Binnie Roberts made her first appearance on 9 June 1994. She is portrayed by Sophie Langham.
Storylines[]
Binnie arrives in Albert Square in June 1994. She is the secret girlfriend of hairdresser Della Alexander. Whilst Della prefers to keep her sexuality hidden, Binnie is out and proud and wants everyone to know. She refuses to put up with anyone's bigotry and defends her choice of lifestyle to anyone that dares to pass judgement.
Della had been in Walford for a few months before Binnie's arrival and in this time she'd sparked up a close, flirtatious relationship with the barman, Steve Elliot. Steve has become a partner in Della's hair salon business and began to think that he and Della would soon be more than just friends. Binnie is adamant that Della should tell Steve about her sexuality, but Della finds the prospect of 'coming out' extremely daunting. Several days later, the situation is brought to a head prematurely when Steve accidentally walks in on Della and Binnie in bed together. Steve is furious, as he feels Della has been leading him on. He throws her out of his home, prompting several arguments between him and Binnie. Steve and Binnie are sworn enemies thereafter, although they do manage to put aside their differences later in the year.
Binnie and Della soon move into a bedsit on the Square and Binnie gets a job working as a barmaid in the Queen Vic alongside Steve. She and Steve bicker constantly, mainly because Steve refuses to accept that Della is gay and regularly tries it on with her, leaving Binnie fuming with jealousy. More problems arise when Natalie Price hears a rumour that Binnie and Della are lesbians. She starts telling anyone who cares to listen about how disgusting and unnatural the pair are. This reaction increases Della's trepidation about living as a lesbian and she starts denying the rumours - claiming that she'd never slept with a woman before in her life. Infuriated by Della's shame, Binnie threatens to leave the Square, which forces Della to prioritise. In order to convince Binnie to stay, Della kisses her in the middle of Bridge Street.
Binnie spends most of her time on the Square trying to force Della to conform to her lesbian ideals. She regularly pressurises her to 'come out' to her mother and generally bosses her around making demands, which often causes blazing rows between them. Despite this, Binnie usually has Della's best interests at heart and the two genuinely love each other.
By 1995, Binnie and Della decide that they have had enough of Walford and they decide to make a new start of things in Ibiza. They both depart on 16 May 1995.