Shirley Carter

Shirley's tough. She lacks social graces, and if a fight kicks off, you want her on your side.

About

 * Likes: Drinking alcohol, socialising and Indian food
 * Dislikes: Dog racing and reading books
 * Music tastes: 80s
 * Weaknesses: Has bad cooking skills

Backstory
When Shirley and Buster a were first dating they tried to keep it a secret. They thought they were doing a good job but Shirley's father Stan Carter knew. Buster went to see Shirley one night at her home, he threw some stones up at her window. When it opened Stan popped his head out. Then he threw out a bucket of fish guts and it landed all over Buster. Buster didn't give up after that as he was in love with Shirley.

When Shirley moved to Billingsgate she met Buster Briggs who worked with her father (Stan Carter). "Buster was a laugh, he used to do wheelies up and down the street and share his chips with me". "We started hanging around together and doing stuff, Shirley though she was putting on weight, my clothes were getting too tight".

Her mother Sylvie Carter barged into Shirley bedroom and saw her tummy, she was four months gone and didn't even know. Shirley was later pushed down the stairs by her mum to try and abort the baby, when this did not work Sylvie Carter and Babe Smith decided to pass the baby off as Shirley's brother.

During while shirley was in labor there was no pain relief in the caravan. Shirley thought she was going to die. There was thunder and lighting outside, Babe Smith was doing her best holding shirley. Trying to calm her down. All the time, Shirley was screaming for her mum.

Her mother was off flirting with a bouncer from the Black Country. When Mick was born her mother came back and shirley was hoping for kind words or a cuddle. She told her to forget she ever had a son.

Shirley did what her mum said and blanked it out. She then met Kevin Wicks who made her laugh.

When shirley gave birth to Jimbo Wicks was like a second chance, until he was diagnose with the Cystic Fibrosis. The doctors use to strap jimbo to a board, almost upside down to try and clear his lungs. He'd be coughing, going red. It was like torture. Shirley went with him a couple of times, but just couldn't cope. Shirley blamed herself for Jimbos condition.

Storylines
Shirley was the first Carter to come into EastEnders she arrived with her friend Heather Trott who was murdered by Phil Mitchell's son Ben Mitchell.

Shirley and Andrew become obsessed with finding Heather's killer, Ben starts to become paranoid and so manipulates Phil into ending his relationship with Shirley. She decides to offer a cash reward for any information on Heather 's death, but is confronted by the leading investigator DS Luke Crisp,  who tells her she is hindering the police investigation by creating false leads. Shirley then becomes drunk when Phil tells her that he never loved her, and passes out at the home of Phil 's enemy, Derek Branning . Derek implies for a time that they both had sex, but Shirley soon learns the truth. Shirley moves into the flat that Heather died in, and becomes a recluse, unable to move on from the death of her best friend. When she hears Phil drunkenly arguing with Ben, she talks to Phil in private and initially refuses to take Phil back but he tells her that he loves her and will always put her first, so she agrees to move back with him. Shirley discovers a birthday card Ben wrote to Heather and is reminded that it was Heather 's birthday.

More Storylines
Shirley walked out on Kevin, leaving him to rear the kids alone. Motherly love was something that didn't come naturally. But that doesn't mean she didn't care about her kids. It hurt her deeply when Deano and Carly rejected her and moved away. Luckily, Shirley had her best mate, Hev, and baby George to keep her afloat. Hev and Shirl were a Walford staple, and their rendition of Mel & Kim's Respectable at Hev's Hen Night has gone down in the Square's history. Unfortunately, Hev is history too. And Shirley is struggling without her best mate. We'd say it's lucky that she had the support of her surrogate family, the Mitchells, if they didn't all have Heather 's blood on their hands (directly and indirectly).

When Shirley found out about the Mitchells' betrayal, she was devastated - and Phil asking her to help cover up Ben 's dirty secret pushed her that bit too far. She left Phil and drank herself into a stupor, literally in the gutter. A visit from estranged daughter Carly and her new grandson pulled Shirley back from the brink, and offered her a chance to escape The Square temporarily... But she came back, and after finding out that Phil has been secretly paying her rent because the council had cut her benefits, Shirley was furious and turned to blackmailing him.  Phil 's money appeared to be just too tempting for Shirley again as she took the opportunity to steal it while Phil was in hospital following a car crash. But Shirley soon softened when seeing Phil in the hospital and vows to help before jetting off to Greece. After a period when it appeared that Carl may have done away with Shirley for meddling in his affairs, it transpired that Carl had threatened Lola and Lexi - and Shirley scarpered to stay with her sister Tina to ensure that no harm would come to them. When Phil found out that Shirley had left to protect his family, he assured her that it was not safe to come back to Walford.

2014 looked set to be a good year for Shirley when she revealed on Boxing Day that it was actually her brother, Mick, who had purchased The Vic from Phil.

However, when it was discovered that The Vic had a severe damp problem, the Carters’ stay looked to be a short one – unless they found a lot of money, and fast.

Knowing that they could borrow the money from their father, Mick, Tina and Shirley went to visit Stan in his flat. As Mick asked for the money, Stan spotted Shirley waiting by the car, and agreed to lend them the cash – but only if Shirley came and asked for it. Knowing she had to,Shirley entered the flat, and was soon haunted by past memories. Leaving with the cash, it was clear that Stan had hit a nerve with her.

Returning to The Vic,Shirley revealed that Stan had given her the money – and if Mick and Linda wanted it, they would need to add her name above the door! Unexpectedly though, Linda agreed, leaving Shirley overjoyed!

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