| Elaine Peacock | |||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||
 Harriet Thorpe as Elaine Peacock (2023) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Maria Friedman (2014–2017) Harriet Thorpe (2023–present) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2014–2017, 2023–present | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 4942 14 October 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Dominic Treadwell-Collins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
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| Spin-off appearances | Tracey: A Day in the Life (2024) | ||||||||||||||||||
 Maria Friedman as Elaine Peacock (2014) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Elaine Peacock (also Knight) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Introduced as the mother of established character Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Elaine is originally played by Maria Friedman from October 2014 until June 2017 as a recurring character, before being recast to Harriet Thorpe from May 2023 as a series regular, taking over The Queen Victoria public house as landlady alongside Linda, following on from the disappearance of Linda's husband Mick Carter (Danny Dyer).[1][2] Elaine's storylines in her first stint saw the character arrive to comfort Linda following her rape by Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), pursuing a relationship with toyboy Jason Adams (Scott Neal),[3][4] and feuding with Babe Smith (Annette Badland).[5]
In her second stint, Elaine's storylines include taking over the Queen Vic as landlady alongside new partner George Knight (Colin Salmon) and his daughters Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford),[6] a feud with George's ex-wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins)[7] and subsequently falling out with George after he and Cindy kiss twice,[8] supporting Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) after her sexual assault ordeal by Pastor Clayton (Howard Saddler),[9][10] caring for George's brother Kojo Asare (Day Koleosho) whom decides to live with her and George,[11] coming to terms with Linda murdering Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) as part of "The Six" storyline,[12] revealing to Linda that her father was gay which they hid from her for years, dealing with Linda’s alcohol relapse, and being a suspect in the "Who Attacked Cindy?" storyline for the show's 40th anniversary.
Elaine is described as being larger than life, glamorous, and loves to be the centre of attention, and has a 'fraught' relationship with her daughter due to their similar personalities.
- ^ Patterson, Stephen (2023-03-29). "EastEnders replaces actor in big cast shake-up". Metro. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders recasts a character as new Queen Vic family is revealed". Digital Spy. 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ Duncan, Amy (2015-09-03). "EastEnders spoilers: Scott Neal to join cast as Elaine's toy boy lover". Metro. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders: Elaine returns with toyboy Jase". Digital Spy. 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders: Linda to confront Babe". Digital Spy. 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "Who is the new EastEnders family? Meet the Knight family | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders' Elaine and Cindy face off over George betrayal". Digital Spy. 2024-05-17. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ Spackman, Maisie (2024-05-16). "George set to leave as Elaine kicks him out over Cindy betrayal in EastEnders". Metro. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders breaks format for Yolande story in early iPlayer release". Digital Spy. 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders shares more details on Yolande story". Yahoo News. 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "EastEnders' Kojo to go missing after Elaine and George fight". Digital Spy. 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ Carreno, Laura (2024-09-09). "EastEnders Linda downfall 'sealed' as murder exposed – but not by Dean or Bernie". The Mirror. Retrieved 2024-09-21.