Janine Butcher

 Janine Butcher (also Evans and Malloy) made her first appearance 22 June 1989. She is more recently portrayed by Charlie Brooks since 1999.

Backstory
Janine's mother, June, died of cancer when Janine was three and she moved in with her sister Clare. Her father Frank moved to Walford with her older siblings Ricky and Diane and married Pat Wicks. Clare moved to Manchester in 1989, leaving Janine with Pat and Frank.

Kill Count
Barry Evans-January 2004: Pushes him off a cliff

Laura Beale-April 2004: Falls down the stairs at the end of their fight

Danielle Jones-April 2009: Accidently runs her over

Michael Moon-November 2013: Stabs him twice

Total: 4

1989–2004
A troublesome child, Janine throws tantrums, runs away, is a bed-wetter, a sleepwalker, a thief, a compulsive liar and self-harmer and hates Pat. Unable to discipline her, Pat forces Frank to take Janine to family therapy, which helps somewhat. When Frank has a breakdown and disappears in 1994, Janine stays with Pat but finds her father's absence upsetting. She is overjoyed when Frank returns and they move to Manchester in 1996. However, Frank returns to Walford in 1998, leaving Janine with Clare. Janine returns in 1999 to live with Frank and his new wife, Peggy Mitchell. She sets about coming between them, constantly trying to antagonise Frank with rebellious behaviour. She sleeps with Jamie Mitchell to infuriate her father then humiliates Jamie by spreading rumours about his inadequate prowess in bed. Frank abandons Janine in 2000 after the breakdown of his marriage to Peggy.

Homeless, Janine is taken in by Terry Raymond; they start a business together as estate agents. Terry sees Janine as a surrogate daughter but her constant manipulation tests his patience. Janine uses him for money, deliberately dresses like his late daughter Tiffany Mitchell, ruins his relationships with women and tries to seduce him. Janine also has a relationship with Billy Mitchell until he runs out of money. This behaviour infuriates Terry but Janine starts using cocaine, pestering Terry for money to feed her habit. When he refuses, she resorts to sleeping with her drug dealer, Lee Vickers, in exchange for cocaine; Vickers beats Terry when he tries to warn him off. When he sees Janine's lack of remorse, Terry throws her out and leaves Walford, ignoring her pleas for him to stay. Owing Vickers money for drugs, Janine turns to prostitution under the pseudonym "Blonde Bombshell". One of her clients, Matt Lindsay, falls in love with her and proposes but attempts suicide when he learns she is still a prostitute. Ian Beale begins using her services but she blackmails him, threatening to tell his wife Laura unless he pays her. Depressed, Janine begins drinking heavily and nearly dies of alcohol poisoning. She gives up prostitution, but when Laura discovers that she has been sleeping with Ian, she throws a pan of boiling milk in Janine's face. Janine becomes agoraphobic as a result — she eats dog food because she is too afraid to go out and buy groceries. She eventually gets over this with Billy's help. Janine hopes to rekindle their relationship but is devastated when he tells her that he is in love with Little Mo Slater. Her attempts to ruin their blossoming romance fail.

Janine gets a job working at Barry Evans's car lot. She and Paul Trueman concoct a plan to fleece Barry of his money. She seduces Barry and moves in with him but continues to sleep with Paul too. Barry eventually proposes to Janine and she accepts, thinking that Barry has a life-threatening heart murmur. They marry on New Year's Eve 2003 in Scotland, but Janine is furious to discover that Barry's illness is a false alarm. Barry forces Janine to take a stroll around the hills and cliffs, but Janine cracks and admits everything. Barry refuses to believe that she does not love him and tries to embrace her. Repulsed, Janine pushes him away and he falls down a hill, fatally hitting his head on a rock; Janine watches him die.

Janine inherits Barry's estate and has Barry cremated in Scotland, denying his friends and family a chance to pay their respects, making Barry's ex-wife, Natalie Evans, suspicious. Natalie becomes close to Paul Trueman, who feels guilty about his role in Barry's death. Spurred on by Natalie, Paul eventually makes a statement to the police, implicating Janine in Barry's death. She is arrested but released without charge, due to lack of evidence, and spitefully tells Natalie that she has got away with murder but telling Pat is her downfall. Pat is also good friends with Laura Beale, who has a feud with Janine. Janine further angers the locals by reporting Laura for benefit fraud and announces it in the Vic. Janine and Laura are seen fighting just before Laura dies accidentally. It is noted in the post mortem that Laura had recently been in a fight, due to bruising and Janine's skin is found under her nails. Although Janine was with Pat when Laura died, Pat avenges Barry by refusing to give Janine an alibi despite her begging for help and blaming her actions on her hard childhood but Pat brands her pure evil. In desperation, Janine goes to Paul and offers to sleep with him in return for an alibi, but Paul throws her out, and she is arrested by the police as she tries to leave the square with a bag of money. Janine is then charged with Laura's murder and remanded in custody in May 2004.

