List of East Enders Characters (2008) - Mr Lister

Mr Lister, played by Nick Wilton, is the market inspector at Bridge Street market, the successor of Marie Matthews (Susan Cruse). He makes his first appearance on 3 January 2008 when he sacks his assistant, Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements). He appears on a recurring basis thereafter, his next appearance being when Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) seeks approval for a new stall, which Mr Lister accepts. In August 2008, Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) gets a job as the market cleaner but Mr Lister sacks him when he loses his cart. In October 2008, Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) phones him because Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace) is selling stolen nightwear on the clothes stall. In May 2009, he closes down Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) stall and in September 2009, he closes it again and gives it to Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott). In February 2010, Stacey and her friend Becca Swanson (Simone James) decide to set up a stall but Mr Lister turns them down as he does not like Stacey. Becca dresses up and pretends to be from Walford Council and tells Mr Lister that Stacey has lodged a complaint against him and makes legal threats. Mr Lister then gives Stacey her stall.

In April 2010, Mr Lister is seen investigating Fatboy's (Ricky Norwood) van, as Fatboy is trying to sell T-shirts from the vehicle without a market license. In May 2010, Syed Masood (Marc Elliott) asks Mr Lister if he can start a market stall, and Mr Lister suggests a mobile phone stall, whilst having a drink with Syed, Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) refuses to serve Syed, Mr Lister interprets this as racism. In October 2010, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) squirts water at him, so he orders Stacey to discipline or sack Kat, but Stacey refuses and squirts him as well, so he revokes Stacey's market traders' licence. In March 2011, Mr Lister offers Fatboy a month's trial on his own stall after Fatboy and Mo Harris (Laila Morse) argue over it.

In April 2011, he complains to Billy that his stall is in the wrong position, but Billy says nobody cares. Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) asks for her stall back, and they get chatting. He moans about his life as he gets abused by stallholders regularly, and his wife has left him so he rarely sees his two children. He invites Whitney for a drink and comforts her saying that her step father, Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen), is doing what is best for her. He gets up to leave but falls onto Whitney, so Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) threatens him and calls him a pervert. In May, Denise Fox (Diane Parish) asks Mr Lister to get involved with Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) but Mr Lister says he has no say over the shop, which Patrick owns. In June, Whitney and Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) ask Mr Lister for a stall, but he is reluctant as Whitney lost a stall for not paying her rent. However, he agrees as long as the owed rent is paid and a month's rent is paid in advance. In July, Mr Lister issues Fatboy with a warning for kicking his own stall, but Fatboy decides to abandon his stall before he can be disciplined. He warns Eddie Moon (David Essex) about flytipping, and is threatened by Eddie's son Tyler (Tony Discipline). Lister later accepts a bribe from Eddie. In November, Mr Lister appears following reports that someone is selling Dutch Father Christmas toys, and asks Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) if he knows anything. Alfie denies this, although it is his relatives Tyler and Anthony Moon (Matt Lapinskis) who have done it. Anthony asks Fatboy to change them so they no longer speak Dutch, and when Lister sees Fatboy with one, it plays a jingle in Fatboy's voice.

In April 2012, Lister complains to Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) that the rubbish from the café is overspilling into the market, so she angrily empties the rubbish into the street. A few days later, Bianca attempts to steal a handbag belonging to a market seller. She is caught and in the struggle, Mr Lister is hurt. He calls the police, resulting in Bianca's arrest and inprisonment. It later emerges that he has taken out a restraining order against Bianca, meaning that she cannot go to the market or Bridge Street. In September he threatens to call the police on Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), who is lying drunk in the street. Later that month, he reprimands Syed for not selling his usual stock. In November, Mr Lister accuses Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell) of stealing a bag that he donated to the charity shop she manages. This leads to Cora being fired. Mr Lister goes to the salon for a haircut, where Bianca gives him a shampoo. It is awkward at first, but then they start to bond when they talk about their children, as Lister's daughter is getting married and he thinks he will feel left out at the wedding. Lister agrees to have the restraining order dropped and gives Bianca a £5 tip, accidentally leaving £20 behind. He later accuses Bianca of stealing it, but when it is found, he apologises and gives her the money.