title: Janine Butcher

text: Owing Vickers money for drugs, Janine turns to prostitution under the alias "Blonde Bombshell". One of her clients, Matt Lindsay (Matthew Steer), falls in love with her and proposes marriage, but attempts suicide when he learns she is still a prostitute. Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) begins using her services but she blackmails him, threatening to tell his wife Laura (Hannah Waterman) unless he pays her. Depressed, Janine begins drinking heavily and nearly dies of alcohol poisoning. She gives up prostitution, but when Laura discovers that she has been having sex with Ian, she throws a pan of boiling milk in Janine's face. As a result, Janine becomes agoraphobic and eats dog food because she is too afraid to go outside to buy food. She eventually gets over this with Billy's help. Janine hopes to rekindle their relationship but is devastated when she learns that he is in love with Little Mo Morgan (Kacey Ainsworth).


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine gets a job working at Barry Evans' (Shaun Williamson) car lot after becoming friendly with Barry, following the death of his father Roy (Tony Caunter). She and her friend, Paul Trueman (Gary Beadle) plan to fleece Barry out of his money. She seduces Barry and moves in with him, but also sleeps with Paul. Eventually, Barry proposes to Janine, and she accepts, thinking that Barry has a life-threatening heart murmur. They marry on New Year's Eve 2003 in Scotland, but Janine is furious when Barry's illness turns out to be a false alarm. They take a stroll around the hills and cliffs on New Year's Day 2004, but Janine cracks and admits everything. Barry refuses to believe that she does not love him and tries to embrace her. Repulsed, Janine pushes him away and he falls down a cliff, fatally hitting his head on a rock; Janine watches him die. As his widow, Janine inherits Barry's estate and has him cremated in Scotland, denying his friends and family a chance to pay their respects. This makes Barry's ex-wife Natalie (Lucy Speed) suspicious, and she becomes close to Paul, who feels guilty about his role in Barry's death. Spurred on by Natalie, Paul gives a statement to the police, implicating Janine in Barry's death.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine is arrested, but released without charge, due to lack of evidence, and spitefully tells Natalie that she has managed to get away with murder; however, telling Pat proves to be her downfall. Pat is also friends with Laura, who has a feud with Janine, who in turn angers the locals by reporting Laura for benefit fraud and announces it in The Queen Victoria public house. Janine and Laura are seen fighting just before Laura dies after falling down the stairs. It is noted in the post mortem that Laura had recently been in a fight due to bruising, and Janine's skin is found under her nails. Although Janine was with Pat when Laura died, Pat refuses to give Janine an alibi, and brands her 'pure evil'. In desperation, Janine goes to Paul and offers to sleep with him in return for an alibi, but Paul refuses. She is arrested by the police, charged with Laura's murder and remanded in custody in May 2004.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine stands trial off-screen in December 2005, and Frank tries to persuade Pat to tell the truth in court, giving Janine an alibi. Pat refuses, but a conversation with Laura's mother Edwina Dunn (Gay Hamilton) forces Pat to tell the court what really happened. Janine is released but leaves Frank outside the courtroom.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine returns for Frank's funeral and is angry that he has not left any money in his will; she scatters his ashes before departing. Pat and Ricky later discover that Janine is masquerading as a Jewish orphan named 'Judith Bernstein' so she can marry an elderly Jewish man named David (Harry Towb) for his money. They trace Janine to a synagogue, where, just after Janine and David are married, Pat exposes Janine. David has a heart attack and dies, and a now homeless Janine has no choice but to return to Walford. Soon, she makes various enemies, among them Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), whom Janine drugs and then restrains so she can gain a taped confession of his past misdemeanours, which she uses as blackmail to gain control of Walford's car lot. Pat and Jack usurp her, reclaiming the business. Whilst driving around the square, Janine accidentally knocks down Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace), the long-lost daughter of Jack's girlfriend Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack); moments later, Danielle dies and Janine is left guilt-ridden. Though Janine is cleared of any blame, it causes a rift between her and the Mitchells.


title: Janine Butcher

text: In need of money, Janine teams up with Ronnie's father Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb); they make plans to ruin the Mitchell family by taking The Queen Vic from them. When they manipulate Archie's niece Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) into breaking her bail terms, the Mitchells lose bail surety and face financial ruin. Ian provides the Mitchells with a loan, on condition they use their pub as collateral. Janine has sex with Ian, recording the tryst, then blackmails him, threatening to show his wife Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) unless he sells the Mitchell loan to Archie. Archie subsequently takes control of The Queen Vic when he refuses to allow the Mitchells to meet the terms of the loan. Meanwhile, Janine and her flatmate Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott), with whom Janine is having sex, plan to fleece Archie. He and Janine announce their engagement, but on Christmas Day, Archie – who has realised Janine is intending to con him – throws her onto the street, leaving her distraught. That same day, Archie is murdered by an unknown assailant (see Who Killed Archie?). Janine becomes a suspect for his murder, though she denies it. While she attempts to frame Ian and the Mitchells for the murder, Peggy attempts to frame her, planting evidence in her flat, which leads to an arrest but no charge. In the end, Janine is cleared and fellow resident Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements) is held falsely responsible for the murder - although, unknown to everyone, Archie's killer was in fact Bradley's wife Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) - whom he had previously raped amid his conspiracy with Janine.


title: Janine Butcher

text: When Ryan confesses his love for Janine, she recoils, but when he attempts to leave Walford, she admits she loves him too. Despite Janine nearly straying on her hen night, she and Ryan marry, but marital happiness is short-lived when Ryan discovers he is the father of Stacey's daughter Lily. A feud erupts between Janine and Stacey when Janine reports her to Social Services for neglecting Lily. Later, Janine kidnaps Lily, suggesting to Ryan they leave Walford with the child to separate Ryan from Stacey. Her games push Ryan and Stacey closer together and they begin an affair. Janine later finds out about Stacey's affair with Ryan and she vows to kill them both. She buys sedatives and poisons Ryan. He is left bedridden but manages to escape, and ends their marriage publicly after being released from hospital. Hurt and angry, Janine discovers Stacey is Archie's murderer and goes public with this, but is largely ignored with no concrete evidence. Desperate, Janine visits Stacey; she stabs herself to try to frame Stacey for her own attempted murder, but Stacey escapes the country before arrest. Blaming Janine for Stacey's departure, Ryan refuses to reunite with Janine and attempts to kill her by removing her oxygen tubing when she is hospitalised. She is saved by Ricky's chance arrival, but both Ricky and Pat denounce Janine's actions when she admits her injuries are self-inflicted.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Ricky and Janine receive news that their maternal rich grandmother Lydia Simmonds (Margaret Tyzack/Heather Chasen) is ill and in need of care. Janine takes her grandmother in, with the ulterior motive of inheriting her fortune. Janine learns that Lydia is very similar to herself, and eventually admits she loves her grandmother, but Lydia's health quickly deteriorates. Janine discovers Lydia has left all her money to charity, but admits to Lydia that she no longer cares, during a heartfelt conversation. Before she dies, Lydia explains that she wanted to look after Janine after her mother died, but Pat and Frank would not allow it. Janine is devastated by Lydia's death, but her family, including Pat, accuse her of killing her. At Ryan's behest, Janine is questioned by police, but released without charge, and Janine is stunned when she inherits Lydia's estate, making her a millionaire. Janine later happily achieves full closure from Ryan after learning that he has fled Walford.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine buys various properties and businesses; she starts a property management company and a women's fitness centre with her boyfriend Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd). She also buys a share in the nightclub R&R, making Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) her reluctant partner; both clash over the running of the club. When Pat needs money to pay debts, Janine gives her a loan, insisting Pat use her house as collateral. She later brings the loan payment deadline forward, refusing to believe Pat is dying. Janine makes peace with Pat before her death, with Pat convincing a pregnant Janine to keep Michael's child. Janine accepts Michael's marriage proposal after he reluctantly agrees to sign a prenuptial agreement.


