| Lucas Johnson | |||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Don Gilet | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2008–2010, 2016, 2020–2021, 2024
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| First appearance | Episode 3554 3 April 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 6861 21 February 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
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| Spin-off appearances | EastEnders: E20 (2010) The Cellar (2010) | ||||||||||||||||
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Lucas Aaron Johnson[1] is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Don Gilet. He made his first on-screen appearance on 3 April 2008.[2] Lucas is introduced as a reformed drug addict and criminal-turned-preacher who appears as the estranged father of established character Chelsea Fox (Tiana Benjamin/Zaraah Abrahams). He also has a young son, Jordan (Michael-Joel Stuart), and later goes on to marry Chelsea's mother Denise (Diane Parish) - whom he had previously been in a relationship with prior to their reunion.
While the character originally appeared to be respectfully dedicated to his own religious convictions, Lucas slowly became the show's secondary antagonist when he causes the death of his former wife Trina (Sharon Duncan Brewster) by leaving her to die in a raking accident; murders Denise's ex-husband Owen Turner (Lee Ross) on their wedding day; drowning his son's dog Sugar after the latter risks unearthing Owen's corpse; and strangling Denise before locking her up in a basement while allowing her family to believe that she is responsible for the murders - with Lucas killing another woman to use as Denise's supposed body so that her family could believe that she committed suicide. The character soon departed on 30 July 2010 when Lucas gets arrested for the murders of Trina and Owen, both of which were publicly exposed after he allowed Denise to escape and she subsequently exposed his homicidal crimes to her family - which resulted in Lucas briefly holding Denise and her family hostage until he eventually turned himself in. Lucas made a previously unannounced reappearance on 1 January 2016 before returning for a short stint in the year, in which he escaped prison until he was rearrested and left the programme again on 10 March 2016.[3] On 1 October 2020, it was announced that Gilet was set to reprise his role, and he returned on 25 December 2020 and departed on 18 March 2021. He made an unannounced return on 31 January 2024.[4]
During his time working on the show, Gilet has described Lucas as having "Jekyll and Hyde" aspects to his character. This multi-faceted personality was further explored in the BBC Three special EastEnders: The Two Faces of Lucas.[5] The character also appeared in the spin-off series EastEnders: E20.
- ^ Episode 3900 (broadcast on 26 November 2009)
- ^ Hilton, Beth (29 January 2008). "'Babyfather' star joins 'EastEnders'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
- ^ Walker, Danny (9 January 2016). "EastEnders spoilers: Jordan Johnson to RETURN and Joivan Wade reveals evil Lucas' son 'needs people in his corner'". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror.
- ^ Spackman, Maisie (31 January 2024). "EastEnders brings back two huge characters - with another return from the dead". Metro. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ Green, Kris (11 November 2009). "'EastEnders': The Two Faces of Lucas". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 28 November 2009.