Creation and Development
Nina Harris was introduced in 1999 by producer Matthew Robinson. Former model Troy Titus-Adams was given the role after initially being lined up to audition for the part of Lisa Shaw, which eventually went to Lucy Benjamin. She has commented, "the EastEnders role came out of the blue. My agent called me while I was in the US, to tell me that they were look for new characters, so I flew back for an audition. Initially I auditioned for the role of market inspector Lisa (played by Lucy Benjamin), but was offered the part of Nina".
She has claimed that she only accepted the part after persuasion from the show's producers who convinced her Nina would be a positive role model for black women: "A lot of my friends and family are West Indian and Afro-Caribbean, so I do feel a sense of responsibility. I spoke to the producers because I wondered how they were going to tackle certain issues and how many black writers were on the show. I was concerned about why a black person had to be an ex-prostitute. But what's good about Nina is that she has turned her life around. She's come from being in care when she was younger and arrived in Walford to work in the bar and study for a degree."
The character was axed by John Yorke in 2000. Titus-Adams has since reflected on her time in the soap, saying, "Being in EastEnders was a fantastic experience and I loved playing Nina. Even now people come up to me and tell me how much they liked the character. So it was a shame when my contract came to an end and they didn't renew it."
Read more about this topic: Nina Harris
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