title: Janine Butcher

text: When Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) tells everyone, including Janine, that Michael stole her money and lied to her, Janine refuses to believe Jean's claims and dismisses them because Jean is bipolar. However, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) returns and demands Janine repay the funds, or she will go to the police. Michael eventually confesses the truth to Janine on her wedding day and offers her an ultimatum: that she rip up the prenuptial agreement or the wedding is off. Janine is torn between the two but eventually agrees to cancel the pre-nup; Janine and Michael marry but she goes into labour 11 weeks early at the wedding reception. At the hospital, Janine undergoes a cesarean and her daughter is put into an incubator, which distresses Janine. The baby is named Scarlett. Janine begins to doubt Michael's intent when he asks to be a signatory on the business accounts and buys a sports car, so orders Billy to change the combination on the office safe. Michael's strange behaviour continues, leaving Janine convinced he is having an affair. She confronts him, offering him a suitcase of money and saying that if he really loves her, he will refuse to take it. Michael is furious and tells Janine that she cannot hope to be a good mother to their baby. Believing him to be right, Janine packs her bags and hands Scarlett to Michael, taking the money and leaving. Michael is informed that Janine has transferred all the money from her bank accounts and has ordered that her business Butcher's Joints be closed down, transferring all her properties over to another estate agent, leaving Michael with nothing.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Several months later, Janine returns to Walford and visits Michael. Janine tells Michael that she is back for Scarlett, and manipulates Michael into giving her custody of Scarlett, denying him parental access. She then hires Michael's former nanny, Alice Branning (Jasmyn Banks) to look after Scarlett, who is Michael’s secret ally. When Janine catches Alice stealing jewellery from her house, Alice explains she is stressed because Michael is putting demands on her to see Scarlett, and she has been letting him do so. Janine agrees that it is better for Scarlett, in the long-run, to have a relationship with both her parents. At Ian's restaurant opening, Janine, as an investor, has the sign and name of the restaurant changed from "Ian Beale @ Le Square" to "Scarlett's". They apparently call a truce, but Janine then leaves in a car with Scarlett, telling Michael that she may never return.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Michael eventually tracks Janine down and she returns to Walford. She employs Danny Pennant (Gary Lucy), who buys a share in Michael's boxing club. Janine has sex with Danny but tells him that it is a one off. She rehires Alice as her nanny, unaware that she is still being manipulated by Michael, but fires her again when she tells Janine that she had sex with Michael. The increasing animosity between Janine and Michael leads to her taking out an injunction out against him. Michael then begins a plot to kill Janine, and involves Alice in his plans. Alice has second thoughts and tells Janine of Michael's plans. When Janine confronts Michael, he tries to strangle her, leading to Alice stabbing Michael in the back to stop him. Alice then leaves to answer the door, but realising Michael is still alive, Janine stabs him again in the stomach, killing him. Alice believes she killed him, and Janine tells the police that Alice stabbed Michael twice and also attacked her. Alice's brother, Joey Branning (David Witts), seduces Janine in a bid to extract the truth from her, but fails.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine's former stepbrother David Wicks (Michael French) suspects that Janine is guilty of the murder, so he manipulates her into allowing him to stay at her house, and then into admitting that she killed Michael. David promises to keep her secret, but has secretly recorded the confession on his phone. Meanwhile, Janine is planning to buy The Queen Vic, and sells her share of R&R and her car to do so. David then reveals the recording to Janine and blackmails her into giving him the £250,000 she has raised. Janine panics, and tries to kill David by hitting him with a car. However, he suffers only minor injuries. After she hands over the cash, he threatens to call the police anyway. She convinces him to give her a day to get away, but Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) finds David's phone and plays the confession. She gives the phone to Joey, who calls the police and Janine is arrested for Michael's murder, and is taken away by the police.


title: Janine Butcher

text: In February 2014, Kat and Stacey visit Janine in prison and try to convince her to drop the false statement she made against Stacey three years ago. Janine agrees on the condition that Kat provides her with a false witness testimony to Michael's murder, backing up Janine's story that Alice killed him. At the trial, Kat agrees and does as she is told. However, halfway through the trial, Alice tries to kill herself in her cell and is immediately rushed to hospital. Because of this, Janine admits the truth. The jury later returns with a not guilty verdict for both Alice and Janine. Janine briefly returns to Walford and tries to make amends with the locals in The Queen Vic, but everyone, including Carol, is completely hostile towards her and she is forced to leave. Janine then leaves for Paris to join Scarlett and Diane, and it is hinted that she plans to con a couple who have just won the lottery.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Off-screen in December 2019, Janine sells the house that the Slater family are living in to Kheerat Panesar (Jaz Deol) which leaves them homeless for Christmas.


title: Janine Butcher

text: In August 2021, Scarlett (now Tabitha Byron) contacts Kat's son Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) online, under the presumption that he is her cousin. She reveals that she has been in foster care due to Janine's neglect, and is about to be taken into care. She asks Tommy if she can live with him and Kat. In September 2021, Janine is seen impersonating as a doctor, under her former pseudonym "Judith Bernstein", and seduces Zack Hudson (James Farrar). It is hinted that Janine has been impersonating a doctor to persuade Social Services that she is good enough to look after Scarlett. Janine later returns to Albert Square and confronts Kat, warning her about the lengths she will go to get Scarlett back. Janine attempts to reason with Kat, and reveals that she lost her fortune at some point after her departure from Walford, but this fails when Zack reveals Janine’s pseudonym, and her scam as a doctor is uncovered. Kat reveals the truth to social services, and soon Scarlett goes missing. Janine is accused of abducting Scarlett, however, she finds her hiding at the Mitchell’s with Tommy. Janine tries to get Scarlett to return with her but a scuffle unfolds with Tommy. Whilst trying to retrieve Scarlett, she pulls her cardigan and accidentally throws it onto the open flame of the stove, starting a fire. Tommy locks himself, Scarlett and Janine in his bedroom in an attempt to keep Janine from taking Scarlett. Once they realize the house is on fire, Janine takes control of the situation, and manages to get Scarlett to safety out the front door of the house, but has to go back for Tommy who ran into one of the bedrooms in a panic. She lifts Tommy out of a window, but let's go when an explosion caused by the fire knocks her back. Tommy survives and is taken to hospital, and Janine manages to escape when the firefighters arrive. Despite saving Tommy, Kat still goes against Janine in court to get custody of Scarlett and succeeds in doing so. This leads to Janine deciding to remain in Walford to fight for Scarlett. Despite struggling to get a job, she is employed by Frankie Lewis (Rose Ayling-Ellis) at The Queen Vic. However her former business partner, Dr Cole, returns and offers Janine money to continue to impersonate her as a doctor, but Janine turns it down, wanting to prove to Kat and Scarlett that she has changed. Her fling with Zack continues and they sleep together. Kat later discovers that Janine has told Tommy about Michael, who is also his biological father, and kicks her out. Scarlett then finds out Tommy is actually her half-brother and not her cousin. Janine is forced to lodge with Billy, Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), and Billy’s ex-wife Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton). She later forces Jay to give her a job at the car lot so that herself, her nephew Liam Butcher (Alfie Deegan) and Billy, can sell stolen cars to customers and incriminate Jay for car theft. They successfully manage to steal cars and Janine forges Jay's signature on the documents. Jay confronts Janine about the stolen cars and she reveals the truth. He later decides to join in on the scam, but Janine plants a stolen necklace from one of the stolen cars into Jay's belongings, and calls the police, leading to Jay's arrest. When it is revealed that Janine had orchestrated the scam, she is evicted by Honey.


title: Janine Butcher

text: She later gets promoted as bar manager at The Queen Vic and becomes close with married landlord Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), much to the annoyance of Mick's mother and her former nemesis Shirley Carter (Linda Henry). His daughter Nancy (Maddy Hill) becomes suspicious of Janine when she moves into The Queen Vic after Honey evicts her. She later plans to seduce Mick, but he rebuffs her advances and orders her to leave, as he plans to rekindle his relationship with his recovering-alcoholic wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright). Janine interrupts Mick's plans by visiting Linda in her mother, Elaine Peacock’s (Maria Friedman) pub, pretending her name is Judith Bernstein, and manipulating Linda into drinking again, upsetting Mick. Nancy remains suspicious of Janine and confronts her, leading to a fight in the pub. Janine decides to leave and moves in with her old frenemy Sonia, in an attempt to gain Mick's attention. When social services decide to investigate her, she asks Mick to pretend to be her boyfriend for her meeting with the social worker, in order to convince them that Scarlett will have a stable home. Mick agrees but is adamant that it is kept hidden from residents. Jay uncovers their plan and also gives Janine a bad character reference, forcing her to admit that she had lied, ruining her chances of regaining custody of Scarlett. Janine supports Mick when it is revealed that his aunt Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) was murdered by serial killer Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) and buried under the floorboards of the Arjee Bharjie. She uses Mick's grief to her own advantage and tries to help him overcome his bereavement by taking him to a grassland to vent his anger and he then kisses her, but she emotionally blackmails him by rejecting his advances. After this, Janine leaves to stay with Clare. She returns to support Mick during Tina's funeral, unaware that Linda is also there and recognises her. Linda is furious when she sees Janine comforting Mick and reveals that Janine had encouraged her to leave Mick. However, nobody believes her and Linda confronts Janine, leading to a fight. Linda is devastated when Mick decides to pursue a relationship with Janine. Janine is worried when Mick will not sleep with her, and when she sees Mick talking with her former step-niece Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), she becomes jealous and tries to intimidate Whitney by warning her off. Mick later reveals to Janine that he is struggling to be intimate with women after he was raped as a child by his social worker Katy Lewis (Simone Lahbib).


title: Janine Butcher

text: In May 2022, Janine re-gains custody of Scarlett after Scarlett tells Kat that she wants to live with Janine. Janine later becomes jealous when Mick spends time with Linda and tries to warn Linda away from Mick by taunting her about her alcoholism, causing Linda to continue drinking. Janine’s jealousy intensifies and she offers Linda money to leave Walford. Linda demands more money, which Janine cannot afford, and she resorts to fleecing Zack and Nancy, by luring her old associate Melissa (Hannah Bennett-Fox) into posing as an investor for their business. They believe that they are investing in a restaurant, however, Melissa steals their money and shares it with Janine. Janine gives Linda the money and she agrees to leave, but eventually decides to stay when she realises that she cannot leave her family, much to Janine’s annoyance. Linda later realises that Janine has stolen Nancy’s money and tries to tell her, but Nancy storms off after an argument. After Linda's car breaks down, Janine offers to drive them back to Walford but they argue and Janine loses concentration, causing her to crash into a tree. After believing that Linda is dead, Janine frames her for the accident, and goes to Australia with Scarlett. She however doesn’t go to Australia, and visits Linda in hospital to keep up her caring pretence. Linda's best friend Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) plans to tell Mick about Janine stealing Nancy’s money, but Janine turns the tables on Sharon after finding out the stolen money is now in the hands of Sam Mitchell (now played by Kim Medcalf), who has used it to purchase the local nightclub from Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton). Janine taunts Sharon by threatening to report Linda and the Mitchells to the fraud department for money-laundering, if Sharon does not pay her back the stolen £50,000; warning Sharon that Linda's alcoholism and Sharon being Phil's ex-wife would lead to the police believing her over Sharon. However, Sharon rebuffs Janine's threats, telling her she is just as guilty as they are.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine continues feeling threatened by Linda’s presence in her and Mick's relationship and has her baby daughter Annie taken away by social services after blackmailing Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith) into hiding empty wine bottles around the house; however this backfires when Mick temporarily takes in Annie to look after. Janine later finds out she is pregnant with Mick's child and he proposes to her in which she accepts, although she later falls down the stairs at the tube station. Janine becomes paranoid when she sees Mick with Linda and suspects that they are having an affair. She lies to Mick saying their unborn baby's life is in danger, but Sonia discovers the truth and tries to force her to come clean. Janine is furious and lashes out, causing Sonia to call Ricky to help her.


