Heather Trott (previously Peterson) was the former best friend of Shirley Carter, the mother of George Trott, and avid George Michael fan. She was the ex-wife of Minty Peterson and the fiancée of Andrew Cotton.
Storylines[]
Heather is introduced as the best friend of Shirley Carter, who loves cheese and karaoke, is a fan of George Michael and suffers from asthma. She lives with her controlling mother Queenie Trott until she moves in with Shirley. She becomes friends with Hazel Hobbs, who asks her to be the bridesmaid at her wedding to Minty Peterson. Heather accepts, and enters them into a wedding competition. When Hazel leaves Minty, Heather pretends to be Hazel so they can remain in the competition and split the prize money. Minty and Heather grow closer, and on the eve of the wedding, Heather realises she has fallen in love with Minty and they later marry. However, Heather later files for annulment, as she and Minty did not consummate their marriage. Heather remains in love with Minty, but with no chance of a reconciliation, Shirley decides to cheer Heather up by taking her to visit the home of her idol George Michael. Shirley later discovers that the house they are trespassing in is in fact not George Michael's, but she keeps this information to herself. On a high, Heather decides to find herself a man at R&R, and Shirley hires a male escort to give her a good time. When Heather discovers this, she slaps Shirley across the face and runs to the toilets in tears. However, an unseen person goes in and comforts Heather, and they sleep together that night. After an argument with Phil Mitchell, Heather suffers an asthma attack. At the hospital, tests reveal that she is pregnant. Heather gives birth in hospital, she is surprised to be told she has had a boy. She names him George Michael, after the singer. Heather phones the father to tell him he has a son, and it is revealed to be the much younger Darren Miller. Darren makes it clear that he does not want to be a father to George, but says he will support Heather financially. When Darren's girlfriend Libby Fox finds out, she reveals to everyone that Darren is George's father. Libby's mother Denise Johnson then confronts Heather, and says she should not have used a child to make a child.
When Shirley moves in with Phil, Heather struggles financially on her own, so Billy Mitchell and Jay Brown move in with her and George. Heather later makes plans to have George christened. Shirley moves back in when and Heather receives a letter from the bank saying they are repossessing the house as the landlord cannot make his mortgage repayments. Shirley suggests that they can squat in the flat but the flat is left alone and the bailiffs seize the house. Heather is upset when she hears Minty plans to marry Sam Mitchell but Minty finds out that Sam is marrying him to keep him quiet. The next morning, Heather thinks the night before only happened because Minty was drunk. She finds George having breathing problems so takes him to the doctor, and is told he has a cold. Sam moves in with her baby Richard after The Queen Victoria is destroyed by fire, and Heather worries that Sam will try to steal Minty away from her. However, Sam insists that she will be moving out soon, and tells Heather not to worry about Minty as he would not stray. She meets the vicar, Reverend Stevens, about George's Christening, and later tries on her wedding dress, which Minty sees, however, Heather reveals she is making it into a Christening gown. During the Christening, Minty leaves abruptly and Heather follows him outside to see him kissing Sam. Sam insults Heather, saying she will always be second best, so Heather leaves in tears.
