Paul Coker (EastEnders)
| Paul Coker | |||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jonny Labey | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2015–2016 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 5077 1 June 2015 |
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| Last appearance | Episode 5347 8 September 2016 |
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| Created by | Daran Little | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Dominic Treadwell-Collins | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
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| Father | Lawrie Coker |
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| Mother | Jenny Rawlinson |
| Grandfathers | Les Coker |
| Grandmothers | Pam Coker |
| Other relatives | Miriam Crabbe |
Paul Coker is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jonny Labey. He first appeared in the show's 5,077th episode, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2015. Paul, a gay character, is the grandson of established characters Les Coker (Roger Sloman) and Pam Coker (Lin Blakley) and boyfriend of Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid). The character's final appearance is in the 5,347th episode, shown on 8 September 2016, following the character's death after an off-screen homophobic incident.
Kissing scenes between Paul and Ben received a mixed reaction from viewers, though the character has received positive comments from reviewers. Ofcom received 76 complaints from viewers when the couple were seen topless together in a funeral parlour with a corpse in the room, but decided not to investigate the complaints as the scenes were "justified in the context" and sexual contact was "implied". The relationship was longlisted at the Inside Soap Awards in the "Best Affair" category, and Paul's role in the series was called "somewhat defining" by a Daily Mail reporter because of his "same-sex and top-secret relationship" with Ben, son of "Walford's most notorious bad man", Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).
Paul arrives in Walford after travelling in Turkey, and angers Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid) when he accidentally knocks over Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) and then flirts with Ben. Paul sees his grandfather Les Coker (Roger Sloman) with Claudette Hubbard (Ellen Thomas), the woman with whom Paul believes Les is having an affair. Paul later meets Ben and realises Ben is gay but is hiding his sexuality. He sneaks his phone number into Ben's pocket, and as Paul is about to leave again, Ben texts Paul so they meet. They share a passionate kiss and arrange to meet again, and Paul returns to Albert Square where Les and his grandmother, Pam Coker (Lin Blakley), see him. He refuses to stay with them, and later tells Les he knows about his affair, but Pam convinces him to stay. At Pam's birthday party, Paul tells Les he discovered the affair with Claudette before he left for Turkey and tells Les to end the affair or he will tell Pam about it. He then gets a job at Dean Wicks's (Matt Di Angelo) hair salon, Blades. Paul is in direct competition with Lola for a permanent role when Dean says he will decide based on a cut-and-colour. Pam promises to be Paul's model, but, in an attempt to get him to work for Les and his funeral parlour, she gets him to perform the hairdressing on a corpse. Instead, Paul invites Ben round. Although Paul is initially beaten to the role by Lola, it is because Pam put Dean off hiring him so he would work for the Cokers. Paul then learns that Les has visited Claudette, so he tells Claudette's son, Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood) that Les and Claudette are having sex. Paul secures the job after Lola leaves, while Vincent discovers evidence of the affair. On confronting his mother, she resolves to deal with Paul. Claudette visits Paul at work and tells him he is mistaken.
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