Storylines
Whitney first appears when she and her family—mother figure Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), half-sister Tiffany Dean (Maisie Smith), and Bianca's sons Liam Butcher (James Forde) and Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs) are evicted by their landlord. The children spend a week in care after Bianca is arrested for assaulting a police officer, returning to her custody a week later and moving into Pat Evans' (Pam St. Clement) home. Over the next few months, Bianca becomes the beneficiary of a mystery "guardian angel", who is revealed to be Whitney. Whitney tells Bianca she found a winning lottery ticket, but kept it secret as she knew that Bianca would spend the money. Bianca reluctantly agrees to deposit the money; however Whitney hides some to be used in emergencies. It is revealed that Bianca's imprisoned boyfriend Tony King (Chris Coghill) has been grooming Whitney since she was twelve, and that they have had a sexual relationship. Having served a year-long sentence for assaulting a boy who apparently harassed Whitney, Tony is released on 12 September 2008. He makes it clear to Whitney that they will resume their sexual relationship, and Whitney in turn reveals that she has kept some of the lottery winnings so they can run away together. Tony, however, harangued by Bianca about the prospect of marriage, gives her Whitney's money to use as a down-payment on a flat. When Whitney and class-mate Peter Beale (Thomas Law) are cast in a school play, Tony is jealous of them rehearsing in private and punches Peter. Whitney convinces Peter and his sister Lucy Beale (Melissa Suffield) not to report the attack to the police, but Tony blames her for the incident and ends their affair. Whitney is devastated when Tony accepts Bianca's marriage proposal, locking herself in her bedroom. Not knowing what to do, Bianca accepts Dr. Poppy Merritt's (Amy Darcy) help and she refers Whitney to a psychiatrist. Bianca takes her away on holiday, attempting to mend their relationship. When they return on Halloween, Tony and Whitney share a passionate kiss, and Tony informs Whitney that their relationship is back on.
Whitney becomes jealous when Tony begins showing an interest in Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan). As her sixteenth birthday approaches, she buys tickets for them to travel abroad. Tony has lost interest in Whitney and hides her passport, but it is found and returned to her. On the day she turns sixteen, Whitney confesses everything to Bianca. Horrified, Bianca calls the police, and Tony is arrested. He is released on bail but Whitney decides to make a statement to the police. Whitney contacts her biological mother Debra Dean (Ruth Gemmell) and tries to discuss the past, but Debra isn't interested and rejects her. She meets Todd Taylor (Ashley Kumar) and agrees to go on a date with him, which goes well until he asks about past relationships. Whitney runs away and is found by Bianca's ex-husband Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen), drunk. Todd returns and Whitney agrees to another date. When Whitney finds a condom in his wallet, she assumes he wants to have sex with her and runs away.
Debra turns up unexpectedly, claiming she is homeless, but reveals she is planning to move to Greece when she has enough money and says Whitney can come with her. Whitney accepts, but later realises that Debra is using her and she is only there to hide from someone. Debra later tells Whitney she has a half-brother, Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott). Whitney then takes back her statement against Tony but after Whitney's barrister sees Whitney's mobile phone contaning the messages from Tony, he is sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment. During the trial, Whitney learns that Tiffany is Ricky's daughter. She is initially distressed, but accepts that Tiffany is still her sister although they are not related. She repairs her friendship with Todd, and they kiss at Ricky and Bianca's engagement party. Their reunion is short-lived, and Whitney breaks up with him in favour of Bianca's half-brother Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson). Whitney is attacked by Billie's jealous friend Kylie (Elarica Gallacher), and when his friends cause trouble at a grime night at The Queen Victoria public house, Whitney asks him to choose between her and his former gang. Billie chooses Whitney, and Kylie takes revenge by attempting to shoot him, hitting his uncle Jack (Scott Maslen) instead. Jack is hospitalised with major injuries, and Whitney struggles to help Billie deal with his guilt and subsequent anger and rejection from the Branning and Jackson families. She is further deeply upset when Billie decides to join the army in an attempt to make Jack proud. At Billie's birthday party, Whitney ends up kissing Peter. She spends the night with him and the next day is upset to learn that Billie has died in his sleep. She blames herself for leaving the party after she sees a text message from Billie saying he still loved her. She sends a reply and lays flowers and candles for him. However, she later goes back to Peter for comfort, and he comforts her again on the day of the funeral. The pair then begin a relationship. However Billie's friend Connor Stanley (Arinze Kene), starts flirting with her, and questions her as to why she would date someone like Peter after dating Billie. He also asks her to sell some stolen jewellery for him, which she agrees to.
