Della Alexander

Della Alexander
Michelle Joseph as Della Alexander (1995)
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Michelle Joseph
Duration	1994–1995
First appearance	Episode 948 1 March 1994
Last appearance	Episode 1132 16 May 1995
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Hairdresser
Mother Alice Alexander Sisters Jenny Alexander

Della Alexander is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Michelle Joseph from 1 March 1994 until 16 May 1995. Della is the first lesbian character to be featured on the show.

Della arrives in Walford in March 1994 as a new assistant to the market trader, Sanjay Kapoor (Deepak Verma). Della is a former hairdresser who had gone to the same school as the barman Steve Elliot (Mark Monero). Realising that Della has a talent that could be a potential money spinner, Steve decides to go into business with her. He and Della make plans to open a hairdressing salon in George Street. The salon, Kool for Kutz, opens in April that year.

After some problems at home, Della comes to live with Steve at The Queen Victoria public house, and Steve soon begins seeing her as more than just his business partner. He actively pursues her, which she seems to encourage. However, Della is only leading Steve on in order to mask the fact that she is a lesbian, and days later he catches her in bed with her girlfriend Binnie (Sophie Langham). As a result, Steve throws Della out, which prompts a feud between him and Binnie. Della is mortified that her sexuality has been uncovered and her shame is often a major source of conflict for her girlfriend, who is openly gay. Steve is eventually forced to come to terms with Della's homosexuality although he harbours feelings for her for a long time after. He makes several attempts to convert her into a heterosexual. Binnie and Della soon move into a bedsit on the Square. Problems arise when Natalie Price (Lucy Speed) hears a rumour that they are lesbians and begins spreading hateful rumours about them. This reaction only increases Della's trepidation about living as a lesbian and she starts denying the rumours, claiming that she'd never slept with a woman before in her life. Infuriated by Della's shame, Binnie threatens to leave the Square, which forces Della to prioritise. In order to convince Binnie to stay, Della kisses her in the middle of Bridge Street, which really gives the gossips something to talk about.