The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 2007, by order of first appearance. A new family were introduced in this year, with Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), Shabnam Masood (Zahra Ahmadi/Rakhee Thakrar) and Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) creating the Masood clan. Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) was introduced, and the Mitchell family was extended, with Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) and Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) as a fiery new double act. August saw the arrival of Tanya Branning's (Jo Joyner) drug-addicted sister Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks). Former The Bill actor Scott Maslen joined the soap opera as Jack Branning in October, and Tanya and Max Branning's (Jake Wood) son, Oscar Branning, was born in November.
DI Kelly
Detective Inspector Kelly, played by Ian Burfield, is a police detective at Walford Police Station. He is first seen when he investigates the death of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) and subsequently arrests her daughter-in-law Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) for her murder following the funeral. He arrests May Wright (Amanda Drew) for abducting Summer Swann, and also Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) on suspicion of murdering his fiancée Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson). Kelly appears again when he is investigating Jay Brown's stabbing. Later that year, he investigates the murder of Jase Dyer (Stephen Lord) and interrogates Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) as a key witness. Two years later, he informs Liz Turner (Kate Williams) that a body found in Albert Square is that of her son Owen (Lee Ross), and takes his ex-wife Denise Johnson (Diane Parish) in for questioning. Denise is released without charge. Kelly later informs Denise's family that her car has been discovered abandoned by a canal, and then that the body of a woman was pulled from the canal along with Denise's mobile phone. Lucas identifies the body as Denise's, however, Kelly still believes somebody else was involved in Owen's murder. Actor Ian Burfield had previously played a police detective in 1997, DI Hamilton, and went on to play a third, DCI Peter Arthurs in 2018.
Derek Evans
Derek Evans is a social worker, played by Simon Lowe. In March 2007, he visits Bert Atkinson (Dave Hill) and his grandson Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), when Bert is trying to get a residency order for Jay to live with him permanently. Jay charms Derek, offering him a cup of tea and talking to him politely, impressing him. In January 2008, Derek visits Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner) and her sister Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks). In October that year, he attempts to sort out Jay's foster care problems when Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) offers to care for him, as Jay does not want Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) to be his foster mother. Derek inspects the flat above The Queen Victoria public house, and allows Jay to stay with Billy, despite Roxy Mitchell's (Rita Simons) messiness. In July 2009, he visits Denise Wicks (Diane Parish) after Jordan Johnson's (Michael-Joel David Stuart) mother Trina (Sharon Duncan Brewster) reports her to the police, claiming that Denise has been abusing Jordan. In June 2010, he visits Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to assess his family situation involving his children Louise (Brittany Papple) and Ben (Charlie Jones), who has assaulted Jordan. The following month he visits Phil and his mother Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) to say that Louise's mother Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin) has made an application to see her daughter. Derek explains that the final decision is not up to Phil and Peggy says that Derek is a typical social worker – an interfering, home-wrecking busybody. Derek responds sarcastically and leaves. When Peggy returns Louise to Lisa, they contact Derek again, and when he arrives, Phil steals his bag to get Lisa's address.
In April 2015, Derek visits Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) after Kat attempts suicide. Kat refuses to tell Derek why she did it but assures him that it will not happen again. Alfie then tells Derek that he felt he had let Kat down but he would help her get better. Derek is satisfied with this and leaves. In July, he visits Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and Buster Briggs (Karl Howman) to discuss them gaining custody of their granddaughter, Jade Green (Amaya Edward). Buster informs Derek of his criminal record and Derek tells Shirley that single people can adopt children as well, prompting Shirley to nearly split up with Buster. In May 2016, Derek visits Billy and his partner Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) after Jay returns to live with them after being convicted of a child sex offence to assess Jay being around their children, Janet (Grace) and Will Mitchell (Freddie Phillips). Billy and Honey insist Jay is innocent but Derek informs them that Jay's contact with their children must be supervised. Derek returns in August after Honey reports Jay to the police for possession of drugs which he had been dealing, to reassess their living arrangements. Derek tells Honey that he is concerned about her children's welfare due to the presence of the drugs and implies that Jay might be a danger to Janet and William, causing Jay to decide to move out of the flat. After Jay's home assessment discovers he is living with an underage Louise (now played by Tilly Keeper) at Phil's house, Derek visits Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) and despite Sharon insisting that she and Phil trust Jay, Derek tells her if Jay does not move out, Louise may have to be taken into care as her needs come first.
Marco Bianco
Marco Bianco, played by Bart Ruspoli, is the interior designer who redesigns the flat above The Queen Victoria pub for Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor). He works on the design to renovate the pub itself, after Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) found a flea on the bar, though the regulars think the pub looks the same, and Peggy berates him for it.
Peggy then gets him to do some work for Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson) and Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden) wedding reception. At one stage Marco breaks down crying to Peggy, after his boyfriend left him. Marco also helps Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) mend a fan of his wife Yolande's (Angela Wynter) that Patrick broke by tripping up.