Janine stands trial off-screen in 2005 and Frank tries to persuade Pat to tell the truth in court, giving Janine an alibi. Pat refuses but a conversation with Laura's mother, Edwina Dunn, forces Pat to tell the court what really happened. Janine is released but leaves Frank outside the courtroom.

2008-2012
Janine returns for Frank's funeral and is angry that he has not left money in his will; she scatters his ashes before departing. Pat and Ricky later discover that Janine is masquerading as a Jewish orphan named 'Judith Bernstein' so she can marry an elderly Jewish man named David for his money. They trace Janine to a synagogue, where, just after Janine and David are married, Pat declares that Janine is 'as Jewish as a bacon sandwich'. David has a heart attack and dies, and a now homeless Janine has no choice but to return to Walford.

She makes various enemies, among them Jack Branning, whom Janine drugs and then restrains so she can gain a taped confession of his past misdemeanours, which she uses as blackmail to gain control of Walford's car lot. Pat and Jack usurp her, reclaiming the business. In need of money, Janine teams up with Archie Mitchell; they make plans to ruin the Mitchell family by taking The Queen Victoria public house from them. When they manipulate Sam Mitchell into breaking her bail terms, the Mitchells lose bail surety and face financial ruin. Ian Beale provides the Mitchells with a loan on condition they use their pub as collateral. Janine has sex with Ian recording the tryst, then blackmails him, threatening to show his wife Jane unless he sells the Mitchell loan to Archie. Archie subsequently takes control of the Vic when the Mitchells are unable to meet the terms of the loan.

Meanwhile, Janine and her flat mate Ryan Malloy – whom Janine is sleeping with – plan to fleece Archie. Archie and Janine announce their engagement, but on Christmas Day, Archie - who has realised Janine is intending to con him — throws her onto the street, leaving her distraught. That same day, Archie is murdered by an unknown assailant. Janine becomes a suspect for his murder, though she denies it and feigns distress over Archie's death. While she attempts to frame Ian and the Mitchells for the murder, Peggy attempts to frame her, planting evidence in her flat, which leads to an arrest but no charge. In the end, Janine is cleared and Bradley Branning falsely responsible for the murder, although, unknown to everyone, Bradley's wife Stacey Branning is Archie's actual killer.

When Ryan confesses his love for Janine, she recoils, but when he attempts to leave Walford, she admits she loves him too. Despite Janine nearly straying on her hen night, she and Ryan marry, but marital happiness is short-lived when Ryan discovers he is the father of Stacey's daughter Lily. A feud erupts between Janine and Stacey when Janine reports her to social services for neglecting Lily. Later Janine kidnaps Lily, suggesting to Ryan they leave Walford with the child to separate Ryan from Stacey. Her games push Ryan and Stacey closer together and they begin an affair. When Janine finds out, she vows to kill them both. She buys sedatives and poisons Ryan. He is left bedridden but manages to escape and ends their marriage publicly after being released from hospital. Hurt and angry, Janine discovers Stacey is Archie's murderer and goes public with this, but is largely ignored with no concrete evidence. Desperate, Janine visits Stacey; she stabs herself to try to frame Stacey for her own attempted murder, but Stacey escapes the country before arrest. Blaming Janine for Stacey's departure, Ryan refuses to reunite with Janine and attempts to kill her by removing her oxygen tubing when she is hospitalised. She is saved by Ricky's chance arrival, but both Ricky and Pat denounce Janine's actions when she admits her injuries are self-inflicted.

Ricky and Janine receive news that their maternal, rich, grandmother, Lydia Simmonds, is ill and in need of care. Janine takes her grandmother in, with the ulterior motive of inheriting her fortune. Janine learns that Lydia is very similar to herself and they both put on an act of hating each other. Janine eventually admits she loves her gran, but Lydia's health quickly deteriorates. Janine discovers Lydia has left all her money to charity, but admits to Lydia she no longer cares during a heartfelt conversation. Before she dies, Lydia explains that she wanted to look after Janine after her mother died but Pat and Frank wouldn't allow it. Janine is devastated by Lydia's death but her family (including Pat) blame her for killing her. On Ryan's behest, Janine is questioned by police, but released without charge and Janine is stunned when she inherits Lydia's estate, making her a millionaire.

