List of EastEnders characters (2023)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera EastEnders in 2023, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer, Chris Clenshaw.^[1] The first character to be introduced is Brett Nelson (Fabrizio Santino), a man from Zack Hudson's (James Farrar) past; he appears in January. Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit), the estranged mother of Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold), and Jed (Bradley Jaden), a lodger for Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), also first appear in January. Jo Cotton (Vicki Michelle), the estranged wife of Tom "Rocky" Cotton (Brian Conley), and guest characters Shiv (Peter Caulfield) and Troy (Chris Evangelou) debut in March. Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis), the former teacher of Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier), first appears in April.

The Knight family – consisting of patriarch George Knight (Colin Salmon), his two daughters Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) and Anna Knight (Molly Rainford), and Tyson, their pet Chihuahua – are introduced in June. Jasper Parrott, Rocky's pet parrot, and DS Miles (Samantha Seager), a detective sergeant investigating Suki Panesar's (Balvinder Sopal) fall, also debut in June. Caz Johnston (Bryony Afferson), a woman from Eve Unwin's (Heather Peace) backstory, appears in August. September features the introductions of Charli Slater, the newborn daughter of Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) and Ricky Branning (Frankie Day), and Nadine Keller (Jazzy Phoenix), a love interest for Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick). The following month, Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy), the former partner of Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), and their daughter, Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James), joined the cast. Pastor Clayton (Howard Saddler) made his first appearance in December. Additionally, multiple other characters were featured during the year.