| Chantelle Atkins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jessica Plummer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2019–2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 5891 26 March 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 6134 22 September 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Kate Oates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chantelle Atkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jessica Plummer. She first appears in episode 5991, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2019. Chantelle is introduced as the eldest daughter of Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and had been referenced on-screen since the family's arrival in 2017. The character was created with a family unit consisting of Chantelle, husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) and two children Mia Atkins (Mahalia Malcolm) and Mackenzie Atkins (Isaac Lemonius). Chantelle is characterised as a loving and vivacious hairdresser with the same fiery attitude as her family. Her backstory states that after marrying Gray, she established a perfect life for herself away from her family. The character's early stories focus on her relationships with her parents, Karen and Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths), and a feud with Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) after moving into her former home.
The characters of Chantelle and Gray were used to highlight the topic of domestic abuse. Producers wanted to explore the idea that "you don't know what goes on behind closed doors".[1] To achieve this, the story was not announced prior to transmission and the first portrayed attack also marks the first time viewers see inside the family home. EastEnders worked with charities Refuge and Women's Aid throughout the plot. Writers developed the story over multiple months and explored the relationship, in private and public. They portrayed Chantelle being isolated from friends and family, falling pregnant and suffering a miscarriage, and developing a growing awareness of her situation.
The story concludes with Chantelle's death, a decision made to reflect real-life cases of domestic abuse. Plans for the character's exit were delayed by the show's three-month production break, but the story team used the break to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence. Chantelle dies after challenging Gray and announcing her plans to leave. Plummer and Smith filmed the 15 minute-long scene in one take under strict filming restrictions. The character departs in episode 6134, originally broadcast on 22 September 2020. Plummer was proud of her work on the storyline and felt it was important to end it with Chantelle's death.
For her portrayal of Chantelle, Plummer was nominated for and won multiple awards. In 2020, she won the Best Actress award at the Inside Soap Awards and the Best Soap Female Actor accolade at the Digital Spy Reader Awards. The domestic abuse plot led to an increase in calls experienced by Women's Aid. The character and the domestic abuse story was praised by television critics and the audience alike. Claire Crick from What's on TV called Chantelle's death "some of the toughest scenes EastEnders has ever aired".[2] Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy praised Plummer's "astonishing" portrayal of her character's "agonising and unforgettable final scenes".[3]