Anya Covalenco
Anya Covalenco (Ukrainian: Аня Коваленко), played by Olga Fedori, is a Ukrainian illegal immigrant, a pole dancer who abandons her month-old baby, Tomas, in a church in Kent for vicar Mary Lavender (Regina Freedman) to look after. Dot Branning (June Brown) later finds the baby, and knowing Reverend Lavender is on holiday, takes Tomas back to Walford, leaving a note in the church with her address on it.
Dot's husband Jim (John Bardon) goes to a pole dancing club, finding a flyer for it with Tomas, to track Anya down, but is told she no longer works there by a hostess he speaks to. As Jim travels back to Walford, Anya arrives at Dot and Jim's house. After shouting at Dot for interfering, Dot offers her a place to stay, and she accepts. Jim, however, does not agree with this, and reports Anya to the immigration authorities. Immigration officers arrive and Jim tells Dot what he has done. Dot takes Anya and Tomas out of the house and hides them in the back of her car. Dot returns to the house and tells immigration that there is nobody there and it must have been a hoax. Dot and Jim then take Anya and Tomas to a church, believing it to be a sanctuary where they will be safe. The immigration officers follow them to the church, where Dot says Anya and Tomas will be safe in a room at the back of the church and could live there. Dot confronts the officers, Paul Jenkins (Simon Quarterman) and Warren Rice (Ewan Bailey) telling them it is a sanctuary and they cannot go through. Rice tells Dot she is wrong about this. Anya eventually decides to give herself up, but tells Jim to take care of Tomas as she now trusts them.
She later writes to Dot in June 2007, telling her to care for her son – not knowing that Tomas is now up for adoption, when Dot realises that she cannot bring up baby Tomas.
Tomas Covalenco
Tomas Covalenco (Ukrainian: Томас Коваленко) is a baby that is abandoned on 9 April 2007 by his mother, Anya (Olga Fedori) in a church in Kent, and found by Dot Branning (June Brown). Dot leaves her address on a notice board in the church, and Anya arrives in Walford to collect Tomas on 10 April. She is later arrested by immigration officials Warren Rice (Ewan Bailey) and Paul Jenkins (Simon Quarterman) for being an illegal immigrant, but she does not tell them she has a baby, leaving him with Dot and her husband Jim (John Bardon).
Jim later tells his family that Tomas is the product of an affair between Dot's son Nick Cotton (John Altman) and a prison nurse with no maternal instincts. He is then known as George Merton, until Dot is persuaded by Reverend Stevens (Michael Keating) and her oldest friend, Harold Legg (Leonard Fenton) to tell Social Services that she has him. He is collected on 8 June by social worker Natasha Powell (Natasha Gordon).
Hazel Hobbs
Hazel Hobbs, played by Kika Mirylees,"Bad Girl heads to Albert Square", The Mirror. Retrieved 5 January 2007 is the mother of Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves). She first appears in April 2007, when Garry attends her wedding. Hazel then decides she does not want to marry her fiancé, Gerald (Brian Cowan), because he has too much nasal hair, describing it as "like tusks". She and Garry rush back to Gerald's house to collect her belongings, but Gerald arrives at the house before they leave, and hits Garry, thinking he is Hazel's toyboy. Hazel then stays with Garry in Walford, and falls for his best friend, Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi). However, this leads to Garry punching Minty, and Hazel leaves Walford.
In August 2007, it is revealed that Hazel and Minty have started a relationship behind Garry's back. They take a romantic weekend in Brighton, but do not know that Garry is also there with Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon). Garry finds out they are seeing each other and is outraged. Back in Walford, Minty finds the engagement ring that Garry had used to propose to Dawn (she said no) and bends down to pick it up off the floor. He is on one knee, holding the ring, when Hazel comes in the room, and she assumes that Minty is planning to propose to her and immediately says "Yes, I do". Hazel then starts planning the wedding, and she gets a job as a receptionist at Booty.
Hazel befriends Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison), who is infatuated with her son Garry. Hazel then asks an elated Heather to be her bridesmaid at her upcoming wedding to Minty, to which she accepts. After fainting at work, Hazel starts to believe she is pregnant. Minty buys lots of things for the baby, but Hazel tearfully reveals on in February 2008 that it is the menopause, and she can never have a baby. Hazel then leaves the square, believing that she would be restricting Minty's future desires to have a family if she stayed with him.
However, Hazel returns on 22 April and proposes to Minty on his wedding morning to Heather. Hazel tells him that they would get married and set for a life on the cruise ships, but he says no and goes after Heather. Hazel then watches as the wedding goes ahead without her, then says goodbye to Garry and leaves. This is her last appearance, but it is mentioned in February 2009 that Hazel is on a cruise ship heading for Monaco.
Olive Woodhouse
Olive Woodhouse, played by Sylvia Syms, is a friend of Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) whom she has known since childhood. She is a dress fitter and first appears fitting Stella Crawford's (Sophie Thompson) wedding dress in April 2007, and criticises her taste, making her angry.