title: Janine Butcher

text: The character was first mentioned in September 1987, when her father Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) first appeared on-screen. Frank and his children Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and Diane Butcher (Sophie Lawrence) were introduced as regular characters in 1988. However, Janine did not become a regular character until a year later, in June 1989, her arrival completing the Butcher family.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine was initially seen as a 6-year-old, played by Rebecca Michael. In 1993, following a storyline that saw her stepmother Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement) imprisoned for manslaughter, Janine was sent to stay with her off-screen sister Clare Butcher, but she returned later that year, played by 11-year-old Alexia Demetriou who reigned as Janine from 14 October 1993 until 12 March 1996, when the character was written out again, as Demetriou left to concentrate on her studies. Executive producer Matthew Robinson re-introduced Janine in 1999 as a 16-year-old played by Charlie Brooks. On her getting the part Brooks said, "It's funny, but for as long as I can remember I knew I was going to make it, I never worried about my career or money, and when I left college I was headstrong and confident and felt very grown. Then I joined "EastEnders" and I felt like a lost little girl. I remember the casting director taking me to meet Patsy Palmer on my first day there and, because I'd been watching "EastEnders" since I was little, I actually felt sick".


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine’s backstory states that she was born just four years before her mother, June, died from cancer and she subsequently went to live with her sister Clare (Lucy Foxell; Caroline O'Neill). Eventually, Janine's father, Frank (Mike Reid), moved to Walford with her older siblings Ricky (Sid Owen) and Diane (Sophie Lawrence) - as well as with his beloved wife Pat Wicks (Pam St Clement). Soon afterwards, Clare moved to Manchester in 1989 - leaving Janine with Pat and Frank.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine is described by the "EastEnders" website as a "brutal minx whose motto is that money can buy happiness. She will manipulate, marry and murder once she’s had a sniff of the Queen’s head." It continues: "Janine's a great actress who enjoys seducing people, but the clever diva doesn't always get the end results she desires, which has even led to her imprisonment."


title: Janine Butcher

text: In 2002, a storyline saw Janine using drugs and prostituting to fund the habit. She was shown about to snort cocaine in a scene that sparked viewer complaints to the BBC. Brooks has said about Janine's behaviour: "Sleeping with her pusher is very sad and desperate. But she feels she has to do it to get more drugs. Janine has such low self-esteem that she's deliberately reckless. She thinks, 'Why not take drugs if they make me feel good about myself for a while?' I think she knows she's on a slippery slope but she believes she can get out of it like she's always done before."


title: Janine Butcher

text: The character was written out of the series in the spring of 2004 when Janine was charged with the murder of Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman) and remanded in custody. Brooks rejected an offer to re-appear in late 2005 for the murder trial, although BBC bosses did persuade Mike Reid to make his final appearances as Frank Butcher for scenes involving his former wife Pat during the duration of the trial.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Four years after her initial departure, Brooks was asked to reprise the role by executive producer Diederick Santer as part of a storyline that was dubbed "Frank Week". Mike Reid died in July 2007, and due to the popularity of the character he played, Santer decided that Frank would also be killed off in the serial. A funeral was held for the character as a tribute to both the actor and the "iconic" character he played.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Brooks was one of several actors brought back to the show especially for the storyline. She was joined by Sophie Lawrence, who played her older sister Diane Butcher, and Sid Owen as her brother Ricky. Following the conclusion of her three episode guest stint in April 2008, it was announced the following month that Brooks would reprise her role as Janine on a full-time basis.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Brooks said she was "thrilled" to be back and admitted her recent appearance gave her "a taste" of being Janine again. Executive producer, Santer, said her recent appearances "reminded us what a fine actress she is, and what an intriguing, watchable and engaging character she plays as Janine". He promised a longer spell on the programme would enable viewers to see "what makes Janine tick" and also find out where she got the "flashy big black car" with which she was seen at the funeral. Janine's return scenes aired in December 2008. In June 2009, she signed a three-year contract.


title: Janine Butcher

text: In December 2009, the show's executive producer, Diederick Santer teased about upcoming storylines involving Janine and her flatmate Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott), saying: "There's something really interesting with Ryan and Janine [...]. They're both people who don't know how to love. So will they fall in love? And if they do, can they cope with it? Will they understand the alien feelings coursing through their bodies?" In August 2010, Janine proposes to Ryan. Brooks said that the idea of getting married would be daunting for the character, but added that she believes Janine is genuinely in love with Ryan. She commented: "It's easy to assume that Janine is playing games or using him for sex, but [...] Ryan clearly adores her too, so he may be the man to tame her wild ways." Brooks hinted at possible trouble for the couple if Janine discovers that Ryan fathered a baby with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), saying "Janine will be absolutely destroyed when she finds out. She wants Ryan all to herself, and the idea of a baby snatching his attention away would be devastating. All she needs is to be loved." McDermott stated that he believed Ryan was the right man for Janine, and that they could be perfect for each other, saying: "Janine's never loved any of the men she's been with before. She has only ever been in it for the money. Ryan understands her and knows why she does the things she does. They both forgive one another's mistakes very easily, and that's why their partnership works."


title: Janine Butcher

text: In February 2011, Janine's estranged grandmother, Lydia Simmonds, "a lady of class and dignity," was announced. Lydia's backstory states that she loved her daughter June but hated the man she married, Frank, so she grew old alone. Lydia and Janine have been estranged for many years and Janine is shocked to have her grandmother back in her life. Executive Producer Bryan Kirkwood said: "I can't wait to see Janine meet her match."


title: Janine Butcher

text: An "EastEnders" source revealed that Lydia is more of a schemer than Janine, saying "Janine is going to think there's a potential meal ticket arriving in the form of Lydia. But she's a very complex woman—and Janine won't be able to manipulate her as easily as she'd imagined." "EastEnders" executive producer stated that Lydia was introduced to help explore Janine's fun side. Kirkwood said to "Inside Soap": "After the stories she's had lately, it's time for Janine to have some fun, I think."


title: Janine Butcher

text: In February 2012, Brooks announced that she would take a six-month break from the show later in the year, and departed on 14 September. Brooks returned to filming on 21 February 2013 and returned on screen on 18 April that year. On 28 October 2013, it was announced that Brooks had decided to leave the show for a third time, but to allow for her to return again, the character would not be killed off. Following Janine's arrest on Christmas Day, she returned to screens on 24 February 2014 when Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) visited her in prison, and last appeared on 20 March 2014.


title: Janine Butcher

text: In April 2021, numerous media outlets revealed that Janine would return later in the year, as Brooks had agreed to reprise the role once again for a "huge storyline". The show officially confirmed her return on 14 June. The announcement of Janine’s return was positively received by fans of the show especially on social media. Speaking of her return, executive producer Jon Sen commented that "she comes back as the character that we all know and love her as" and added "we’d be robbing the audience if we didn’t bring her back in all her glory!" Janine returned on-screen on 6 September 2021 after returning to filming two months earlier.


title: Janine Butcher

text: It was announced on 24 September 2022 that Brooks had once again decided to leave the show, and her final scenes will air on 26 December 2022.


title: Janine Butcher

text: In November 2021, Janine appeared in a sketch of Channel 4 show "First Dates" alongside "Coronation Street" character Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and "Emmerdale" character Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) in aid of Children in Need. In the sketch, Janine goes on a date with married Steve, who is unaware that he is on a date. Later, it emerges that the real date is actually Eric.


title: Janine Butcher

text: Janine has been well received by critics although some of her storylines have come under criticism. She has been described as "the crazy, evil vixen of Albert Square" and journalist Richard Arnold said of the character, "No matter how bad she gets, we welcome her back to Walford with open arms. Because you wouldn't turn your back on her." Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood deemed Janine "the best bitch on TV", while show writer Tony Jordan called her the "devil" and "evil", but added, "She’s cheated, she's lied her way through Albert Square and we still kind of like her."


title: Janine Butcher

text: In 2001, it was reported that education experts blamed delinquent young characters in soap operas, like Janine, for increasing disorder and violence in schools. In 2002, scenes involving the character, when Janine prostituted herself to pay for cocaine that she was about to snort were chastised by Tory MP Tim Yeo and Liberal Democrat MP Nick Harvey The BBC defended the storyline, saying, "Although the storyline implied Janine had taken drugs, there were no scenes that actually showed her using them. "EastEnders" has always tackled difficult issues like drug-taking in a responsible way, mindful of its responsibilities to its younger audience."


title: Janine Butcher

text: Brooks was awarded "Best Bitch" at the "Inside Soap" Awards in 2001. In March 2009, Brooks won the "Best Bad Girl" award at the 2009 All About Soap Bubble Awards, which are voted for by the public, for her portrayal of Janine, saying: "I'm thrilled that viewers think I am so good at being bad!" Brooks also won "Villain of the Year" at the British Soap Awards in 2004 for her portrayal of the same character, and was nominated in the same category in 2011. Brooks won her third Inside Soap Award for "Best Bitch" in 2009. In February 2011, the love triangle storyline between Janine, Ryan and Stacey was nominated in the "Best Love Triangle" category at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards. She also won the award for "Best Bitch" at the 2012 "Inside Soap" Awards. On Digital Spy's 2012 end of year reader poll, Brooks won "Best Female Soap Actor" with 23.0% of the vote.


