List of East Enders Characters (1989) - Vince Johnson

Vince Johnson, played by Hepburn Graham, first appears in August 1989, but was one of many characters to be axed early in 1990, following the introduction of the serial’s new executive-producer, Michael Ferguson. He makes his last appearance in March 1990. Vince is a friend of Darren Roberts (Gary McDonald). Darren has abandoned his two children, Junior and Aisha Roberts (Aaron Carrington and Aisha Jacob), in 1988; Vince comes to Walford in August 1989 bringing money for them. Vince and Junior bond, and when the Roberts family moves away, Junior returns to Walford occasionally to spend time with Vince.

Vince regularly liaises with Darren by telephone, and is involved in various illegal money making schemes. Vince and Darren con car-salesman Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) by selling him a stolen BMW, which is subsequently confiscated by the police. Unaware of Vince's involvement, Frank tries to reclaim his lost money, so Vince and a gang of hooded thugs advance on Walford with sledgehammers and begin smashing up Frank's car lot to warn him off. When the police arrive, many of the vandals are arrested, but a masked Vince manages to escape thanks to Junior, who directs the chasing police elsewhere. Frank is forced to drop the matter after Vince sends him an anonymous letter threatening to harm his daughter Diane Butcher (Sophie Lawrence) unless he does so. However, when Frank discovers that he has sold another stolen car to Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright), he realises Vince is responsible and attacks him. Despite his rage, Frank refuses to involve the police, which earns Vince's respect, and he compensates Frank for his monetary losses, ending their feud.

Growing weary of a life of crime, Vince attempts to go into legitimate business, hosting themed nights at Walford's community centre with the help of his old friend, Rod Norman (Christopher McHallem). When Rod decides to leave Walford, he sells his African statues to Vince, which Vince attempts to sell on for a profit. When Frank discovers his money making scheme, he harasses Vince to pay off the rest of the money he owes from the stolen car debacle. In order to get out of his debt, Vince gives Frank the statues, believing their worth to be less than what he owed, but he is later infuriated to discover that he had underestimated their real value. By this time, Frank has sold them on cheaply to Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) for £100. Both Frank and Vince try to con Grant's brother Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) into selling back the statues for a cheap price; Phil eventually does so, but the deal is void when Grant reveals that he has already sold them for £300 (their real value was £850). Furious, Frank tries to force Vince to compensate him for his lost profit, but Vince refuses and amidst Frank's threats, Vince leaves in March 1990, saying he is sick of Walford.