Frankie Pierre

Frankie Pierre is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She appears between 24 June 1996 and 25 March 1997, played by Syan Blake. Portrayed as a "super-bitch" and home wrecker, Frankie attempts to ruin the established relationships of several characters during her nine months on the soap, purposefully seducing attached men.

Character creation

Soul singer Frankie Pierre was introduced in 1996 by the Series Producer of EastEnders, Jane Harris. A previously unknown actress, Syan Blake, was cast in the role. She was initially signed on a 6 months contract, but subsequently had her contract extended.

Blake had auditioned for the minor role of a nurse who treated Kathy Mitchell's (Gillian Taylforth) baby Ben Mitchell (Matthew Silver), after he was involved in a meningitis scare. However, the casting directors saw potential and asked Blake to audition for a far bigger upcoming role as a regular character, Frankie Pierre. Blake said, "I went for the audition and dressed quite sexily. I was a bit confused when they told me there was another regular part going for a soul singer and asked me if I could sing." Even though she confessed that she could not sing very well, they asked her to perform nonetheless and she sang one of her favourite songs, "Harlem On My Mind". Blake was told the following day that her audition had been successful. When asked about her reaction to the news, Blake said, "I put the phone down afterwards and sat on the sofa feeling numb, it just didn't sink in... I just felt stunned. I'd always watched EastEnders but seeing all these famous people in real life and walking onto the set was the most frightening thing I'd ever done. People were really friendly, but I just sat there dreading my first scene in which I had to sing a song in the pub with all those famous faces watching me."