Yolande Trueman

Yolande arrives in Albert Square as Patrick Trueman's (Rudolph Walker) holiday romance. They had met during Patrick's visit to his homeland of Trinidad, where the middle-aged couple enjoyed a steamy affair, much the contrary to Yolande's unhappy and stolid marriage to a strict, uptight, and religious Victor (Ben Thomas), whose traditional beliefs objectify women to the purpose of bearing and raising children. Concerned that all Patrick wants is a casual fling, Yolande prepares to return to Trinidad, but is persuaded to stay after Patrick admits he has fallen in love with her. Victor arrives in Walford to take Yolande home, and gives Patrick £10000 to relinquish and allow him to bring his wife back to Trinidad unhindered. Although tempted, he ultimately refuses, and goes to return the money to Victor; however, Yolande spots Patrick with the money in his hand and mistakenly believes that he has accepted Victor’s offer. She leaves for Trinidad alone, taking the £10,000 with her, but returns to Walford upon Victor’s arrival back in Trinidad, settling down and sharing the money with Patrick.

Yolande and Patrick eventually marry, fostering a little girl, Katie (Parhys-Jai Cato). They forge a small business empire in Walford, owning and managing the Minute Mart convenience store, the square’s bed and breakfast and eventually Trueman's Motors. Yolande strikes up a feud with Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) when she starts to become involved in Trueman's Motors, in competition with Pat’s own car dealership. Their rivalry intensifies when Pat begins an affair with Patrick, with their Minute Mart employee Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) catching them kissing and telling Yolande, causing a brawl in the Queen Victoria public house. Yolande goes to a nightclub to seek revenge in kind on Patrick, and propositions Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels); he reciprocates, and the pair arrange to go back to his house for sex, but she has second thoughts and backs out. The next day, she confesses to Patrick that she almost had sex with another man, and, albeit reluctantly, decides to give Patrick another chance.

Patrick accidentally turns off the chiller cabinet at the Minute Mart and sells the unrefrigerated food, giving a number of customers food poisoning. Complaints result in a visit from a Minute Mart head office inspector, who is so impressed with Yolande's efforts to clean up the shop that she is subsequently offered a job at the Minute Mart HQ in Birmingham. Yolande accepts with delight and busily prepares for the move, despite Patrick wanting her to stay in Walford. Yolande leaves Walford and, as he waves her off at the tube station, Patrick tells her that once the house is sold he will join her in Birmingham; however, the plan never comes to fruition, and Patrick later receives their divorce papers.

Nine years later, Yolande returns when she attends Denise Fox's (Diane Parish) disciplinary hearing at the Minute Mart HQ, attempting to control the meeting to ensure Denise keeps her job. An argument ensues when Harry Beckett (Mark Bagnall) tells Denise that she needs to go on a training course; however, Denise refuses and quits her job while Yolande says that if anyone needs to go on a course, it should be Harry. Yolande goes to see her former husband Patrick for his birthday, where they dance and reminisce.

In March 2023, Patrick announces that he is leaving Walford to try and locate Yolande, in an attempt to win her back. Months later, Yolande returns to the square after being kicked out of her ex-partner’s property in Birmingham after he found out about Patrick and Yolande's secret affair. Yolande asks Patrick if she can stay with him, but he is reluctant so Yolande decides to leave. Patrick changes his mind and convinces Yolande to remain in Walford.

Yolande was introduced as the love interest of Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker, pictured)

Yolande Duke was created as a love interest for Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) in 2003. Actress Angela Wynter was cast in the role. Wynter and Walker had previously worked together when appearing in the play Meetings, the former's first acting job.[2] The original character outline for Yolande describes her as "bubbly and positive".[1] Wynter then worked to develop the character and make her more well-rounded.[1] She drew inspiration from her sister Merlene, who had recently died, and incorporated her sister's "gregarious" personality.[2] Yolande is characterised as "a thoughtful, religious woman".[3] She has also been described as assertive with a sassy attitude.[4] Wynter opined that her character is "vulnerable, but she's principled" and has a sense of "toughness".[1] She added that the character provided a representation of woman in the community - "aunts, sisters and mothers".[5] The actress felt a responsibility in portraying her character.[5] The character's backstory states that she experienced a "holiday romance" with Patrick when visiting Trinidad, despite being married to Victor Duke (Ben Thomas).[6]