title: The Railway Series

text: The Railway Series is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twenty-five more books were written by Awdry, the final one being written in October 1972. Sixteen more were written by his son, Christopher Awdry, between September 1983 and July 2011. The series features many anthropomorphic vehicles, including Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas became the most popular character in the series and the titular character of the television series "Thomas & Friends" from 1984 to 2021. Many characters and stories from the books formed the basis of the children's television series.


title: The Railway Series

text: Nearly all of "The Railway Series" stories were based on real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were mostly based upon real classes of locomotive, and some of the railways themselves were based upon real lines in the British Isles.


title: The Railway Series

text: Audio adaptations of "The Railway Series" have been recorded at various times under the title "The Railway Stories".


title: The Railway Series

text: The stories began in 1942, when Christopher Awdry, at the age of 2, had measles and was confined to a darkened room. His father told him stories and rhymes to cheer him up. One of Christopher's favourite rhymes was:


title: The Railway Series

text: The origins of this rhyme are unknown, but research by Brian Sibley suggests that it originated at some point prior to the First World War. The words, with some slight alterations, were later set to music by Lee Ricks and Slim Gaillard in 1948, and released by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra as a single entitled "Down by the Station". Wilbert Awdry's answers to Christopher's questions about the rhyme led to the creation of a short story, "Edward's Day Out", featuring Edward the Blue Engine, an old engine who is allowed out of the shed for a day. Another story about Edward followed, this time featuring Gordon the Big Engine, named after a child living on the same road who Christopher considered rather bossy.


title: The Railway Series

text: A third story had its origins in a limerick of which Christopher was fond, and which Awdry used to introduce "The Sad Story of Henry":


title: The Railway Series

text: As with the previous rhyme, the origins of this are uncertain, but Awdry received a letter telling him that a similar poem had appeared in a book of children's rhymes, published in 1902:<poem>Once an engine when fixed to a train


title: The Railway Series

text: This story introduced the popular characters Henry the Green Engine and the Fat Director. Encouraged by his wife Margaret, Awdry submitted the three stories to Edmund Ward in 1943. The head of the children's books division requested a fourth story to bring the three engines together and redeem Henry, who had been bricked up in a tunnel in the previous story. Although Wilbert had not intended that the three engines live on the same railway, he complied with the request in the story "Edward, Gordon and Henry". The four stories were published in 1945 as a single volume, "The Three Railway Engines", illustrated by William Middleton.


title: The Railway Series

text: Christmas 1942 saw the genesis of the character that grew to become the most famous fictional locomotive in the world. Awdry constructed a toy tank engine for Christopher, which gained the name Thomas. Stories about Thomas were requested by Christopher, and 1946 saw the publication of "Thomas the Tank Engine". This was illustrated by Reginald Payne, whom Wilbert felt to be a great improvement over Middleton. Like its predecessor, this book was a success and Awdry was asked to write stories about James, a character who first appeared in "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", the final story in "Thomas the Tank Engine". The book "James the Red Engine" appeared in 1948, the year in which the railways in Britain were nationalised, and from this point onwards the Fat Director was known by his familiar title of the Fat Controller.


title: The Railway Series

text: "James the Red Engine" was notable as the first book to be illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby, perhaps the most famous of the "Railway Series" artists, and certainly the most controversial due to the criticism later aimed at him by Awdry. Dalby illustrated every volume up to "Percy the Small Engine" (1956), and also produced new illustrations for "The Three Railway Engines" and made changes to those of "Thomas the Tank Engine".


title: The Railway Series

text: Successive books would introduce such popular characters as Annie and Clarabel, Percy the Small Engine and Toby the Tram Engine.


title: The Railway Series

text: In making the stories as real as possible, Awdry took a lot of inspiration from a number of sources in his extensive library, and found the "Railway Gazette"s "Scrapheap" column particularly useful as a source of unusual railway incidents that were recreated for "The Railway Series" characters.


title: The Railway Series

text: Awdry continued working on "The Railway Series" until 1972, when "Tramway Engines" (book 26 in the series) was published. However, he had been finding it increasingly difficult to come up with ideas for new stories, and after this he felt that "the well had run dry" and so decided that the time had come to retire. He wrote no further Railway Series volumes, but later wrote a spin-off story for the television series "Thomas's Christmas Party" and expanded versions of some of his earlier stories, as well as writing . In addition, he wrote a number of short stories and articles for Thomas the Tank Engine Annuals.


title: The Railway Series

text: Anthropomorphization of locomotives has a literary tradition extending back at least as far as the writings of Rudyard Kipling in his 1897 story ".007".


title: The Railway Series

text: Christopher Awdry was a keen railway enthusiast like his father. On a visit to the Nene Valley Railway he was inspired to write his first story "Triple Header" based on a railwayman's account of a locomotive running out of steam short of its destination. In the story, Thomas, Percy and Duck take on Gordon's Express but find it more than they can handle. Christopher wrote three further stories, "Stop Thief!", "Mind That Bike" and "Fish" and showed them to his father, who encouraged Christopher to submit them for publication. At the time, work on the television adaptation was underway, and Kaye and Ward were keen to revive "The Railway Series". The book "Really Useful Engines" was published in 1983. Wilbert had considered this title for his own 27th volume before abandoning the project.


title: The Railway Series

text: Christopher wrote another thirteen books, including the 50th anniversary volume "Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines". He also wrote stories for the television series, notably "More About Thomas the Tank Engine", "The Railway Series" 30th volume.


title: The Railway Series

text: The success of the television series led to tensions between Christopher and the publishers. Thomas was the central character of the television series and the publishers wanted stories focused on Thomas. Christopher produced "Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines" that had one story about Thomas, while "Thomas Comes Home" did not feature Thomas until the last page.


title: The Railway Series

text: The series' 40th volume, "New Little Engine", appeared in 1996. Egmont Publishing who had taken over from Kay and Ward, did not publish further Railway Series books and allowed the existing back catalogue to go out of print. There was a selected print run in 2004 of the original 26 books, but in 2005, the sixtieth anniversary of Wilbert's first book, the Awdry family were disappointed that all of the stories were not available in their original format.


title: The Railway Series

text: In 2005 Christopher published under his own imprint Sodor Enterprises. This book expanded the fictional world of Sodor. He published several more books, mostly set on real railways in Britain. In 2006, Egmont started to re-publish Wilbert's books in their original format. The fourteen books written by Christopher were re-released in August 2007. On 3 September 2007, Christopher published the 41st book in the series, "Thomas and Victoria", illustrated by Clive Spong. The book addresses issues relating to the railway preservation movement.


title: The Railway Series

text: In July 2011, Egmont released the 42nd book in the series: "Thomas and his Friends". The final story ended with the words "The End".


title: The Railway Series

text: Christopher Awdry said that he had other material, which he hoped would be published. He narrated new stories about the narrow gauge engines on 'Duncan Days' at the Talyllyn Railway in Wales.


title: The Railway Series

text: "The Railway Series" is perhaps as highly regarded for its illustrations as for its writing, which in the immediate post-Second World War era were seen as uniquely vivid and colourful. Indeed, some critics (notably Miles Kington) have claimed that the quality of the illustrations outshines that of the writing.


title: The Railway Series

text: The first edition of "The Three Railway Engines" was illustrated by the artist William Middleton, with whom Awdry was deeply dissatisfied. The second artist to work on the series was Reginald Payne, who illustrated "Thomas the Tank Engine" in a far more realistic style. Despite an early disagreement as to how Thomas should look, Awdry was ultimately pleased with the pictures produced.


title: The Railway Series

text: Payne proved impossible to contact to illustrate "James the Red Engine" – he had suffered from a nervous breakdown and so C. Reginald Dalby was hired. Dalby also illustrated the next eight books in the series. "The Three Railway Engines" was reprinted with Dalby's artwork replacing William Middleton's and Dalby also touched up Payne's artwork in the second book. Dalby's work on the series proved popular with readers, but not with the author, who repeatedly clashed with him over issues of accuracy and consistency. Dalby resigned from the series in 1956, following an argument over the portrayal of Percy the Small Engine in the book of the same name. Awdry had built a model of Percy as a reference for the artist but Dalby did not make use of it. Despite the tempestuous relationship with Awdry, Dalby is probably the best remembered of the series' artists.


title: The Railway Series

text: With "The Eight Famous Engines" (1957), John T. Kenney took over the illustration of the series. His style was less colourful but more realistic than Dalby's. Kenney made use of Awdry's model engines as a reference. As a result of his commitment to realism and technical accuracy, he enjoyed a far more comfortable working relationship with Awdry, which lasted until "Gallant Old Engine" (1962), when Kenney's eyesight began to fail him.


title: The Railway Series

text: The artist initially chosen to replace him was the Swedish artist Gunvor Edwards. She began illustrating "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine", but felt unsuited to the work. She was assisted for that volume by her husband Peter, who effectively took over from then on. Both artists retained credit for the work, and the "Edwards era" lasted until Wilbert Awdry's last volume, "Tramway Engines". The style used in these volumes was still essentially realistic, but had something of an impressionistic feel.


title: The Railway Series

text: When Christopher Awdry took over as author of the series in 1983, the publisher was keen to find an illustrator who would provide work that had the gem-like appeal of Dalby's pictures, but also had the realism of Kenney and Edwards' artwork. The artist chosen was Clive Spong. He illustrated all of Christopher Awdry's books, a greater number than any other artist working on "The Railway Series". He also produced illustrations for a number of spin-off stories written by the Awdrys, and his artwork was used in "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways".


