The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Sean O'Connor or, from 27 November, his successor as executive consultant, John Yorke. The first character to be introduced was (Zack Morris), a friend of Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi), followed by (Doña Croll), the mother of Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and Kim Fox-Hubbard (Tameka Empson). (Seraphina Beh), (Sydney Craven) and (Alex James-Phelps), three new teenage characters, were also introduced in January as well as their school teacher (Cerith Flinn) and (Simon Williams), the chairman of Weyland & Co. The following month, (Martin Anzor), a student with whom Michelle Fowler (Jenna Russell) had an illegal relationship in the United States, and (Piotr Baumann), a love interest for Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), made their first appearances. (Eddie Eyre), the son of James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde) and love interest for Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), and , a friend of Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), both debuted in March. April sees the first appearance of (Lee Ryan), a friend of the Carter's. (Christopher Timothy) and (Maggie Steed), an elderly couple, made their first appearances in May. The following month, (Daniel Casey), a love interest for Michelle, the Taylor family − comprising (Lorraine Stanley), (Danny Walters), (Clair Norris), (Tom Jacobs) and (Alfie Jacobs) − and (Pernille Broch), a nanny hired by Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), were introduced. (George Maguire), a market trader, debuted in July. , the daughter of Martin Fowler (James Bye) and Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner), was born in October. (Patrick Bergin) arrived in November, while (Hannah Spearritt), Karen's sister, and , the daughter of Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) and Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell), made their first appearance in December.