The character's most notable story is her relationship with Patrick. Yolande's character profile names her as "the best thing that's happened to Patrick".[3] Wynter explained that Yolande and Patrick are well-suited as they have the "same principles", which Patrick does not "stray too far away from" to avoid upsetting Yolande.[1] The pair run a bed and breakfast (B&B) together on the Square.[1] In 2004, the pair were married in a small on-screen ceremony, followed by a reception in the local pub, The Queen Victoria. Wynter explained that as they have both been married before, they opt for a small ceremony. She enjoyed filming the wedding as it was a day with good weather.[1] The show hired a choir as part of the wedding. Wynter liked this element of the wedding the most and found it "really emotional".[1] She admitted that she would prefer a bigger wedding herself and would not want a reception in the Vic.[1]

In a 2004 interview with the show's publicity team, Wynter expressed a desire to explore Yolande's interactions with children and for more guests in the B&B.[1] In February 2004, it was announced that the Truemans would be at the focus of a fostering storyline as part of the BBC's Taking Care season, which explores different childhoods.[7] In the show, Patrick and Yolande meet a 14-year-old boy, JJ (Daniel Anthony), and support him after learning he is a runaway. The four-episode story arc concludes as the pair then decide to foster children.[7] Walker thought fostering was a reflection of the couple's relationship and believed they wanted to do it because they do not have their own children. He added that the story had the potential to "run and run".[8]

In 2007, executive producer Diederick Santer used Patrick and Yolande to cover a storyline about racism that, according to the producer, was inspired by the 2007 Celebrity Big Brother race row, sparked by the racist bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty by UK celebrity Jade Goody. In the storyline, the characters Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) used racist phrases to the Truemans, and their reaction to the insults were explored. Santer commented, "The Celebrity Big Brother race row kicked off as I took charge of my first scripts. I thought it was fascinating because it showed there was a real need for a debate about race in Britain. [Big Brother] didn’t do it particularly well, so I thought it could be something EastEnders should do. Our stuff won’t be overly moralistic or preachy but it will tackle this serious issue head on."[9]

In June 2008, it was announced that the character would be written out of the series after producers opted not to renew Wynter's contract.[5] They made the decision after struggling to create new stories for the characters. Wynter was disappointed with the reasoning as she felt that "you can always write stories for people to act".[5] Speaking to Jasmine Dotiwala from The Voice, Wynter theorised that her character may have actually been written out due to the show exceeding their black and Asian character 'quota'.[4] The actress was proud of her work as Yolande and thought she was "a part of the fabric of EastEnders".[5] She recognised that Patrick and Yolande's marriage was "the only representation of a black union on British TV", which she was proud of.[4] Wynter confirmed that Yolande would not be killed off and hoped that Patrick would not reignite his affair with Pat Butcher (Pam St. Clement).[4] Walker was also disappointed with Yolande's departure, but thankful for her stint on the show.[10]

In 2017, Wynter reprised her role as Yolande for a single episode. She appears in episode 5461, first broadcast on 20 March 2017. Her return had not been announced prior to transmission and was a surprise for the audience. In the narrative, Yolande is involved in a disciplinary meeting for Denise Fox (Diane Parish).[11] The character's second return was announced on 20 June 2017 and she appears in episode 5517, first broadcast on 26 June. Yolande features in a story exploring Derek Harkinson's (Ian Lavender) backstory.[12] Writers also included a scene between Yolande and Patrick where they dance on his birthday. Grace Morris from What to Watch felt they had obvious feelings for each other.[13]

A return for the character was hinted in scenes broadcast in March 2023 when Patrick decides to seek a reunion with Yolande.[13] Wynter's return was then confirmed on 29 June 2023. The actress expressed her excitement at reprising the role and felt welcomed back to set.[14] She was excited to work opposite Walker again and compared it to "heaven".[15] Chris Clenshaw, the show's executive producer, spoke of his delight at Wynter's return, calling her "immensely talented".[14] He wanted to reunite Yolande with Patrick and believed their reunion was "important" for them.[14] The character returns in episode 6745, originally broadcast on 7 August 2023.[16]

Since her original departure, Yolande has been living in Birmingham with her partner, Anton. Wynter explained that Yolande felt she was moving onto "greener pastures", but has now recognised that Patrick is "the true love of her life" as they love each other "unconditionally".[15] Yolande returns to Walford after her relationship ends and she decides to revisit her relationship with Patrick. This shocks him and he worries about the reunion. Wynter recognised that Patrick "loves her without condition", but his hesitancy surprises her.[15] Writers also revisited the friendship between Yolande and Denise, which Wynter enjoyed. She acknowledged that they have a mutual respect as Denise understands that Yolande is not using Patrick and genuinely loves him, as he does her.[15] The actress was excited to explore her character's position as an older woman in the Trueman-Fox family unit and the wider community. Additionally, Wynter was looking forward to showcasing the "gentleness" and "fragility" in her character's relationship with Patrick.[15] She commented, "It's nice to show an older, loving and sometimes sassy couple growing older together."[15]