Janine buys various properties and businesses; she starts a property management company and a women's fitness centre with her boyfriend Michael Moon. She also buys a share in the nightclub R&R, making Phil Mitchell her reluctant partner; both clash over the running of the club. When Pat needs money to pay debts, Janine gives her a loan, insisting Pat use her house as collateral. She later brings the loan payment deadline forward, refusing to believe Pat is dying. Despite a period of animosity, Janine makes peace with Pat before her death, with Pat convincing a pregnant Janine to keep Michael's child. Janine accepts Michael's marriage proposal after he reluctantly agrees to sign a prenuptial agreement. When Jean Slater tells everyone, including Janine, that Michael stole her money and lied to her, Janine refuses to believe Jean's claims and dismisses them because Jean is bipolar. However, Janine's enemy Kat Moon returns and demands Janine repay the funds or she goes to the police. Michael eventually confesses the truth to Janine on her wedding day and offers her ultimatum: that she rip up the prenuptial agreement or the wedding is off. Janine is torn between the two but eventually agrees to cancel the pre-nup; Janine and Michael marry but she goes into labour 11 weeks early at the wedding reception. At the hospital, Janine undergoes a cesarean and her daughter is put into an incubator, which distresses Janine who wants to see her. The baby is named Scarlett but after a breakdown with Ricky, she decides to change Scarlett's name to Patricia in memory of Pat and has her christened.

Janine hopes to make peace with Jean so writes her a cheque for double what she is owed, however, Michael tears it up and pays her the correct amount, plus £1000 from Janine. Janine later begins to doubt Michael's intent when he asks to be a signatory on the business accounts and buys a sports car, so orders Billy to change the combination on the office safe. Michael's strange behaviour continues, leaving Janine convinced he is having an affair. She confronts him, offering him a suitcase of money and saying that if he really loves her, he will refuse to take it. Michael is furious and tells Janine that she cannot hope to be a good mother to their baby. Believing him to be right, Janine packs her bags and hands Scarlett to Michael, taking the money and leaving. Michael is informed that Janine has transferred all the money from her bank accounts and has ordered that her business Butcher's Joints be closed down, transferring all her proprieties over to another estate agent, leaving Michael with nothing.

2013-2014
Several months later, Janine returns to Walford and visits Michael, where Kat tells her how Michael has coped without her. Janine tells Michael that she is back for Scarlett, and says he will be hearing from her lawyer. Janine manipulates Michael into giving her custody of Scarlett and she denies Michael parental access. She then hires Michael's former nanny, Alice Branning to look after Scarlett, pleasing Michael as Alice is on his side. When Janine catches Alice stealing jewellery from her house, Alice explains she is stressed because Michael is putting demands on her to see Scarlett, and she has been letting him do so. Janine agrees that it is better for Scarlett in the long-run to have a relationship with both her parents. At Ian Beale's restaurant opening, Janine, as an investor, has the sign and name of the restaurant changed from "Ian Beale @ Le Square" to "Scarlett's" which pleases Michael. They apparently call a truce, but Janine then leaves in a car with Scarlett, telling Michael that she may never return.

Michael eventually tracks Janine down and she returns to Walford. She employs Danny Pennant, who Michael is jealous of, and buys a share in Michael's boxing club. Janine has sex with Danny but tells him that it is a one off. She rehires Alice as her nanny, unaware that she is still being manipulated by Michael, but fires her again when she tells Janine that she had sex with Michael. The increasing animosity between Janine and Michael leads to her taking out an injunction out against him. Michael then begins a plot to kill Janine, and involves Alice in his plans. Alice has second thoughts and tells Janine of Michael's plans. When Janine confronts Michael he tries to strangle her, leading to Alice stabbing Michael in the back to stop him. Alice then leaves to answer the door, but realising Michael is still alive, Janine stabs him again, killing him. Alice believes she killed him, and Janine tells the police that Alice stabbed Michael twice and also attacked her, and tells Alice that the real story is something her mind created. Alice's brother, Joey Branning, seduces a lonely Janine in a bid to extract the truth from her, but fails. Janine's former step-brother David Wicks suspects that Janine is guilty of the murder, so he manipulates her into allowing him to stay at her house, and then into admitting that she killed Michael. David promises to keep her secret, but has secretly recorded the confession on his phone. Meanwhile, Janine is planning to buy The Queen Victoria and sells her share of R&R and her car to do so. David then reveals the recording to Janine and blackmails her into giving him the £250,000 she has raised. Janine panics and tries to kill David by hitting him with a car. However, he suffers only minor injuries. After she hands over the cash, he threatens to call the police anyway. She convinces him to give her a day to get away, but Carol Jackson finds David's phone and plays the confession. She gives the phone to Joey, who calls the police and Janine is arrested for Michael's murder, and is dragged away by the police, sobbing hysterically.

In February 2014, Kat visits Janine in prison and tries to convince her to drop her statement against Stacey. Janine agrees on the condition that Kat provides her with a false witness testimony to Michael's murder, backing up Janine's story that Alice killed him. Kat agrees and does so. At the trial, when Janine hears that Alice has self-harmed, she tells the truth. The jury return a not guilty verdict for both Alice and Janine. She returns briefly to Walford, and then leaves for Paris to join Scarlett and Diane.

Murders commited by Janine: