Tiffany Butcher (also Dean and Butcher-Baker) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Maisie Smith. Tiffany is the daughter of established characters Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen), though originally she was believed to be Bianca's daughter with a man named Nathan Dean. Tiffany's surname was changed in the show's credits from Dean to Butcher, which has also been referenced in the show. Tiffany departed, alongside her half-brother Morgan Butcher (Devon Higgs) and their mother Bianca, in September 2014. Tiffany made an unannounced brief return on 3 November 2016 when she and Morgan returned to Walford for Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) and Lee Carter's (Danny Hatchard) wedding.
In November 2017, it was announced that executive consultant John Yorke was to reintroduce the character, with Smith reprising her role as Tiffany full-time. She returned on 8 January 2018. Her storylines since her return have included her friendship with Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris), becoming a drug dealer, being groomed by Evie Steele (Sophia Capasso) and subsequently being raped, and forming a relationship and later marriage with Keegan Baker (Zack Morris). It was announced on 8 October 2021 that Smith would once again be leaving the soap, and her final scenes aired on 14 December 2021. She returned briefly on 17 March 2022 to coincide with Keegan's departure.
Character creation and development Introduction
In November 2007, it was announced that Patsy Palmer would be reprising her role as Bianca Jackson in EastEnders. A popular character who originally appeared in the serial between 1993 and 1999, Bianca was reintroduced in April 2008. Along with Bianca came four children, three of whom had not been seen in the serial before. They included Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), the fifteen-year-old daughter of Bianca's deceased partner; Liam Butcher (James Forde), Bianca and Ricky's (Sid Owen) son who previously appeared in the serial; Tiffany Dean (Maisie Smith), Bianca's five-year-old daughter, named after her friend Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon); and Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs), Bianca's two-year-old son, "the most [spoilt] out of all of the kids".
Tiffany is described as having a "cute, butter-wouldn’t-melt exterior", which "masks her somewhat mature understanding of adult matters. She sees all, hears all and knows all, and even at five years old has blackmailed her elder sister." She is also described as "a troublesome and cheeky lass" with a "feisty, red-head personality, which she no doubt inherits from Bianca". Actress Maisie Smith, aged 6 at the time of her casting, began filming for EastEnders four days a week from January 2008 and, according to her mother, shares traits with the character she plays: "The role is an exaggeration of her own personality, she's a little madam. A lively character both on and off screen. The difference is, she's told to pronounce her t's at home!"
To promote the family's introduction, the BBC began airing trailers across the BBC network in March 2008. One trailer saw Bianca singing The Jackson 5 hit "I Want You Back" and performing a dance routine along with her four children. The promo uses the tag line "Introducing The Jackson 5". Within three days of being posted on the video sharing website YouTube, the promo had been viewed 52,000 times.
Departure In April 2014, Palmer announced she was leaving EastEnders and in July 2014, the departure of Smith and Higgs was announced. Show bosses said that whilst they are "sad" about them leaving after six years, the decision "was right for the Butcher family as Bianca would never leave her youngest children behind." Vicky Prior from Metro commented that losing Smith was a "real shame" as she "is a star in the making and despite her young age, has proved adept at both comedy and tragedy." She also stated that Morgan "recently proved an excellent comedy partner for Tiffany" and was "looking forward to seeing these two grow in character and also as actors."
Temporary return and reintroduction (2016 and 2018) Smith made an unannounced return in 2016 alongside Higgs, though she confirmed it was only for two episodes. Smith was uncertain if she would return on a full-time basis, but called her time there "incredible" and said that she "loved it." In November 2017, Smith's return to the serial was announced. Smith said she found it "great to be back" and "lovely" to see and meet her co-stars. Tiffany will have transformed on her return and Smith added she "can't wait to show everyone how much Tiffany has changed." A show spokesperson added that Tiffany's return "will certainly not be quiet" as Tiffany will "instantly cause trouble" for Whitney. Billed as "mischievous" on her return, Tiffany puts on a "chirpy" front, but cannot "conceal how desperate she is to stay" and her arrival puts Whitney's career opportunity "on hold" as she does best to stop Whitney moving to Wakefield. When a pregnancy test is found by Whitney, Tiffany "is about to get her way" as she is confronted by Whitney and reasons that brought her back to Walford come out.
Upon her 2018 return, Laura Morgan from Digital Spy compared Tiffany's return to Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) arrival in 2004 due to her "brattish behaviour." She describes Tiffany as a "young woman with a healthy appetite for misbehaviour" and a "manipulative madam" who has Bianca's "streetwise attitude", though Tiffany could get into trouble. Morgan opined Tiffany's return will provide storylines for Whitney and lead to the potential reintroduction of the Butcher family, especially Janine. Tiffany is also compared to Bianca from her golden bomber jacket that is a "little nod to the past" and with her fashion sense, it is the viewers being in 1995, "watching young Bianca in action again." Morgan later gave reasons for Tiffany to have a relationship with newcomer Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter), stating that although "cheeky Tiff thinks the handsome teen is anything but" and despite setting him up with Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper), she could indeed want him "for herself", though she may be "a little bit too young."
