Tony Carpenter - Storylines

Storylines

Trinidadian born Tony, married his wife Hannah (Sally Sagoe) after being divorced from his first wife. He and Hannah had two children, Kelvin (Paul J. Medford) and Cassie (Delanie Forbes).

Tony's second marriage was not a happy one and Hannah soon lost all tolerance for her fun-loving husband. She began to look down upon his less than lucrative job as a carpenter and his inability to provide for her and her children. They separated in 1985, after which Tony bought a house in disuse at Number 3 Albert Square and set about making it habitable, leaving Hannah to move in with another man. Kelvin soon joined Tony on the square, although it took him a lot to persuade his wife to allow him custody of their son.

Tony is amiable and easy-going and is unmistakable in his sheepskin jacket and beret, which he rarely takes off, even indoors.

Tony has various altercations with the local villain Nick Cotton (John Altman), and is understandably furious when he discovers that Nick has joined a racist organisation. After Nick taunts Kelvin about the colour of his skin, Tony teaches him a lesson, which at least manages to scare him out of spreading his racial hatred for a while.

In February 1985, Tony secures himself a job renovating The Queen Victoria public house and gives the unemployed Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) a job as his aid. It is whilst he is working here that Tony gains the interest of the married landlady Angie Watts (Anita Dobson). Angie has grown tired of her cheating husband, Den (Leslie Grantham), and whilst he is away on a holiday in Spain with his lover, Angie seduces Tony and the two embark on an affair. Tony takes the relationship seriously, but Angie is only using him to get back at Den and make him jealous. The affair is conducted in secret, but after Angie initiates a kiss in The Vic with Tony, she is caught by her daughter Sharon (Letitia Dean). Angie is forced to use bribery in order to keep her daughter from informing her husband, and even informs her about Den's current infidelity. Upon Den's return Angie calls off the affair but it isn't long before Sharon tells her father that Angie has been unfaithful. Unfortunately for Angie, Den cares more about his reputation than her and tells her that he doesn't care about the affair, so long as it is done discreetly. Tony is very hurt by the whole ordeal, but he is even more concerned for his own safety, should Den find out that it was him his wife was seeing. Fortunately for Tony his identity is never disclosed.

In the spring of 1986, Tony's wife Hannah arrives on his doorstep, with the disturbing news that her new lover, Neville Agard (Gordon Case), had been beating both her and their daughter Cassie. Tony is furious and promptly confronts Neville, returning later covered in blood. Despite their past problems, Tony and Hannah decide to give their marriage another chance and both she and Cassie come to live in Albert Square. Problems still persist, however, and Hannah regularly nags Tony and makes it clear to him that Walford is not good enough for her. Things reach a climax when Tony hits Mehmet Osman (Haluk Bilginer) in February 1987 for making a pass at Hannah. Hannah is furious and can't condone his violent actions, despite willingly allowing him to assault her ex-lover months earlier. Hannah subsequently decides that the marriage is over and she leaves Walford to live with her sister.

Tony spends the rest of the year doing odd-jobs and driving a car for Ali Osman's (Nejdet Salih) cab firm. He gets himself into trouble when he buys some stolen silver-ware from Nick Cotton, who later tries to blackmail him for money in return for his silence. Tony soon starts to tire of life in Walford and a few months later he departs the Square for Trinidad, leaving his son in charge of his property. His last appearance is in May 1987.

In 1993, it is mentioned that Tony and Kelvin had sent some flowers to Pete Beale's funeral.