Tom Banks (EastEnders)
| Tom Banks | |||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Colm Ó Maonlaí | ||||||
| First appearance | Episode 2295 23 April 2002 |
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| Last appearance | Episode 2405 1 November 2002 |
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| Introduced by | John Yorke | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Occupation | Firefighter | ||||||
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| Mother | Bridget Banks |
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| Wife | Sadie Banks |
| Stepdaughters | Charlotte Banks |
Tom Banks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Colm Ó Maonlaí from 23 April to 1 November 2002. Introduced in April 2002 as a love interest for Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), producers made the decision to axe the character and he was killed-off in November 2002. The character was allegedly popular with female viewers who voted him the 8th sexiest male character to appear in EastEnders in a 2005 poll.
Tom was a Merchant Marine who was friends with Mark Fowler and Sharon Watts when they were children. He also knew Mark's cousin, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), but used to bully him, and reveals the childhood nickname he gave Ian to the rest of Walford, "Squeal Beale". Tom had left the Marines by 2002 and first appears at the funeral of Sharon's mother Angie (Anita Dobson). Now a firefighter, Tom starts dating Sharon, despite interference from her ex-boyfriend, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and his ex-wife, Sadie, (Isobel Middleton). Determined to split them up, she uses her daughter, Charlotte, (Hannah Bridges) as an excuse to be part of Tom's life and convinces Sharon that they are having an affair. Eventually Sharon realises that Sadie is lying and stands by Tom, despite the rest of Walford turning against them. Sadie becomes deranged and holds Sharon hostage in her flat, threatening to harm her unless she and Tom get back together. She attempts suicide but is convinced by Tom and Sharon to get psychiatric help.
Things take a turn for the worse when Tom discovers he has a brain tumour but keeps this from Sharon who proposes to him when they swap roles for a day. Worried about his health, he ends the relationship, claiming it was all just a 'bit of fun'. Sharon knows there is something wrong with Tom and insists that he tell her what's wrong so he admits that he is ill but doesn't want Sharon to be his nurse. As Tom crumbles, Sharon promises that she will be there for him until the end. They plan to travel around the world but Tom decides to spend his last days in Walford and proposes to Sharon using her father's signet ring. When Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns) starts a fire at 23 Albert Square, Tom runs in to rescue him and his hostages Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) and his son, Sean (Oliver Bradley). He rescues Mo and Sean and returns for Trevor, reaching him just as a petrol can explodes, killing them both instantly.
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