cunning and dishonest, she was ready to steal, cheat, and prostitute herself to gain some sort of place in Albert Square society".[5] Kingsley added: "Donna used everyone" and was a "good manipulator".[5] Author Kate Lock branded Donna "pinched-faced [...] a proficient liar and cheat [who] became truly evil."[6] Writer Rupert Smith has classified Donna as a "Lost Girl" who could not "take the rough and tumble of life in the East End... [a] broken blossom," and tragic and a loon.[7]
One of the issues Donna's character dealt with was drug abuse.[4] Brake states that for the first time EastEnders told a complete drugs story, "with the sad tale of Donna's descent into heroin addiction". He suggested that Matilda Ziegler "gave the story credibility".[4] The storyline featured Donna's eventual death: following months of manipulation and other antisocial behavior in Walford, Donna was unhinged by addiction on top of Kathy's rejection and took an overdose of heroin. She was found dead, covered in her own vomit.[4] Brake has hailed these final death scenes as "the most powerful anti-drugs images ever screened in the programme".[4] Kate Lock lamented that some characters felt guilty after Donna's death, "but the truth was that Donna's fate seemed to have been sealed from the moment of her disastrous conception."[6] Rupert Smith suggested that Donna was "almost universally unmourned [...] even Kathy seemed to get over her pretty quickly".[7]
References
- ^ "Matilda gets pearl of new role". The Metro. 31 July 2007. http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/59408-matilda-gets-pearl-of-new-role. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ "When luck was being handed out Kathy was, er, unlucky". The Mirror. 25 January 1997. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/When+luck+was+being+handed+out+Kathy+was%2c+er%2c+unlucky+..%3b+It's+a...-a061101549. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ "Key Facts". BBC. February 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/eastenders.shtml. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2.
- ^ a b Kingsley, Hilary (1990). The EastEnders Handbook. BBC books. ISBN 0-563-206010-563-36292-8-2.
- ^ a b Lock, Kate (2000). EastEnders Who's Who. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-55178-X.
- ^ a b Smith, Rupert (2005). EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square. BBC books. ISBN 0-563-52165-1.
External links
EastEnders Characters Crew members Julia Smith · Tony Holland · Simon May · Mike Gibbon · Michael Ferguson · Leonard Lewis · Barbara Emile · Corinne Hollingworth · Jane Harris · Matthew Robinson · John Yorke · Louise Berridge · Kathleen Hutchison · Kate Harwood · Diederick Santer · Bryan KirkwoodLocations Storylines The Banned · The Firm · "Sharongate" · "Who Shot Phil?" · "Get Johnny Week" · "The Secret Mitchell" · "Who Killed Archie?"Episodes Off-set episodes · Two-handers · Episodes in Ireland · "Pretty Baby...." · "EastEnders Live" · "Queen Vic Fire Week"Families Spin-offs Music Categories:- EastEnders characters
- Fictional adoptees
- Fictional bartenders
- Fictional prostitutes
- Fictional characters introduced in 1987
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