Poppy Meadow made her first appearance 11 January 2011, and her last appearance on 30 January 2014. She is portrayed by Rachel Bright.
Storylines[]
Poppy arrives in Walford as the best friend of Jodie Gold, chatting in The Queen Victoria about their daily lives and current affairs. Jodie tries to arrange a date for Poppy with Tamwar Masood, until Tamwar's mother, Zainab Masood, interferes with her plans.
Poppy returns to Walford some months later, now dating Jodie's ex-boyfriend, Julian. When Poppy loses her job, Jodie suggests she work at the Walford beauty salon as a receptionist. Tyler Moon flirts with Poppy, who initially rejected his advances, but after she reveals that her relationship with Julian is problematic she decides to date Tyler, to make Julian jealous. Off-screen she ends her relationship with Julian.
Jodie and her boyfriend Darren Miller become engaged; she asks Poppy, Lauren Branning and Lauren's sister Abi Branning to be her bridesmaids. Darren is anxious that if Jodie finds out he had a "drunken encounter" with Lauren at his stag party she may cancel the wedding, but Poppy discovers his secret and threatens to tell Jodie if they do not. Jodie subsequently admits that she already knows and still wants to get married, but Darren calls off the wedding and leaves Walford.
Poppy moves out of her mother's home and into a flat with Jodie, which they rent from Ian Beale. After he increases their rent they refuse to pay, which leads to their eviction, and the girls move in with Tyler and his brother, Anthony Moon; it soon becomes clear that Poppy is attracted to Anthony. He asks her out on a date, despite admitting to his brother that he has stronger feelings for Jodie, whom he later kisses. Remorseful, Jodie decides to leave London. She admits the kiss to Poppy, who is furious and refuses to speak to her. Tyler tricks the two girls into meeting up, and they are able to repair their friendship. Poppy also decides to leave London and goes to live with her mother in Essex, while Jodie goes to find Darren.
Poppy returns months later to help Tanya Branning, who is hired by Janine Butcher to do her hair and make up for her wedding. Poppy tells Janine and Tanya about her "plush" new lifestyle, but when she arrives home her living arrangements are far from glamorous, and there is an eviction notice on her front door. Poppy is subsequently evicted from her bedsit, but Fatboy offers her a place to stay, and Tanya offers Poppy a permanent job at the salon. Poppy then moves into Dot Cotton's house after being offered a room by Cora Cross. Poppy forgives Anthony, and begins a new friendship with Alice Branning. Her younger sister, Tansy Meadow, comes to visit and Fatboy acts as Poppy's "high-flying" businessman boyfriend in front of Tansy, in an effort to make herself look good in front of her younger "successful" sister. She starts a relationship with Fatboy, after Tansy's visit.
Although it is revealed that Tansy is not that successful, she tells Poppy that Fatboy loves her. The two start a relationship and later declare their love for each other. After a few months, Poppy sees text messages on Fatboy's phone from a girl called Chloe, and suspects he is cheating on her, and is further upset when she sees them together. However, Fatboy reveals that Chloe is his colleague and he has started working at McKlunky's again. Poppy is then made redundant when owner Sadie Young decides to leave Walford after discovering that her husband Jake Stone has been having an affair with Lauren Branning, which causes Poppy to act cold towards Lauren.
Poppy interferes in Dot's relationship with her son, Nick Cotton, telling him that his mother does not want to speak to him. She then allows Fatboy to stay with her after Tamwar throws him out. Poppy is then devastated to learn that Fatboy shared a passionate kiss with Denise Fox, after hearing the pair whispering about it. She then learns that Fatboy and Denise had slept together before he was even in a relationship with Poppy. This infuriates Poppy, who storms over to the Minute Mart and confronts Denise, leading to the two women clashing in the shop. Poppy then returns home and tells Fatboy that she has forgiven him, but she needs to move away from Walford so that they can have a fresh start. Fatboy refuses to move and says he wants to end their relationship. She packs her bags and leaves Walford for Hemel Hempstead, but not before posting a letter through Ian's letterbox, detailing about his fiancée's infidelity.
See also[]
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