The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1986, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's co-creator Julia Smith. The first character to be introduced during the year is John Fisher (Dave Dale), a drag queen hired for The Queen Victoria pub. Jan Hammond (Jane How), the long-term mistress of Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), was introduced in January. March sees the first appearances of The Firm mobster Brad Williams (Jonathan Stratt), Dot Cotton's (June Brown) husband Charlie Cotton (Christopher Hancock) and new brewery area manager James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde). The newborn daughter of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), Vicki Fowler (Emma Herry), was introduced in May. Judith Jacob and Pam St. Clement made their debuts as health visitor Carmel Jackson and Pat Butcher, the former wife of Pete Beale (Peter Dean), in June. June also sees the beginning of a new storyline, The Banned, which introduces Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter), Tessa Parker (Josephine Melville) and Eddie Hunter (Simon Henderson). Irene (Katherine Parr), the aunt of Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt), begins appearing from July. Michael Cashman and Donald Tandy joined the cast as middle-class yuppie Colin Russell and army war veteran Tom Clements respectively in August. New general practitioner Jaggat Singh (Amerjit Deu) and Barry Clark (Gary Hailes), a love interest for Colin, make their first appearances in November. Rezaul Kabir (Tanveer Ghani), the cousin of Naima Jeffery (Shreela Ghosh), is introduced in December. Additionally, multiple other characters appear throughout the year.
John Fisher
John Fisher, played by Dave Dale, is a drag queen who is hired by publican Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) in January 1986 to perform for the premier drag night at The Queen Victoria public house. Following the publicity over Angie's drink driving case, she and her husband, Den (Leslie Grantham), worry that the brewery who owns the pub might find cause to cancel their tenancy, and 'free entertainment' is seen as a way to bolster the evening trade.
The first drag night is a success until Pete Beale (Peter Dean) starts heckling the performer. John mistakes Pete's intent, thinking he wants to join in with the act. John playfully takes Pete's pint on-stage and Pete leaps after it, causing a tussle to ensue. Seconds later, Den finds himself on the floor breaking up the pair. The surprise arrival of Den's mistress, Jan Hammond (Jane How), prompts Den to close the pub early, so the act is halted prematurely.
Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) is quite impressed with the drag artiste and thinks him to be a caring and sensitive person. When he mentions that his other job is delivering 'kiss-o-grams', she hatches a plan for starting her own business. John performs several more drag evenings in The Vic. His last appearance is on 27 February 1986.
Jan Hammond
Jan Hammond, played by Jane How, appears in 1986 as the long-term mistress of Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). Jan is considered by the locals as a posh upper-class sort of woman and works at an art gallery. Den has an affair with her while he is still married to Angie Watts (Anita Dobson). She is always hated by Angie and Den's adopted daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) but she tries her best to get along with her. She moves into The Queen Victoria at one point on Den's insistence, but is not much of a landlady so moves out soon after. Den tries to leave Angie for Jan so he tells Angie he is leaving her. Angie grows desperate and to stop him from leaving her she tells him that she only has six months to live. Den believes her but discovers many months later that she is lying while they are on holiday in Venice. Den serves Angie divorce papers on Christmas Day 1986.
Eventually, Jan grows tired of Den not having a proper relationship with her, so she ends their affair after he refuses to leave Walford with her. She leaves Walford in 1987 and goes on to marry a man called Dario Chimisso (Marino Mase) on a gondola in Venice. She makes a brief return in 2002 for Angie's funeral. She returns to give Sharon a portrait that Den had left with her many years earlier. She briefly returns again in 2003 in a lead-up to Den's return 14 years since he has been shot and presumed dead by an employee of the gangland organisation The Firm. Den's long lost son Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) tracks Jan down and she reveals that Den had survived the shooting and came to her for help. With her help, Den was able to flee to Spain to protect himself and his family.