title: The Railway Series

text: The books were produced in an unusual landscape format. Each one was around 60 pages long, 30 of which would be text and 30 illustrations. This format, coupled with the smaller size of each book, makes them attractive to small children. The books were each divided into four stories (with the exception of "Henry the Green Engine", which was divided into five).


title: The Railway Series

text: Each book from "Thomas the Tank Engine" onwards opened with a foreword. This would act as a brief introduction to the book, its characters or its themes. They were written as a letter, usually to the readers (addressed as "Dear Friends") but sometimes to individual children who had played some part in the story's creation. The foreword to "Thomas the Tank Engine" was a letter to Christopher Awdry. This section would often advertise real railways or acknowledge the assistance of people or organisations. The foreword to "The Little Old Engine" is unique in acknowledging the fact that Skarloey (and, by implication, the entirety of "The Railway Series") is fictional.


title: The Railway Series

text: The unusual shape of the books made them instantly recognisable. However, it did prompt complaints from booksellers that they were difficult to display, and even that they could easily be shoplifted. Nonetheless, the format was imitated by publishers Ian Allan for their Sammy the Shunter and Chuffalong books.


title: The Railway Series

text: Unusually for children's books of the austerity period, "The Railway Series" was printed in full colour from the start, which is cited by many critics as one of its major selling points in the early days.


title: The Railway Series

text: The Rev. W. Awdry received numerous letters from young fans asking questions about the engines and their railway, as well as letters concerning inconsistencies within the stories. In an effort to answer these, he began to develop a specific setting for the books. On a visit to the Isle of Man, he discovered that the bishop there is known as the Bishop of Sodor and Man. The "Sodor" part of the title comes from the Sudreys, but Awdry decided that a fictional island between the Isle of Man and England by that name would be an ideal setting for his stories.


title: The Railway Series

text: In partnership with his brother George (the librarian of the National Liberal Club), he gradually devised Sodor's history, geography, language, industries and even geology. The results were published in the book in 1987.


title: The Railway Series

text: The Awdrys both wrote about Sodor as if it were a real place that they visited, and that the stories were obtained first-hand. This was often "documented" in the foreword to each book. In some of W. Awdry's later books he appeared as the Thin Clergyman and was described as a writer, though his name and connections to the series were never made explicit. He was invariably accompanied by the Fat Clergyman, based on the Rev. "Teddy" Boston, who was a fellow railway enthusiast and close friend. The two Clergymen were portrayed as railway enthusiasts, and were responsible for annoying the Small Engines and discovering Duke the Lost Engine. They were often figures of fun, liable to be splashed with water or to fall through a roof.


title: The Railway Series

text: Awdry also appeared in a number of illustrations, usually as a joke on the part of the illustrator. In one illustration by John T. Kenney in "Duck and the Diesel Engine" he appears with a figure who bears a strong resemblance to C. Reginald Dalby, which Brian Sibley has suggested might be a dig at Dalby's inaccurate rendition of the character of Duck. A vicar appears in "Edward the Blue Engine" and other volumes as the owner of Trevor the Traction Engine. This may be a reference to Teddy Boston, who had himself saved a traction engine from scrap.


title: The Railway Series

text: Dalby illustrated the entire Awdry family – Wilbert, Margaret, Christopher, Veronica and Hilary – watching Percy pass through a station ("Percy runs away" in "Troublesome Engines" (p53)). This was Christopher Awdry's only appearance in an illustration, but he often described meetings with the engines in the book forewords, usually with some degree of humour.


title: The Railway Series

text: Other people associated with "The Railway Series" were also referenced. In Dalby's books, he made allusions to himself twice on store signs (Seen in "Off the Rails" and "Saved from Scrap") and a reference to E.T.L. Marriott, who edited "The Railway Series", in "Percy Takes the Plunge" on a "Ship Chandlers" company sign. Peter Edwards also notes that he based Gordon's face on Eric Marriot's.


title: The Railway Series

text: The Fat Controller (originally The Fat Director in the earliest books which pre-dated the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948) was a fictional character. The Thin Controller, in charge of the narrow-gauge trains in the books was based on Mr Edward Thomas, the manager of the Talyllyn Railway in its last years before enthusiasts took it over in 1951.


title: The Railway Series

text: A number of the stories are based on articles which appeared in railway enthusiast publications of the period. The monthly "Railway Magazine" was a long-running enthusiasts' companion and the origins of several stories can be recognised. The railway books written by C. Hamilton Ellis, were another source.


title: The Railway Series

text: Developments on British Railways were often mirrored, satirised and even attacked in "The Railway Series". The book "Troublesome Engines" (1950), for example, dealt with industrial disputes on British Railways. As the series went on, comparisons with the real railways of Britain became more explicit, with engines and locations of British Railways (always known as "The Other Railway") making appearances in major or cameo roles.


title: The Railway Series

text: The most obvious theme relating to British Railways was the decline of steam locomotion and its replacement with diesels. The first real instance of this was in the book "Duck and the Diesel Engine" (1958) in which an unpleasant Diesel shunter arrives, causes trouble and is sent away. This theme may have been visited again in "The Twin Engines" (1960), in which an engine is ordered from Scotland, and two arrive (Donald and Douglas), implying the other went to Sodor with his brother to avoid being scrapped. The 1963 volume "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine" explained that steam engines were actually being scrapped to make way for these diesels, and again featured a diesel getting his comeuppance. The book "Enterprising Engines" was published in 1968, the year when steam finally disappeared from British Railways, and was the most aggressive towards dieselisation and Dr Beeching's modernisation plan. It features yet another arrogant diesel who is sent away, an additional one who stays on the Island of Sodor, a visit by the real Flying Scotsman locomotive, a steam engine, Oliver, making a daring escape to Sodor, and Sir Topham Hatt making a declaration that the steam engines of his railway will still be in service.


title: The Railway Series

text: Thereafter, the books were less critical towards BR. Indeed, by the time of Christopher Awdry's 1984 book "James and the Diesel Engines", the series was acknowledging that diesels could, in fact, be useful.


title: The Railway Series

text: W. Awdry used the books to promote steam railways in the UK. The Skarloey Railway was based on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales where Awdry volunteered. The Skarloey books included a promotion for the Talyllyn Railway, either in the stories themselves, or in a footnote or the foreword. Many illustrations in the books depict recognisable locations on the Talyllyn Railway, and incidents and mishaps recorded by Tom Rolt in his book "Railway Adventure" were adapted for Skarloey stories.


title: The Railway Series

text: From the 1980s onwards, the Awdrys permitted the Talyllyn Railway to repaint one of their engines in the guise of its Skarloey Railway "twin". The first engine to receive this treatment was No. 3, Sir Haydn, repainted to resemble the character Sir Handel. The second was No. 4, Edward Thomas, which became Peter Sam. In 2006 No. 6, Douglas ran in the guise of Duncan. As well as paint schemes and names taken from the books' artwork, these locomotives are fitted with fibreglass "faces". These characters' appearances have been written into "The Railway Series" by Christopher Awdry in the form of visits by the fictional engines to the Talyllyn Railway.


title: The Railway Series

text: Two other railways on Sodor are based on real railways: The Culdee Fell Railway (usually known as the Mountain Railway) is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway, also in Wales, and the Arlesdale Railway is based on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in Cumbria. Some other lines on Sodor are heavily inspired by real lines. The Mid Sodor Railway acknowledges the Ffestiniog and Corris Railway and the Little Western bears a resemblance to the South Devon Railway.


title: The Railway Series

text: From "Duck and the Diesel Engine" onwards, a number of real engines and railways were explicitly featured. Flying Scotsman, City of Truro, Stepney and Wilbert were all real locomotives that appeared in "The Railway Series", the latter two having books dedicated to them: "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine" and "Wilbert the Forest Engine". Wilbert's appearance was of particular significance at the locomotive was named in tribute to W. Awdry, the president of the Dean Forest Railway at the time. Christopher Awdry wrote "Wilbert the Forest Engine" in gratitude.


title: The Railway Series

text: In "Thomas and the Great Railway Show" (1991) Thomas visited the National Railway Museum in York, and several of the museum's locomotives were featured. At the end of this book, Thomas is made an honorary member of the National Collection. This was mirrored by the real life inclusion of "The Railway Series" in the National Railway Museum's library of railway books in recognition of their influence on railway preservation.


title: The Railway Series

text: "Thomas and Victoria" (2007) focuses on the rescue and restoration of a coach. "Victoria" was rescued by the Fat Controller from an orchard and restored at Crovan's Gate works. She then became part of the vintage train, working with Toby and Henrietta. The formation of a vintage train is based on the activities by the Furness Railway Trust.


title: The Railway Series

text: The series has featured numerous characters, both railway-based and otherwise. Some of the more notable ones are:


title: The Railway Series

text: Satirical magazine "Private Eye" produced a book called "Thomas the Privatised Tank Engine", written in the style of "The Railway Series". The stories were strongly critical of private railway companies and the Government of John Major, and covered subjects such as the Channel Tunnel, London Underground, transport of radioactive waste and the perceived dangerous state of the railways.


title: The Railway Series

text: Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to produce a musical television series based on "The Railway Series", but Awdry refused to give him the control he wanted. Lloyd Webber would go on to compose the 1984 musical "Starlight Express", and create The Really Useful Group, a name inspired by the catchphrase "Really Useful Engines".


