With us getting through the episode articles faster these days, there is an ongoing discussion on talk pages about what makes someone a regular character. I thought it would be better to move the discussion here! David 19:25, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

How about Sonny Dhillon (appeared 2006-2007? Notdoppler 12:16, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

He was in it when I didn't watch it for a while, so it's your call. David 12:22, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

i'd say guest, 4 month long character involved in a Single storyline, he's coming you're way (he left in March 07, joined in December 06) so bear this in mind. Notdoppler 12:36, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

I'm concerned about Ted Page's regular statement, as I am convinced that he's a guest. He hasn't made any appearances recently and didn't appear much anyway, he has neither ever lived on the street, although he has many family members in which live in the street. Notdoppler 21:06, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

He appeared more often earlier in the year then just vanished, maybe he's this year's Wilf Morton? David 13:06, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

What about Dr. Carter? He has been in it for a year now and primarily appears when characters need medical attention. Notdoppler 12:14, August 7, 2011 (UTC)

My view is that he's now a regular - news is that he's going to be appearing more in the programme and outside of medical stories.--Jtomlin1uk 12:44, August 7, 2011 (UTC)

What about Claudia Colby? She first appeared as a friend of Audrey's and appeared on and off before being involved in a storyline with Marc, so that kind of makes her leaving storyline different from her starting storyline. Notdoppler 16:08, August 7, 2011 (UTC)

Was Tara Mandal definitely regular? If so, why? Notdoppler 15:41, August 18, 2011 (UTC)

Probably regular - can;t answer why. Just a gut feeling based on a solid six months worth of appearances. There really is no exact science to this - I still wonder if Walter Potts should be a regular, for instance.--Jtomlin1uk 21:23, August 19, 2011 (UTC)

Sorry John for my persistance on this topic -_- but Tara didn't appear consistently for an entire year nor did she live on the street. She was also pretty much just included as part of a romance storyline for Dev. Notdoppler 22:39, August 19, 2011 (UTC)

It that case, she's guest. It's really hard to formulate rules here. I was wondering earlier tonight if Jon Lindsay is guest/regular and I hit on guest as the intention of the writers was definately for him to be in the show for one storyline only and then go. Now Ted Sullivan I would say is regular because - although he fits the same bill as Jon Lindsay - he did marry an established character and was a resident of the street.--Jtomlin1uk 22:58, August 19, 2011 (UTC)

Jon and Ted are both tricky. If you don't mind there are a few characters I would like to discuss:

• Ted Page - He's currently classed as regular here but maybe he should be demoted to guest since he didn't appear consistently and only occasionally visited from London.
• Doreen Fenwick - She's also currently of regular status here but it's debatable because she disappeared before she'd done a year in the show and although she moved in with Rita at one point, this was for a very short amount of time. However, she originally came in as a friend of Rita and later had a romance with Norris so that kind of makes her leaving storyline different.
• Minnie Chandra - She was demoted from regular to guest following her disappearance but I changed her back to regular because she appeared for a month short of a year, and lived with Amber/worked in the kebab shop for quite a while. I realise now I may have made a mistake with this and was unaware that she had previously been demoted.

Thoughts? Notdoppler 23:32, August 19, 2011 (UTC)

As John says, it's hard to make rules for this, and the waters are muddier now than they used to be. Dave Smith is listed as a guest even though he notched up a lot of appearances, this is because he tended to be seen for a few weeks at a time as storylines required him, and when he did appear it was only to play a part in someone else's story, he didn't have stories of his own.