The next day, Heather is depressed but Shirley tells her to snap out of it, and buys her a soft toy for George. Heather finds a large amount of cash inside it, and Alfie Moon turns up looking for it. He charms her and she gives it to him, but he gives her some back to help her find a new place to live. She decides to move into a nearby flat, 1b Albert Square. Heather begins to suffer financially as she is unable to pay her council tax bill and all her money is being spent on childcare. Her boiler breaks down, causing her health to deteriorate. She attempts to steal from her colleague Dot Branning but changes her mind, however, Dot catches her returning the money, thinking she is taking it. Dot decides to take Heather to the Citizens Advice Bureau for financial help, who say she can pay in instalments. The next day, Heather has no electricity or heating in the flat and confronts Shirley about no longer being there for her. She leaves George while she goes to see her mother to borrow some money, but finds that Queenie has moved away. She rushes back remembering that she left George alone, and leaves him with Darren. Shirley arranges a private party for Heather at R&R and leaves her some money in payment for cleaning. Heather uses it to put money in her gas and electricity meters. She falls asleep, slowly being poisoned from carbon monoxide from her faulty boiler. The next day, Darren breaks into Heather's flat and finds her unconscious; she is rushed to hospital, where she recovers. Appalled after seeing the state of her flat, Darren takes the responsibility of caring for George, telling Heather that she can still have access. Heather looks after George for a day but decides to allow Darren to have him permanently as she feels it is best for George. Darren's fiancée Jodie Gold soon gives Darren an ultimatum, and when Darren struggles with George on his own, he scraps his plans for a residency order and returns George to Heather. Heather joins an internet dating website, and starts corresponding with a man named "Kevin68". Unknown to Heather, Kevin68 is actually Ben Mitchell, and Jay joins in when he discovers what Ben is doing. Heather tracks down a mechanic named Kevin Flynn, but it is not Kevin68. She receives another message, claiming to be from Kevin68's sibling, saying he died in a motor accident, leaving Heather very upset. Phil later mocks her, saying Kevin68 probably never existed, so Ben reveals that he was Kevin68. However, Heather forgives him.
When Heather goes on holiday to Southend-on-Sea, she meets Dot's nephew Andrew Cotton and the two take a liking to each other, but Heather decides to not take things further when shes sees how he treats his mother, Rose Cotton. When Darren announces he is moving away from Walford, he asks Heather to take good care of George, and gives her some money. The money enables Heather and George to move into their own flat, and Heather takes on a cleaning job at Janine Butcher's property maintenance firm. Andrew comes back to Walford and vows to Heather that he will make up for his past mistakes with her. Heather initially rejects him, but then they share a kiss, and spend Christmas with each other. Andrew later proposes and she accepts, and they have sex for the first time. When Andrew starts dieting, Rose accuses Heather of trying to change him, but Heather and Dot tell Rose she is bullying Heather. Rose says she wants to be sure they really want to get married, and they insist they are. Heather asks Patrick Truemanto give her away at the wedding and for Shirley to be her maid of honour.
At Heather's hen night, Andrew reveals he has a temper when he almost hits Shirley, but Heather stays with him. The following day, Heather attempts to reconcile with Shirley as she feels that the wedding will not be the same without her. However, Shirley rejects her. Ben believes Heather has overheard a conversation between him and Ian about why Phil is in prison and he confronts her. Andrew gives Heather two train tickets and tells her to meet him at The Queen Victoria by 6pm if she wants to elope with him. Heather tries to reconcile with Shirley again, but is rejected. Heather decides to elope with Andrew and returns home to find the train tickets. Ben is arrested for perverting the course of justice and he goes to Heather's flat. He argues with Heather and starts looking for the money Dot gave to her so he can leave Walford. As Heather tries to stop him, Ben picks up a photo frame and hits her on the head with it, killing her. Andrew is a suspect but is cleared. Ben hides the murder weapon under his bed and several months later Jay finds it. Shirley eventually learns the truth when accusing Phil of killing Heather, Ben attempts to defend him but instead he accidentally reveals vital information that only the murderer would know. Unbeknown to Phil and Shirley, Ben then goes to the police station and eventually confesses to Heather's murder. Ben's murder charge is dropped and he pleads guilty to manslaughter and is sentenced to four years imprisonment.
In December 2016, Dot retires from her job in the launderette and finds a mixtape made many years earlier by Heather and Shirley, featuring their voices and several Christmas songs.
Employment history[]
Occupation | Years Active |
---|---|
Cleaner | 2008-2012 |
Assistant at the Launderette |
Residence[]
Address | Years |
---|---|
43B Albert Square | 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010 |
3A Albert Square | 2008, 2010 |
1B Albert Square | 2010-2011 |
55 Victoria Road | 2011 |
Quotes[]
- To Shirley Carter (first line): "I dunno, maybe. I left messages, but now you've gone they don't seem to return my calls." (26 June 2007)
- To Ben Mitchell (last line): "Ben!" (19 March 2012)