Creation and Development
Louise was introduced in May 1998 as the estranged wife of Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards) and mother of Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon) and Simon Raymond (Andrew Lynford). Her first scene is a shock climax during the wedding of Terry and Irene Hills (Roberta Taylor), when Louise stops the ceremony announcing that she and Terry are still married. Actress Carol Harrison was given the role and was told by producers that they planned to put her character "through the wringer storyline-wise". Harison has described Louise as "a very strong and resilient but deep down she has a very vulnerable streak there are two sides to her. She is a lot of fun but she carries a lot of pain. Louise is a woman of the world who has had very high highs and very low lows. She is also a woman who sees people's flaws and accepts them without judgment."
Louise entered the serial with an extensive backstory, having abandoned her children with their abusive, alcoholic father. Discussing the character, Harison commented:" made some horrendous mistakes. She walked out on them when they were very young, for a start. But she was trapped in an extremely bad marriage-completely, totally trapped. She was desperately unhappy, she was being physically abused by Terry and ultimately lost all confidence in herself and her ability to look after the kids so she scarpered. She's got enormous guilt because of that, of course, even though she re-entered their lives and has become quite close to them again, especially 'Tiff'. That feeling of guilt hasn't gone away. Not really. How could it? When I took the role on I was very concerned that the viewers would just loathe "Louise" for what she'd done and find it hard to accept her much less like her when she finally appeared in the flesh. Thank God I was wrong."
One of the most high-profile storylines featuring Louise was her affair with her daughter's husband Grant (Ross Kemp). Louise was shown to give in to temptation and sleep with Grant in an hour long special, airing in September on a Sunday evening, deviating from the typical weekly broadcasting time and schedule of EastEnders. Discussing the storyline, a BBC source claimed "Louise has come back to the Square to make it up to Tiffany and Simon, whom she walked out on when they were kids. But she knows that a relationship with Grant is hardly the behaviour of a mother who is seeking forgiveness from her children." The storyline was part of executive producer Matthew Robinson's attempt to win ratings amidst competition from rival soap Coronation Street. The hour-long special aired at the same time as the ITV network aired Coronation Street; at that time, in EastEnders' 13-year run, it was only the second time the two soaps had gone head-to-head. Executive producer Matthew Robinson said: "If most of the nation isn't talking about what's happening in EastEnders on Monday, I will be surprised. Come December, if the whole nation isn't hooked, I will be amazed."
Harison has given her interpretation of why Louise and Grant were attracted to each other: "They're both damaged goods, she and Grant - and damaged souls. Him because of his childhood upbringing at the hands of an abusive dad as well as his Falklands experience. And her because of . Both of them are quite profoundly damaged. They find themselves in each other's orbits and are drawn to each other like moths to a flame - they're helplessly drawn to each other. It certainly wasn't a malicious alliance intended to hurt anyone. And yeah, it may have seemed on the surface to be a perfect soap melodrama triangle - woman sleeping with her daughter's husband - but I told the producers I wanted this storyline to be sensational, not sensationalistic, and I think by and large we succeeded it was grounded in a psychological semblance to reality, really. It was like a self-fulfilling prophecy to Louise, I think, sleeping with Grant. She believed herself to be a bad person - a bad mother. He was all of a sudden there in front of her. And so she made that awful, awful mistake ."
The culmination of the storyline aired in December 1998, when after discovering her mother and Grant's affair, Tiffany is accidentally killed in a car accident during a fight with Grant. Simon also suffers a mental breakdown upon discovering his mother's betrayal and Louise is shunned by the community. Carol Harison announced she was leaving EastEnders in November 1998. A source told the Sunday Mirror, "After Tiffany's death the scriptwriters don't feel they can do much more with Louise. She'd rather leave than end up on the sidelines talking about the weather in Walford." Louise's exit scene aired in April 1999. However, Harison said that she would be open to a return, stating "never say never".
Read more about this topic: Louise Raymond
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