Richard Cole (EastEnders)
| Richard Cole | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| EastEnders character | |
| Portrayed by | Ian Reddington |
| Duration | 1992–1994 |
| First appearance | Episode 779 23 July 1992 |
| Last appearance | Episode 1003 21 July 1994 |
| Created by | Tony Jordan |
| Introduced by | Leonard Lewis |
| Classification | Former; regular |
| Profile | |
| Occupation | Market Inspector |
Richard Cole (also known as "Tricky Dicky") is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ian Reddington between 23 July 1992 and 21 July 1994.
Richard Cole arrives in Walford in 1992 as the new Walford market inspector. He is known as a corrupt man who will pull every trick in the book to make money and he is not well liked by the community. He is also a notorious womaniser who has various brief flings. He briefly dates market trader Rachel Kominski (Jacquetta May) in 1992, but antagonises her later when he decides to give her permanent market pitch to his newly arrived friend, Sanjay Kapoor (Deepak Verma). In 1993 he has sex with 17-year-old Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), and when he dumps her shortly after, she and her friend Natalie (Lucy Speed) vandalise his flat. Later he has a longer-lasting romance with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), which sours when she discovers that he is taking a cash bribe and allowing a mobile hot dog van to trade in direct competition to her café.
Richard makes various enemies, including Alan Jackson (Howard Antony) who he reports for benefit fraud, Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) whom he causes to lose his job as market sweeper, and the lovers Mandy Salter and Aidan Brosnan (Nicola Stapleton and Sean Maguire). Richard buys a property to let out for rent; Mandy and Aidan are squatting in one of the bedsits at the time and Richard evicts them, leaving Aidan homeless and suicidal over Christmas 1993. However, Richard's main rival is Kathy's son Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). Richard relishes winding up Ian by flirting with Ian's wife Cindy (Michelle Collins). Richard spreads rumours about having an affair with Cindy, implying that he is the father of Cindy's unborn twins, which causes various problems in the Beale marriage for a while. Later, Richard orchestrates the closure of Ian's catering business the "Meal Machine" by reporting him to environmental health.
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