Andy O'Brien

Andrew "Andy" O'Brien is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Ross Davidson. One of the original characters created for the series, Andy made his appearance one month after the show first broadcast in March 1985. Portrayed as altruistic and middle-classed, Andy and his partner Debbie were an attempt to represent gentrification of the East End. Despite Davidson claiming that there had been plans for ... more

Andrew "Andy" O'Brien is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Ross Davidson. One of the original characters created for the series, Andy made his appearance one month after the show first broadcast in March 1985. Portrayed as altruistic and middle-classed, Andy and his partner Debbie were an attempt to represent gentrification of the East End. Despite Davidson claiming that there had been plans for his character, Andy became the first regular character in EastEnders to be killed-off. Davidson claims this was due to an altercation between himself and Executive Producer and show creator, Julia Smith. His death scene aired in August 1986. Andy O'Brien was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. The character of Andy along with his girlfriend Debbie Wilkins were an attempt by Holland and Smith to represent the influx of middle-classed people that were opting to move to... less