title: The Railway Series

text: There have been three adaptations of the series produced. The first was an unsuccessful pilot in 1953, which was filmed live and had a number of errors. Around three decades later came the "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" series, which premiered in 1984 and concluded in 2021. This was followed by "", a spin-off of the previous series which uses 2D animation and a more cartoony style.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In chemistry, resonance, also called mesomerism, is a way of describing bonding in certain molecules or polyatomic ions by the combination of several contributing structures (or "forms", also variously known as "resonance structures" or "canonical structures") into a resonance hybrid (or "hybrid structure") in valence bond theory. It has particular value for analyzing delocalized electrons where the bonding cannot be expressed by one single Lewis structure.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Under the framework of valence bond theory, resonance is an extension of the idea that the bonding in a chemical species can be described by a Lewis structure. For many chemical species, a single Lewis structure, consisting of atoms obeying the octet rule, possibly bearing formal charges, and connected by bonds of positive integer order, is sufficient for describing the chemical bonding and rationalizing experimentally determined molecular properties like bond lengths, angles, and dipole moment. However, in some cases, more than one Lewis structure could be drawn, and experimental properties are inconsistent with any one structure. In order to address this type of situation, several contributing structures are considered together as an average, and the molecule is said to be represented by a resonance hybrid in which several Lewis structures are used collectively to describe its true structure. For instance, in NO, nitrite anion, the two N–O bond lengths are equal, even though no single Lewis structure has two N–O bonds with the same formal bond order. However, its measured structure is consistent with a description as a resonance hybrid of the two major contributing structures shown above: it has two "equal" N–O bonds of 125 pm, intermediate in length between a typical N–O single bond (145 pm in hydroxylamine, HN–OH) and N–O double bond (115 pm in nitronium ion, [O=N=O]). According to the contributing structures, each N–O bond is an average of a formal single and formal double bond, leading to a true bond order of 1.5. By virtue of this averaging, the Lewis description of the bonding in NO is reconciled with the experimental fact that the anion has equivalent N–O bonds.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The resonance hybrid represents the actual molecule as the "average" of the contributing structures, with bond lengths and partial charges taking on intermediate values compared to those expected for the individual Lewis structures of the contributors, were they to exist as "real" chemical entities. The contributing structures differ only in the "formal" apportionment of electrons to the atoms, and not in the actual physically and chemically significant electron or spin density. While contributing structures may differ in formal bond orders and in formal charge assignments, all contributing structures must have the same number of valence electrons and the same spin multiplicity.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Because electron delocalization lowers the potential energy of a system, any species represented by a resonance hybrid is more stable than any of the (hypothetical) contributing structures. Electron delocalization stabilizes a molecule because the electrons are more evenly spread out over the molecule, decreasing electron-electron repulsion. The difference in potential energy between the actual species and the (computed) energy of the contributing structure with the lowest potential energy is called the "resonance energy" or delocalization energy. The magnitude of the resonance energy depends on assumptions made about the hypothetical "non-stabilized" species and the computational methods used and does not represent a measurable physical quantity, although comparisons of resonance energies computed under similar assumptions and conditions may be chemically meaningful.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Molecules with an extended π system such as linear polyenes and polyaromatic compounds are well described by resonance hybrids as well as by delocalised orbitals in molecular orbital theory.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Resonance is to be distinguished from isomerism. Isomers are molecules with the same chemical formula but are distinct chemical species with different arrangements of atomic nuclei in space. Resonance contributors of a molecule, on the other hand, can only differ in the way electrons are formally assigned to atoms in the Lewis structure "depictions" of the molecule. Specifically, when a molecular structure is said to be represented by a resonance hybrid, it does "not" mean that electrons of the molecule are "resonating" or shifting back and forth between several sets of positions, each one represented by a Lewis structure. Rather, it means that the set of contributing structures "represents an intermediate structure" (a weighted average of the contributors), with a single, well-defined geometry and distribution of electrons. It is incorrect to regard resonance hybrids as rapidly interconverting isomers, even though the term "resonance" might evoke such an image. (As described below, the term "resonance" originated as a classical physics analogy for a quantum mechanical phenomenon, so it should not be construed too literally.) Symbolically, the double headed arrow <chem>A<->B</chem> is used to indicate that A and B are contributing forms of a single chemical species (as opposed to an equilibrium arrow, e.g., <chem>A <=> B</chem>; see below for details on usage).


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: A non-chemical analogy is illustrative: one can describe the characteristics of a real animal, the narwhal, in terms of the characteristics of two mythical creatures: the unicorn, a creature with a single horn on its head, and the leviathan, a large, whale-like creature. The narwhal is not a creature that goes back and forth between being a unicorn and being a leviathan, nor do the unicorn and leviathan have any physical existence outside the collective human imagination. Nevertheless, describing the narwhal in terms of these imaginary creatures provides a reasonably good description of its physical characteristics.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Due to confusion with the physical meaning of the word resonance, as no entities actually physically "resonate", it has been suggested that the term resonance be abandoned in favor of "delocalization" and resonance energy abandoned in favor of "delocalization energy". A resonance structure becomes a "contributing structure" and the resonance hybrid becomes the "hybrid structure". The double headed arrows would be replaced by commas to illustrate a set of structures, as arrows of any type may suggest to beginning students that a chemical change is taking place.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In diagrams, contributing structures are typically separated by double-headed arrows (↔). The arrow should not be confused with the right and left pointing "equilibrium arrow" (). All structures together may be enclosed in large square brackets, to indicate they picture one single molecule or ion, not different species in a chemical equilibrium.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Alternatively to the use of contributing structures in diagrams, a hybrid structure can be used. In a hybrid structure, pi bonds that are involved in resonance are usually pictured as curves


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The concept first appeared in 1899 in Johannes Thiele's "Partial Valence Hypothesis" to explain the unusual stability of benzene which would not be expected from August Kekulé's structure proposed in 1865 with alternating single and double bonds. Benzene undergoes substitution reactions, rather than addition reactions as typical for alkenes. He proposed that the carbon-carbon bond in benzene is intermediate of a single and double bond.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The resonance proposal also helped explain the number of isomers of benzene derivatives. For example, Kekulé's structure would predict "four" dibromobenzene isomers, including two ortho isomers with the brominated carbon atoms joined by either a single or a double bond. In reality there are only three dibromobenzene isomers and only one is ortho, in agreement with the idea that there is only one type of carbon-carbon bond, intermediate between a single and a double bond.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The mechanism of resonance was introduced into quantum mechanics by Werner Heisenberg in 1926 in a discussion of the quantum states of the helium atom. He compared the structure of the helium atom with the classical system of resonating coupled harmonic oscillators. In the classical system, the coupling produces two modes, one of which is lower in frequency than either of the uncoupled vibrations; quantum mechanically, this lower frequency is interpreted as a lower energy. Linus Pauling used this mechanism to explain the partial valence of molecules in 1928, and developed it further in a series of papers in 1931-1933. The alternative term "mesomerism" popular in German and French publications with the same meaning was introduced by C. K. Ingold in 1938, but did not catch on in the English literature. The current concept of mesomeric effect has taken on a related but different meaning. The double headed arrow was introduced by the German chemist Fritz Arndt who preferred the German phrase "zwischenstufe" or "intermediate stage".


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In the Soviet Union, resonance theory – especially as developed by Pauling – was attacked in the early 1950s as being contrary to the Marxist principles of dialectical materialism, and in June 1951 the Soviet Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Alexander Nesmeyanov convened a conference on the chemical structure of organic compounds, attended by 400 physicists, chemists, and philosophers, where "the pseudo-scientific essence of the theory of resonance was exposed and unmasked".


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: One contributing structure may resemble the actual molecule more than another (in the sense of energy and stability). Structures with a low value of potential energy are more stable than those with high values and resemble the actual structure more. The most stable contributing structures are called "major contributors". Energetically unfavourable and therefore less favorable structures are "minor contributors". With rules listed in rough order of diminishing importance, major contributors are generally structures that


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: A maximum of eight valence electrons is strict for the Period 2 elements Be, B, C, N, O, and F, as is a maximum of two for H and He and effectively for Li as well. The issue of expansion of the valence shell of third period and heavier main group elements is controversial. A Lewis structure in which a central atom has a valence electron count greater than eight traditionally implies the participation of d orbitals in bonding. However, the consensus opinion is that while they may make a marginal contribution, the participation of d orbitals is unimportant, and the bonding of so-called hypervalent molecules are, for the most part, better explained by charge-separated contributing forms that depict three-center four-electron bonding. Nevertheless, by tradition, expanded octet structures are still commonly drawn for functional groups like sulfoxides, sulfones, and phosphorus ylides, for example. Regarded as a formalism that does not necessarily reflect the true electronic structure, such depictions are preferred by the IUPAC over structures featuring partial bonds, charge separation, or dative bonds.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Equivalent contributors contribute equally to the actual structure, while the importance of nonequivalent contributors is determined by the extent to which they conform to the properties listed above. A larger number of significant contributing structures and a more voluminous space available for delocalized electrons lead to stabilization (lowering of the energy) of the molecule.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In benzene the two cyclohexatriene "Kekulé" structures, first proposed by Kekulé, are taken together as contributing structures to represent the total structure. In the hybrid structure on the right, the dashed hexagon replaces three double bonds, and represents six electrons in a set of three molecular orbitals of π symmetry, with a nodal plane in the plane of the molecule.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In furan a lone pair of the oxygen atom interacts with the π orbitals of the carbon atoms. The curved arrows depict the permutation of delocalized π electrons, which results in different contributors.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The ozone molecule is represented by two contributing structures. In reality the two terminal oxygen atoms are equivalent and the hybrid structure is drawn on the right with a charge of − on both oxygen atoms and partial double bonds with a full and dashed line and bond order .


