List of East Enders Characters (2007) - Anya Covalenco

Anya Covalenco (Ukrainian: Аня Коваленко) was a Ukrainian illegal immigrant, a pole dancer who abandoned her month-old baby, Tomas, in a church in Kent for vicar Mary Lavender to look after. Dot Branning later found the baby, and knowing Reverend Lavender was on holiday, took Tomas back to Walford, leaving a note in the church with her address on it. Dot's husband Jim went to a pole dancing club, finding a flyer for it with Tomas, to track Anya down, but was told she no longer worked there by a hostess he spoke to. As Jim travelled back to Walford, Anya turned up at Dot and Jim's house. After shouting at Dot for interfering, Dot offered her a place to stay, and she accepted. Jim, however, did not agree with this, and reported her to the immigration authorities. Immigration arrived and Jim told Dot what he had done. Dot took Anya and Tomas out of the house and hid them in the back of her car. Dot returned to the house and told immigration that there was nobody there and it must have been a hoax. Dot and Jim then took Anya and Tomas to a church, believing it to be a sanctuary where they would be safe. The immigration officers followed them to the church, where Dot said Anya and Tomas would be safe in a room at the back of the church and could live there. Dot confronted the officers, Paul Jenkins and Warren Rice telling them it was a sanctuary and they couldn't go through. Rice told Dot she was wrong about this. Anya eventually decided to give herself up, but told Jim to take care of Tomas as she now trusted them. She later wrote to Dot in June 2007, telling her to care for her son - not knowing that Tomas is now up for adoption, when Dot realised that she cannot bring up baby Tomas.