Translating that to the more storyline-driven show we have nowadays is difficult. I'll add my twopennies:

• Dr Carter - As we'll be seeing more of him, probably regular, but my instinct says wait until we see how it plays out. Definitely guest so far.
• Claudia Colby - Guest. A 'friend' character, like Yana Lumb and Stella Rigby. Her only connection to the street is Audrey.
• Tara Mandal - Regular. I think she was kept on longer than originally intended, long after finding out about Dev's affair with Nina. Played a part in a few storylines.
• Walter Potts - Difficult one!!
• Jon Lindsay - Deirdre going to jail was definitely all planned in advance, so guest.
• Ted Sullivan - I would also say guest for the same reason as above. David 23:44, August 19, 2011 (UTC)

Echo Walter Potts as being a difficult one! He appeared pretty consistently for his half year stint and also lived on the street for most of that period. However, six months is not a year and his only storyline really was Dennis finding his talent.

With Jon Lindsay and Ted Sullivan I agree with David but I still not sure about Tara Mandal and Dr Carter. With Claudia, I didn't realise she'd gone for good when I questioned her guest status but it's clear to me now that she was a guest. Notdoppler 23:53, August 19, 2011 (UTC)

Can you tell me what you think about the other characters I want to discuss? Notdoppler 13:38, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

If you mean Ted, Doreen and Minnie, Doreen is regular and the other two are guest in my book.92.16.24.90 18:31, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, that comment was from me. Why my bloody pc keeps logging me out when I click on the "remember me on this pc button" is beyond me.--Jtomlin1uk 18:33, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I will leave Doreen but I'll change Minnie back because I shouldn't have changed her to regular in the first place (sorry about that! I didn't know she had been changed to guest for any reason). I won't change Ted Page yet though - see what David has to say.Notdoppler 18:39, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

I've changed Minnie back to guest in her episodes and will do the same with Ted unless there are any objections? Notdoppler 20:06, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

No, keep Ted as a regular, he was around for nearly two years. As well as storylines with the Platts, he was also friends with Ken and played a part in Gary joining the Army. Definitely a regular. As for the others, to be honest I have no strong opinions. These are borderline cases and I think you'll agree that whichever way we go on the matter there's room to agree and disagree - no "right" answer, so if I have any opinion it's simply to leave them as they are and avoid giving yourself the tedious work of moving them! David 21:52, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

Okay David, I will let you know if there are any others I want to discuss. Notdoppler 22:36, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

And there is more! Ben Richardson, Wilf Morton, and Jackie Dobbs? Hopefully that's it for now. I'll let you in on a little secret - I like the work of moving them (I have Asperger syndrome)! I think Walter Potts should be regular because he lived in No.11 for a while and appeared outside of storylines quite a bit, so I'm gonna move him if that's okay. Also, do you think this forum is just a copy and needs to be deleted/merged here? Notdoppler 22:50, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

Jackie Dobbs regular, the other two guests. I think Wilf Morton was only in a handful of episodes. There's no need to merge the forum threads, we'll leave that as it is. I'd rather we leave Walter Potts where he is too, unless you strongly disagree with him being a guest. David 23:03, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I moved Wilf and I've also noticed some of Archie Shuttleworth's appearances were listed as guest. I created this page and it's clear that Archie is a regular, so I moved him to regular in the episodes where he is listed as guest. Unless there are any objections I'm gonna change Ted Sullivan because he only appeared in a total of 35 episodes and was clearly never intended to stay in the show. Notdoppler 11:43, August 21, 2011 (UTC)

Go ahead with Ted - because he married Rita and lived on the street, there is some arguement that he was a regular but, as you say, it was clear that he was never intended to stay on the show.

Phil Nail - guest or regular? Notdoppler 22:37, August 21, 2011 (UTC)

How long was he around for? David 22:39, August 21, 2011 (UTC)

From August 2005 until March 2006. Notdoppler 22:40, August 21, 2011 (UTC)

Any idea if the actor quit or was always supposed to leave then? David 22:46, August 21, 2011 (UTC)

Erm I think he came into the show for a romance storyline for Gail and then left after he hit David and Gail found out. I don't think he was ever intended to be kept on. Notdoppler 22:51, August 21, 2011 (UTC)

I think he should be guest because it was clear from the start that David was going to get Phil kicked out and was just another lover of Gail's who would damage the family. Notdoppler 23:29, August 23, 2011 (UTC)