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: For hypervalent molecules, the rationalization described above can be applied to generate contributing structures to explain the bonding in such molecules. Shown below are the contributing structures of a 3c-4e bond in xenon difluoride.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The allyl cation has two contributing structures with a positive charge on the terminal carbon atoms. In the hybrid structure their charge is +. The full positive charge can also be depicted as delocalized among three carbon atoms.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The diborane molecule is described by contributing structures, each with electron-deficiency on different atoms. This reduces the electron-deficiency on each atom and stabilizes the molecule. Below are the contributing structures of an individual 3c-2e bond in diborane.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Often, reactive intermediates such as carbocations and free radicals have more delocalized structure than their parent reactants, giving rise to unexpected products. The classical example is allylic rearrangement. When 1 mole of HCl adds to 1 mole of 1,3-butadiene, in addition to the ordinarily expected product 3-chloro-1-butene, we also find 1-chloro-2-butene. Isotope labelling experiments have shown that what happens here is that the additional double bond shifts from 1,2 position to 2,3 position in some of the product. This and other evidence (such as NMR in superacid solutions) shows that the intermediate carbocation must have a highly delocalized structure, different from its mostly classical (delocalization exists but is small) parent molecule. This cation (an allylic cation) can be represented using resonance, as shown above.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: This observation of greater delocalization in less stable molecules is quite general. The excited states of conjugated dienes are stabilised more by conjugation than their ground states, causing them to become organic dyes.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: A well-studied example of delocalization that does not involve π electrons (hyperconjugation) can be observed in the non-classical 2-Norbornyl cation. Another example is methanium (). These can be viewed as containing three-center two-electron bonds and are represented either by contributing structures involving rearrangement of σ electrons or by a special notation, a Y that has the three nuclei at its three points.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Delocalized electrons are important for several reasons; a major one is that an expected chemical reaction may not occur because the electrons delocalize to a more stable configuration, resulting in a reaction that happens at a different location. An example is the Friedel–Crafts alkylation of benzene with 1-chloro-2-methylpropane; the carbocation rearranges to a "tert"-butyl group stabilized by hyperconjugation, a particular form of delocalization. Delocalization leads to lengthening of wavelength of electron therefore decreases the energy.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Comparing the two contributing structures of benzene, all single and double bonds are interchanged. Bond lengths can be measured, for example using X-ray diffraction. The average length of a C–C single bond is 154 pm; that of a C=C double bond is 133 pm. In localized cyclohexatriene, the carbon–carbon bonds should be alternating 154 and 133 pm. Instead, all carbon–carbon bonds in benzene are found to be about 139 pm, a bond length intermediate between single and double bond. This mixed single and double bond (or triple bond) character is typical for all molecules in which bonds have a different bond order in different contributing structures. Bond lengths can be compared using bond orders. For example, in cyclohexane the bond order is 1 while that in benzene is 1 + (3 ÷ 6) = . Consequently, benzene has more double bond character and hence has a shorter bond length than cyclohexane.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Resonance (or delocalization) energy is the amount of energy needed to convert the true delocalized structure into that of the most stable contributing structure. The "empirical resonance energy" can be estimated by comparing the enthalpy change of hydrogenation of the real substance with that estimated for the contributing structure.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The complete hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexane via 1,3-cyclohexadiene and cyclohexene is exothermic; 1 mole of benzene delivers 208.4 kJ (49.8 kcal).


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Hydrogenation of one mole of double bonds delivers 119.7 kJ (28.6 kcal), as can be deduced from the last step, the hydrogenation of cyclohexene. In benzene, however, 23.4 kJ (5.6 kcal) are needed to hydrogenate one mole of double bonds. The difference, being 143.1 kJ (34.2 kcal), is the empirical resonance energy of benzene. Because 1,3-cyclohexadiene also has a small delocalization energy (7.6 kJ or 1.8 kcal/mol) the net resonance energy, relative to the localized cyclohexatriene, is a bit higher: 151 kJ or 36 kcal/mol.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: This measured resonance energy is also the difference between the hydrogenation energy of three 'non-resonance' double bonds and the measured hydrogenation energy:


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Resonance has a deeper significance in the mathematical formalism of valence bond theory (VB). Quantum mechanics requires that the wavefunction of a molecule obey its observed symmetry. If a single contributing structure does not achieve this, resonance is invoked.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: For example, in benzene, valence bond theory begins with the two Kekulé structures which do not individually possess the sixfold symmetry of the real molecule. The theory constructs the actual wave function as a linear superposition of the wave functions representing the two structures. As both Kekulé structures have equal energy, they are equal contributors to the overall structure – the superposition is an equally weighted average, or a 1:1 linear combination of the two in the case of benzene. The symmetric combination gives the ground state, while the antisymmetric combination gives the first excited state, as shown.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In general, the superposition is written with undetermined coefficients, which are then variationally optimized to find the lowest possible energy for the given set of basis wave functions. When more contributing structures are included, the molecular wave function becomes more accurate and more excited states can be derived from different combinations of the contributing structures.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In molecular orbital theory, the main alternative to valence bond theory, the molecular orbitals (MOs) are approximated as sums of all the atomic orbitals (AOs) on all the atoms; there are as many MOs as AOs. Each AO has a "weighting" coefficient "c" that indicates the AO's contribution to a particular MO. For example, in benzene, the MO model gives us 6 π MOs which are combinations of the 2p AOs on each of the 6 C atoms. Thus, each π MO is delocalized over the whole benzene molecule and any electron "occupying" an MO will be delocalized over the whole molecule. This MO interpretation has inspired the picture of the benzene ring as a hexagon with a circle inside. When describing benzene, the VB concept of localized σ bonds and the MO concept of delocalized π orbitals are frequently combined in elementary chemistry courses.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The contributing structures in the VB model are particularly useful in predicting the effect of substituents on π systems such as benzene. They lead to the models of contributing structures for an electron-withdrawing group and electron-releasing group on benzene. The utility of MO theory is that a quantitative indication of the charge from the π system on an atom can be obtained from the squares of the "weighting" coefficient "c" on atom C. Charge "q" ≈ "c". The reason for squaring the coefficient is that if an electron is described by an AO, then the square of the AO gives the electron density. The AOs are adjusted (normalized) so that AO = 1, and "q" ≈ ("c"AO) ≈ "c". In benzene, "q" = 1 on each C atom. With an electron-withdrawing group "q" < 1 on the "ortho" and "para" C atoms and "q" > 1 for an electron-releasing group.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: Weighting of the contributing structures in terms of their contribution to the overall structure can be calculated in multiple ways, using ""Ab initio"" methods derived from Valence Bond theory, or else from the Natural Bond Orbitals (NBO) approaches of Weinhold NBO5 , or finally from empirical calculations based on the Hückel method. A Hückel method-based software for teaching resonance is available on the HuLiS Web site.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: In the case of ions it is common to speak about delocalized charge (charge delocalization). An example of delocalized charge in ions can be found in the carboxylate group, wherein the negative charge is centered equally on the two oxygen atoms. Charge delocalization in anions is an important factor determining their reactivity (generally: the higher the extent of delocalization the lower the reactivity) and, specifically, the acid strength of their conjugate acids. As a general rule, the better delocalized is the charge in an anion the stronger is its conjugate acid. For example, the negative charge in perchlorate anion () is evenly distributed among the symmetrically oriented oxygen atoms (and a part of it is also kept by the central chlorine atom). This excellent charge delocalization combined with the high number of oxygen atoms (four) and high electronegativity of the central chlorine atom leads to perchloric acid being one of the strongest known acids with a p"K" value of −10.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: The extent of charge delocalization in an anion can be quantitatively expressed via the WAPS (weighted average positive sigma) parameter parameter and an analogous WANS (weighted average negative sigma) parameter is used for cations.


title: Resonance (chemistry)