Whitney falls for Connor, but after it is revealed that Connor has been sleeping with Bianca's mother Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) and Whitney, Bianca attacks him and gives herself into the police. Whitney and Carol argue over Connor, and Whitney feels she is not wanted by her family so decides to move out, and stays with Ryan's estranged wife Janine (Charlie Brooks). Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) offers Whitney a work trial at The Queen Victoria for a job, but catches her giving free drinks to Janine. Despite this, she lets Whitney off, telling her she is a natural, and works well at the till. When Kat catches her stealing again, she sacks Whitney, leaving Janine angry with Whitney. After Whitney sees Janine successfully pickpocket someone, she decides to try it herself, but ends up being hit in the face. A man called Rob Grayson (Jody Latham) helps her, buys her food and returns her to Albert Square, giving her his phone number. Whitney tries to kiss Max, causing her to fall out with Lauren. She also argues with Carol, rejects Ricky and is rejected by Liam, Tiffany and Morgan for ruining Ricky's birthday cake days earlier. Upset, Whitney contacts Rob and asks to stay with him, which he accepts. She throws her phone away and tells nobody that she is going. Janine lies about Whitney's whereabouts but when she admits she does not know where Whitney is, Lauren and Janine attempt to find her, and Lauren sees her in Dartford going into a club. Lauren goes back with her to her bedsit, but Whitney does not want to go, saying she and Rob are in love. Lauren is then thrown out by Rob. Whitney has sex with a man called Chris (Richard Simons) and it is revealed that Whitney has been having sex with Rob's friends in order to pay off his debts to them. Janine tries to get Whitney to come home but she refuses, and Rob ejects Janine. Rob then drags Whitney out of the house and into his car, while Janine and Lauren see them driving off. They go to a house where Whitney meets another woman, Chloe (Georgia Henshaw), who is also being exploited. Whitney tells Rob she wants to leave, but he says to either be nice to his friends or he will hurt her. He locks her in a room so she breaks the window and escapes, stopping a car and asking for help, while Rob shouts after her.
The following month, she sends Lauren a message and meets her outside the police station, looking rough, as she has been arrested for shoplifting. Whitney opts to live with Dot Branning (June Brown) instead of her close family, but Dot convinces her to move back to Ricky's. When Ryan returns from a holiday, he learns of Whitney's ordeal and urges her to go to the police and get tested for sexually transmitted infections. She says she is not ready to go to the police but agrees to the test, which shows she has a chlamydia infection. When Whitney starts a relationship with a man named Lee (Mitchell Hunt), it is revealed that he is a friend of Rob's, and when Whitney agrees to meet Lee by text, Rob takes control of Lee's mobile phone. She allows Rob to take her home but then tells him to wait outside while she escapes through the back door and hitches a lift to Southend-on-Sea with friends. She leaves him a voicemail message not knowing that he has followed her. He finds her in her hotel room and tells her how much he loves her, but when Fatboy (Ricky Norwood) comes in, Rob attacks him, so Whitney tells him to leave. Fatboy calls Ryan, who comes to Southend to look for Rob. When he finds him, they fight and fall over the edge of the pier. The next day, a body is recovered from the sea, and is later revealed to be Rob who has died. Whitney thinks Ryan may also be dead until he appears. She tells him she has told the police everything about Rob, including Ryan's fight with him, and Ryan tells Whitney he has to leave. They say an emotional farewell.
Whitney takes an interest in Tyler Moon (Tony Discipline) but refuses to date him. Whitney applies for a new work experience at the local nursery which she later gets. When Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) tells his brother Tyler about Whitney's recent ordeal, he rejects her but later gives her his special Moon pendant to make up for it. Whitney agrees to go on a date with Tyler and they agree to have sex but Whitney is unsure as she remembers her past and runs out, telling Tyler she never wants to see him again. Tyler is hurt. He later tells Fatboy she needs a shrink which Whitney overhears. She runs out and kisses Fatboy and starts a relationship with him. Fatboy publically declares his love for Whitney, but when he is unable to give her a driving lesson, Lucy (now Hetti Bywater) suggests that Tyler do it, because she knows that Tyler likes Whitney. Whitney starts to feel smothered by Fatboy's affections. Lucy teases Tyler by telling him that Fatboy plans to publically propose to Whitney, so Tyler tells Whitney he likes her but Whitney says it is too late. Tyler then surprises Whitney by kissing her. Whitney, feeling guilty, refuses to go on holiday with Fatboy, and tells him to kiss her. He does, but she says it is like kissing her best friend. She then admits she wants Tyler, and Fatboy is heartbroken. Whitney then goes to see Tyler but finds him with Lucy, kissing. She then tells Tyler to leave her alone. However, Tyler later tells Whitney that he cannot, as he loves her. Whitney admits to feeling the same way, and they begin a relationship. Whitney believes she is pregnant, and when she tells Tyler, he seems reluctant to take on a child. However he comes round to the idea, but Whitney discovers she is not pregnant after all. Bianca is caught stealing money and returns to prison, but this time located in Suffolk. The rest of Whitney's family move to Suffolk to be near her, but Whitney stays and looks after the house, along with Bianca's uncle Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman). Soon after, Tyler moves in. Whitney is angry when Joey Branning (David Witts) kisses her. Several months later, after Bianca and the rest of the family move back, Whitney and Tyler plan to get their own home. Whitney tells Tyler about the kiss with Joey, so he breaks up with her. However, he regrets it and proposes to Whitney; she accepts. Bianca disapproves when she finds out. When Lauren kisses Tyler to make her ex-boyfrend Joey jealous, Whitney ends her friendship with Lauren.
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