Steve Elliot - Creation and Development

Creation and Development

Steve Elliot was the second of only two regular characters to be introduced into EastEnders in 1991, the other was Rachel Kominski (Jacquetta May). Described by writer Colin Brake as a "young black cook with ambitions to see the world", Steve was originally paired storyline-wise with Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) when he became involved in his catering service "The Meal Machine", as well as the character Hattie Tavernier (Michelle Gayle) with whom he had a relationship.

From 1991 to 1994, Steve made two exits and returns to the soap. In 1993, The Independent reported that the character was being written out of EastEnders. Steve was one of several characters to be written out that year in what the press dubbed the "Albert Square Massacre". However, as Colin Brake summised in the book EastEnders: The First 10 Years, "since like Frank Sinatra always seems to make another comeback, perhaps we will list this as a temporary disappearance." In the storyline, Steve, faced with an imminent marriage to Hattie which he did not want to commit to, jilted her, not knowing she was pregnant with his child. Actress Michelle Gayle quit the serial towards the end of 1993, and Steve was used in an unrequited-lust storyline with a new character, Della Alexander (Michelle Joseph) upon his return early in 1994. Initially, writers lead the audience to believe that Della was designed to be a new love interest for Steve, however as the plot developed it was revealed that she was actually the soap's first lesbian character.

Steve Elliot has been described by author Kate Lock as "a bit of a dilettante where women were concerned", while Josephine Munroe has described him as "laid-back". Steve's portrayer Mark Monero has described Steve as a transient character because he did not have a screen family. This, he says, enabled him to have more autonomy in how the character developed. BBC News reporter Katy Lewis has suggested that although Steve Elliot was a black character in the soap, his ethnicity was never important with regard to storylines stating, " lived life and had storylines and it didn’t matter what colour he was." Monero has said that he tried his best "not to stick to any kind of stereotypes, except the fact that Steve was a Cockney. He was in EastEnders and he lived in the East End. It just so happened that he was black. I tried not to make it a big deal so after a while let me have that freedom."

The character remained on-screen till February 1996 when he fled after getting on the wrong side of some mobsters. In reality, Monero quit the soap. In 2006, he revealed why: "I didn't think I was going to be in EastEnders that long. I was 23 and was working quite a bit before I joined. I never really watched that much television but I knew of it. It's not the route I expected to go down, but I did and enjoyed most of it. Then, it was a little bit like being in school. People weren't as relaxed as they should be in TV. You're only acting, so it was like saying 'get a grip' to them." When asked about his exit, Monero commented, "I drove off into the darkness. I can’t remember why now, but they gave me a really nice car to drive off in. It was a Mercedes, a lovely old classic merc. It was really nice. I suppose that leaves it a bit open ended. I could come back - or maybe not!"