Whitney "contemplate[s]" Tiffany's future in Walford when she "takes revenge" against Louise over the way she treats Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) by posting a photo of Louise and Hunter in a "compromising position." Despite "already treading on rocky ground, life gets even worse" for Tiffany when she is confronted by the Ahmeds about photos posted online of her and their new foster child, Harley, who is kidnapped by his biological parents.
Second departure (2021) On 8 October 2021, the BBC confirmed that Smith will be once again be leaving EastEnders, nearly four years after returning. Executive producer, Jon Sen, commented that everyone on the show was "very sad to see Maisie leave" and that she's been a "wonderful company member." He also went onto say that "it's been a privilege to see her blossom into the star she is," while praising her on how much of an "iconic character" she created in Tiffany and that "the door will always be open to her return". On the same day, Maisie filmed her final scenes as the official EastEnders Twitter account released a video confirming this saying, "Today was a sad day on the set of #EastEnders as we said goodbye to the amazing @maisie_smith_, who finished filming her final scene as the iconic Tiffany Butcher-Baker. But we couldn’t let her go without a small surprise and a proper Walford farewell." Her final scenes aired on 14 December 2021.
Storylines Backstory Tiffany is the product of a one-night stand between Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), which was shown on spin-off show Ricky & Bianca, set in Manchester in 2002. Ricky and Bianca have a son together, Liam Butcher (Nathaniel Gleed) but after Ricky and Bianca had split up, Bianca began a relationship with a trucker named Nathan Dean, although she had a one night stand with Ricky and a few weeks later Bianca discovered she was pregnant but always thought Tiffany was Nathan’s daughter and never put two and two together that there was a chance Tiffany could be Ricky’s daughter until years later.
Nathan died in a road accident when Bianca was heavily pregnant and she took on the responsibility of Nathan's daughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty). Bianca had adopted Whitney during her relationship with Nathan as Bianca was the only mother Whitney had ever known as her biological mother walked out of her life when she was a toddler and wanted nothing to do with Whitney.
Bianca gave birth to Tiffany, whom she named after her deceased friend Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon), and raised her as Nathan's daughter and Whitney's younger half-sister, although she still remained uncertain about Tiffany's true paternity. Tiffany grew up believing Nathan was her father.
2008–2016 Bianca, Whitney, Liam (now James Forde), Tiffany and her brother Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs) are evicted by their landlord. After the family sleep at a bus shelter and Bianca assaults a police officer, Whitney, Liam, Tiffany and Morgan spend a week in care, but the family later moved to Walford, where they move in with Bianca's grandmother Pat Evans (Pam St Clement). Tiffany causes havoc by stealing a top from Stacey Branning’s (Lacey Turner) stall for Whitney to wear for a family party and defacing the pavement outside Zainab Masood’s (Nina Wadia) house before ruining her primroses by pouring soapy water over them. As a result, Tiffany unwittingly instigates feuds between Bianca, Stacey and Zainab. However, she takes to Bianca's cousins Bradley (Charlie Clements) and Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald), sharing a common interest in animals.
Tiffany's love of animals leads to Whitney begging Vinnie Monks (Bobby Davro) to give them Wellard, formerly the family dog that had been sold to Vinnie after his previous owner Gus Smith (Mohammed George) left Walford. Vinnie gives Tiffany Wellard, on the condition that Whitney and Liam wash his car every day until he says otherwise. However, tragedy strikes when Wellard has to die Tiffany is devastated, and after overhearing a phone conversation, she is convinced that Bianca’s uncle Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) is behind Wellard’s demise. However, a post-mortem leads to the discovery that Bianca was responsible for Wellard's death because she gave him chocolate. Tiffany eventually forgives Bianca after she convinces Pat to give them her dog Terrence. However, Tiffany is once again left devastated when her aunt Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) spitefully reclaims Terrence, who was originally her dog.
Tiffany takes to Ricky, who is also living at Pat's house. Ricky grows fond of Tiffany and, on seeing how close they are becoming, Bianca tries to write Ricky a letter explaining that he could be Tiffany's father, which gets stuck to a picture that Tiffany has drawn to give to Ricky. When Ricky reads the letter he asks for a DNA test and a week later they discover that Tiffany is his daughter. They decide not to tell the family so as not to upset Whitney, who now has no biological family left.
After Tiffany is left in Janine’s care, Janine ropes her into one of her schemes when a rich single father wants to buy her sports car. Janine pretends that Tiffany is her daughter and arranges a play-date, only for Bianca to see Tiffany get into the car alone with the stranger. Ricky is furious with Janine and when she questions his loyalty towards Bianca and her children, he tells her the truth. Janine is sworn to secrecy, and begins to bond with her niece. Janine enters Tiffany in a children's talent contest, telling her to think of Wellard her family pets death to make herself cry and gain sympathy from the judges. Tiffany hears Ricky singing The Prodigy’s "Firestarter" and he teaches her the song, which she performs in the contests, which she goes on to win.