List of East Enders Characters (2007) - Manju Patel

Manju Patel
EastEnders character
Portrayed by Leena Dhingra
Created by Alexander Lamb
Introduced by Diederick Santer
Duration 2007
First appearance 4 May 2007
Last appearance 20 December 2007
Classification Former; recurring
Profile
Occupation Shopkeeper

Manju Patel was originally a guest character, Mrs Patel's primary purpose was as a plot device in the exit of nurse Naomi Julien, after the actress Petra Letang left the show. However, following her two appearances on 4 May and 21 May 2007, she became popular with fans, to the point where she has been called a "cult icon" by Digital Spy soaps editor Kris Green. It was announced on 16 August 2007 that she would be return to the show later in 2007. Mrs Patel was a patient of Walford's general practitioner, May Wright. May wrote out a double prescription for her, and took one of the bottles of dihydrocodeine pills for her own personal use. She later told nurse Naomi Julien that it was a mistake, after Mrs Patel pointed this out.

Mrs Patel was later mentioned on 9 August 2007 during a telephone conversation between Dot Branning and Charlie Slater. On 9 November it was revealed that Mrs Patel was Billy Mitchell's new landlady. She gave him one month's notice to vacate the flat along with his wife Honey and baby Janet because she wanted a professional couple with no children to live there. Eventually, Mrs Patel decided to evict the couple from the flat. However, Billy changed the locks so Mrs Patel could not enter the flat. When Billy was out buying nappies, Mrs Patel got help from her nephews to get into the flat and remove Honey, the children and all their belongings. She offered Billy money as a good will gesture but Billy refused to accept it.

Though she does not appear again, Manju was mentioned on 13 May 2008 by Shabnam Masood who told her mother Zainab that she was going to see if Mrs Patel had any new clothes in her Sari shop. On 24 July Mrs Patel's shop was mentioned by Jane Beale when she was looking to buy some fabric for an Indian lunch that she and Husband Ian were holding at the cafe. They bought the material from Mrs Patel after seeing it although Mrs Patel wasn't shown. Mrs Patel was then mentioned on 24 March 2009 when Syd Chambers announced she was renting 13a Turpin Road, the flat above the bookies from her. In April 2010, she rents the flat to Syed and Amira Masood. In 2012 she was mentioned by Denise Fox and Zainab Masood at Heather Trott's funeral service.

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