text: WAPS and WANS values are given in e/Å. Larger values indicate more localized charge in the corresponding ion.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (, , "Tie Me!") is a 1989 Spanish dark romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Victoria Abril and Antonio Banderas alongside Loles Léon, Francisco Rabal, Julieta Serrano, María Barranco, and Rossy de Palma. The plot follows a recently released psychiatric patient who kidnaps an actress in order to make her fall in love with him. He believes his destiny is to marry her and father her children.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: The film was highly successful with both critics and audiences in Spain. Its United States release was entangled in controversy, instrumental in the implementation by the MPAA of a new rating category, NC-17, for films of an explicit nature that were previously unfairly regarded as pornographic because of the X rating.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: Ricky, a 23-year-old psychiatric patient, has been deemed cured and is released from a mental institution. Until then, he has been the lover of the woman director of the hospital. An orphan, free, and alone, his goal is to have a normal life with Marina Osorio, an actress, former porn star, and recovering drug addict, whom he once slept with during an escape from the asylum.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: Ricky discovers Marina's whereabouts from a film journal announcement of the start of her next film. He goes to the studio, where Marina is in her last day at work filming "The Midnight Phantom", a Euro-horror film about a hideously mutilated, masked muscleman in love with Marina's character. The film is directed by Máximo Espejo, an old film director confined to a wheelchair after a stroke. Máximo is a gentle mentor to Marina, and threatens to throw out a journalist who mentions the words "porn" and "junkie" in Marina's presence. His protection of the actress is not completely innocent, since he is sexually attracted to Marina, enjoying what could be his last experience of directing a sexy female lead.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: When Ricky comes to the set, he steals a few necessary items including the keys to Marina's apartment, and before long, he is an unwelcome presence in her life. Ricky, with a long-haired wig, does a handstand to try to capture her attention, but Marina does not remember him and quickly dismisses him.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: After filming the last scene, Marina goes home to change for the post-shoot party. Ricky follows her to her apartment. When she answers the door, Ricky forces his way in. He grabs her and headbutts her to silence her when she screams; he tapes her mouth and binds her with rope. Marina wakes with a terrible toothache, which normal painkillers do not relieve, as she is addicted to stronger drugs. Ricky explains that he has captured her, so that when she gets to know him better, she will fall in love and they will get married and have children. Marina declares she will never love him, understandably enraged at being handcuffed, gagged and lashed to the bed. However, Ricky remains determined to win her heart.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: Marina is shocked and in pain, and eventually persuades Ricky to take her to a doctor who can give her the necessary painkillers. Ricky barely leaves her alone with the doctor, and she is unable to communicate her plight. They cannot obtain the drugs in the pharmacy, so Ricky goes off to buy them on the black market. However, rather than paying the street price, he attacks the dealer to steal the tablets.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: During the wrap party, Marina's sister Lola, who is the assistant director of "The Midnight Phantom", steals the show with a musical number. Increasingly worried about her sister's disappearance, Lola visits Marina's apartment and leaves a note. To avoid being discovered, Ricky moves Marina to her next door neighbor's apartment, which is empty, but the owner has left his keys with Lola, so she can water his plants while he is away during the summer.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: In the street again, Ricky is spotted by the dealer who he had attacked. Ricky is then seriously beaten, robbed and left unconscious. During his absence, Marina makes a desperate but somewhat half-hearted attempt to escape from her captivity. However, when Ricky returns covered with blood and cuts, she sees his vulnerability and devotion to her, no matter how misguided. She cares for him, cleaning and sterilizing his wounds, and is suddenly struck by the realization that she has fallen in love with her captor. They make love at length and Ricky seems to be on the verge of achieving his aim. They decide to take a trip together to his native village.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: When he is about to leave to steal a car for the trip, Marina, who still considers herself his prisoner, tells him to keep her tied up so that she will not try to escape. However, in Ricky's absence, Lola re-enters the apartment and discovers Marina tied up and rescues her. Marina informs her sister that she is in love with her captor. Lola is astonished to learn that Marina really no longer wants to be rescued, but once convinced, she agrees to drive Marina to Ricky's birthplace. They find him there in the ruins of his family house in a deserted village, then the three climb into Lola's car to return to the city. Lola promises Ricky she will find him a job within the week, Marina begins to cry, and they drive off together into the distance, singing like a normal family.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" marked Almodóvar's breaking-up with his longtime star, Carmen Maura, in a rift that took many years to heal. In any case, at the age of 44, Maura was too old to play the protagonist, a role that demanded a younger actress. The film was the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with Victoria Abril, whom Almodóvar had previously considered for the role of Cristal, the prostitute neighbor in "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (1984), and Candela, the model fleeing a relationship with a terrorist in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1988). Abril had a cameo role in "Law of Desire", and was already a well-established actress, identified with strong female characters.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: The male lead was played by Banderas, in his fifth and most important collaboration with Almodóvar. His role in "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" launched his career in American films. Loles Léon, a stand-up comedian, plays Marina's sassy sister Lola. She had previously appeared as the meddlesome telephonist in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown". Francisco Rabal, one of Spain's foremost actors, took the role of the film director. Almodóvar cast his own mother, Francisca Caballero, as Marina's mother. Rossy de Palma, the actress of Picassoesque appearance discovered by Almodóvar in 1986, plays the small role of the drug dealer.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: The Spanish title "¡Átame!" literally means "Tie Me Up!", while the second part of the English title, "Tie Me Down!", is presumably intended to suggest the idea of a lasting relationship. Almodóvar has consistently denied that the ropes within "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" have any links with sadomasochism. There is no erotic charge to the ropes and gags. He explained: "'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" is essentially a love story, or rather a story of how someone attempts to construct a love story in the same way as he might study for a degree: by means of effort, will power, and persistence...when you have nothing, like my main character, you have to force everything. Including love. Ricky has only (as the flamenco singers say) the night, the day, and the vitality of an animal."


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: Ricky's stated ambition is to be a good husband to Marina and a good father to their children. Indeed, the relationship between Marina and Ricky is meant, ultimately, to be a parody of how such relationships work, as if heterosexuality (and its consequence, marriage) are almost inevitably equivalent in character to the infamous Stockholm syndrome. The cords that tie us one to another become literal ropey metaphors in the film. It is a tale not of kinky sex, but of a sweeter human bondage, of loose ends tied into lover's knots.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" follows in the myth of "Beauty and the Beast" and the notion that the savagery of the Beast is, in the presence of Beauty, tamed by gentler feelings. This has been a recurrent theme in films such as "King Kong" (1933), "Tarzan the Ape Man" (1932) and "Frankenstein" (1931). This theme is also present in Spanish Literature. In the play "Life Is a Dream", by Calderon de la Barca, the main character is Segismundo, a half-man, half-beast who has been imprisoned for his whole twenty years; once released into the world, he finds that his violence is tamed by female beauty.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: The abduction narrative of "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" has some similarities with the film "The Collector" (1965), directed by William Wyler, in which a butterfly specialist abducts a young woman in order to add her to his collection. "The Collector" was adapted from the eponymous novel by John Fowles. In style, theme and plot details, however, "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" differs greatly from Wyler's film and the novel that inspired it. Bride kidnapping is also a central plot device in the Hollywood musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954).


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" combines two different film genres: romantic comedy and horror film. In spite of some dark elements, it can be described as a romantic comedy, and the director's clearest love story. Almodóvar described the film as a "romantic fairy tale". Ricky, in his violent courtship of Marina follows, in an exaggerated manner, the path of the romantic film genre like those made popular in the late 1950s by Doris Day with various male film stars: "Pillow Talk" (1959) with Rock Hudson, "Move Over, Darling" (1963) with James Garner, and "That Touch of Mink" (1962) with Cary Grant.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" is also rooted on the tradition of the horror film genre. Marina plays the lead in the horror film "The Midnight Phantom", in which she defeats the Phantom's attempt to kill her, overcoming him and thus subverting the horror film tradition of a woman as victim, in a way that parallels Marina's relationship with Ricky. While filming "The Midnight Phantom", Lola notes that the film they are working on is 'more a love story than a horror story', to which Maximo the director replies, "sometimes they're indistinguishable". "The Midnight Phantom" is not simply a film within the film: just as the girl in "The Midnight Phantom" defeats the monster, so ultimately Marina will succeed in taming Ricky. In a way, "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" is an extension of "The Midnight Phantom" and both films mix variant versions of "Beauty and the Beast" that are within the genres of horror and romance. "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" also makes reference to two horror films: "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) and "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). Máximo has a poster of the former in his editing room, and Marina watches the latter while Ricky is away.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: The soundtrack was composed by Ennio Morricone in the style of a thriller, and is reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960). Almodóvar admired Morricone's soundtracks for westerns, but found the music for "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" conventional and uninspiring, too similar to Morricone's work for the film "Frantic", and used only half of Morricone's music.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down"! prominently features two songs. The film closes with the theme "Resistire" ("I Will Resist") by Dúo Dinámico, a Spanish pop duo from the 1960s, suggesting Marina's happy resistance to Ricky's unconventional courtship. The wrap party scene breaks the hardship of the kidnapping scene. It presents Marina's sister Lola, played by Loles León, singing the bolero "Canción del Alma", a song popularized in Latin America by Alfredo Sadel.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", Almodóvar's eighth film, was completed in late 1989. Its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in early 1990, was inauspicious. The projector broke down and in the following press conference Almodóvar, whose films have not been well understood in Germany, was subjected to heavy questioning about his homosexuality, drug abuse, and the Spanishness of his film.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: Released in Spain in January 1990, "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" was an enormous success, becoming the highest-grossing domestic film of its year, reaching an audience of over a million. It had twice the audience of the most critically acclaimed Spanish film of that year, Carlos Saura's "¡Ay Carmela!", a film starring Almodóvar's former muse Carmen Maura.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: The film was generally well received by the Spanish critics. Lluis Bonet, writing in "La Vanguardia", called the film "a terrible tender love story", agreeing with the director that the best scene was that in which Marina, initially held hostage by Ricky against her will, finally asks to be tied up by him so she will not be tempted to flee from the love he has successfully provoked in her. Critic Javier Maqua in "Cinco Días" called Marina's request evidence of "the greatest intensity of love". Rosy de Palma, who plays a drug dealer in the film, explained that the film's kidnapping was not to be imitated in real life and was only justified by the "exceptional nature of the characters".


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: British critics took time to warm up to Almodóvar's films and dismissed "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!". Lawrence O'Toole of "Sight and Sound" described it as "fairly banal, schematic and essentially humorless".


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: In the United States, the film was met with opposition from rating agencies and the public due to a lengthy sex scene and two sequences in which Marina and later her sister Lola sit on the toilet to urinate. Particularly controversial was the shot of Marina in a bath tub, pleasuring herself with a scuba diver toy. "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" was entangled in a rating classification battle and was the subject of heated debate. Eventually released unrated, the film was decried by feminists and women's advocacy groups for its sadomasochist overtones and portrayal of successful female abduction and abuse. Modern audiences have criticized Almodóvar for "... condon[ing] Ricky's behavior, suggesting that it's okay to brutalize and subjugate a woman so long as one is allegedly motivated by sincere passion". On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 68% based on 31 reviews, with an average score of 6.10/10. The site's critics consensus reads: ""Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" undermines its own effectiveness with an excess of camp, but writer-director Pedro Almodóvar and an attractive cast make it all worth watching." The film grossed $4,087,361 at the North American box office.


title: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

text: There was a legal battle over the decision by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which determines film ratings in the United States, to give "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" an X rating, which was normally reserved for pornography. This marginalized its distribution and reduced its chance of box-office success. Miramax, the film's distribution company in North America, filed a lawsuit against the MPAA over the X rating. When the case came to court in New York, it gave rise to a general debate on cinema, censorship, and sexuality in the United States.