# Rob Minter > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rob_Minter > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rob_Minter.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Minter > Source revision: 1351475172 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Fictional character Soap opera character Rob Minter EastEnders character Portrayed by Stuart Laing Duration 2006–2007 First appearance Episode 3174 21 June 2006 (2006-06-21) Last appearance Episode 3388 25 June 2007 (2007-06-25) Created by Kate Harwood In-universe information Occupation Businessman Wife May Wright (until 2007) Daughters Summer Swann **Rob Minter** is a fictional character from the [BBC](/source/BBC) [soap opera](/source/Soap_opera) *[EastEnders](/source/EastEnders)*, played by [Stuart Laing](/source/Stuart_Laing_(actor)).[1] He made his first appearance on 21 June 2006. Of his new role, Stuart said: "I am really excited about joining *EastEnders* and am thrilled to be working with the cast – I can’t wait to get stuck in."[1] It was announced on 15 June 2007 he would leave the show at the end of his current storyline.[2] Laing's contract was initially for a few episodes but was soon extended to six months and stayed on for a year in total and departed on 25 June 2007. He is the husband of [May Wright](/source/May_Wright) ([Amanda Drew](/source/Amanda_Drew)) and father of [Dawn Swann](/source/Dawn_Swann)'s ([Kara Tointon](/source/Kara_Tointon)) daughter, [Summer Swann](/source/Summer_Swann). Rob's most notable storyline is [kidnapping](/source/Kidnap) Dawn and handcuffing her to a bed so that his wife, May, could perform a home [caesarian section](/source/Caesarian_section) in an attempt to steal her baby. This happens after Dawn fell in love with Rob and he had gained her trust. The storyline prompted over 200 complaints to the BBC as well as achieving 9.3 million viewers. Police were searching for [Madeleine McCann](/source/Madeleine_McCann), and the BBC had to re-write the storyline to avoid causing distress to viewers. ## Creation and development ### Casting The character of Rob was originally a minor part. Laing said of his casting: "I originally came up for a smaller part - for four or five episodes - and then they called me back and said there was this possibility of a character they were looking to develop, which would be in it for a longer time. I don't think they knew quite where the storylines are going, but they had a faint idea of relationships that they could establish.” Laing's character, Rob, was initially six months long and his character was not very involved in the programme in his first two months. He added: "I'd come in and do a day every couple of weeks and the story was very slow-burning, really. The writers got their teeth into the story and started to develop more and more ideas for it and that's where it started to take off."[3] ### Storyline development "We would not wish to add to the family’s anguish at this terrible time and we are currently reviewing our storyline including episodes which have already been filmed." — A spokesperson on the kidnap storyline[4] Although the kidnapping of Dawn prompted 200 complaints, the BBC had already rewritten the storyline. The original storyline was for Rob and May to kidnap Dawn's baby but because of the Madeleine McCann abduction, it was rewritten. A spokeswoman for the BBC said "The storyline involving child abduction would be "inappropriate" and could cause distress for viewers". Dawn is caught in a love triangle involving her lover Rob, and his character's wife Dr. May Wright. "Rob is currently living with Dawn and has left his wife after she attempted to buy Dawn's unborn baby, which is fathered by Rob."[4][5] Executive producer [Diederick Santer](/source/Diederick_Santer) commented on Laing and Drew's skills for the kidnap storyline. The producer told the news website *[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy)*: "Dr. May and Rob - Amanda Drew and Stuart Laing - have led Dawn and the audience a merry dance this year. They have both given fantastic, gripping performances and we have loved having them. We wish them both all the best for the future."[2] ## Storylines Rob first appears on 21 June 2006, when [Victor Brown](/source/Victor_Brown_(EastEnders)) ([Jimmy Yuill](/source/Jimmy_Yuill)) introduces [Ian Beale](/source/Ian_Beale) ([Adam Woodyatt](/source/Adam_Woodyatt)) to him at a Walford Community Charitable Trust meeting. Rob also attends a charity auction where he tries to out-bid Ian, who is bidding for a bracelet for [Dawn Swann](/source/Dawn_Swann) ([Kara Tointon](/source/Kara_Tointon)). She is posing as Ian's wife while his real wife, [Jane Beale](/source/Jane_Beale) ([Laurie Brett](/source/Laurie_Brett)), is running the cafe that she and Ian own. After Rob raises the price, he then lets Ian buy the bracelet. Rob and Dawn start dating. He discovers "Jane" is actually Dawn but they continue their relationship. On 13 November 2006, it is revealed that [Dr. May Wright](/source/May_Wright) ([Amanda Drew](/source/Amanda_Drew)), the new GP for Walford, is Rob's wife. Rob and May are separated but May wants to give their marriage another chance. Rob splits with Dawn and gets back together with May, but Dawn has become pregnant with Rob's baby. Dawn plans to have an abortion, however May, who is unable to conceive, has other ideas, and Rob and May offer to buy Dawn's baby when it is born. Dawn agrees to this deal, but when she sees Rob and May acting like the perfect couple and learns that they have been buying things for "their" baby, she makes another appointment for a termination. Again, she doesn't go through with it, thinking Rob will leave May for her. Later May suggests to Rob that he reconcile with Dawn - desperate for the baby - she insists Rob keep Dawn sweet until she is over 24 weeks and cannot have a legal termination. Dawn, however, is unhappy that Rob intends to stay with May until she has the baby. He promises Dawn that they will be a family after the birth but she doesn't believe him and tries aborting the baby herself. Dawn ends up in hospital. Rob tries talking her round but Dawn rebuffs him so he returns to May. May later tells Dawn not to stalk Rob so Rob tells May that he is leaving her for Dawn and moves out. In revenge, May reports Rob for fraudulently obtaining a credit card for "Jane Beale", the name Dawn was using when they met. His boss suspends him and later sacks him. May leaves but later invites Rob round to apologise and tries to seduce him. Trying to leave, Rob finds the nursery May has decorated, complete with a calendar set to July with "My baby is born" written on 5th. Realising May's obsession, Rob leaves after a struggle, disturbed by May's behaviour and tells Dawn that they have to leave as soon as possible. The next day, May has a black eye and people assume Rob is responsible. He insists he isn't but after Dawn sees him attack [Keith Miller](/source/Keith_Miller_(EastEnders)) ([David Spinx](/source/David_Spinx)), he admits that he did hit May. Rob tells Dawn that he has a new job away from the Square and proposes again. She accepts and they go to his parents' house but May is there - the new job doesn't exist, being part of Rob and May's plan to take Dawn prisoner. They handcuff her to a bed and May injects Dawn with a sedative. Dawn tells May that she would rather let the baby die than give it to her, so May decides to deliver the baby herself by caesarean, intentionally putting Dawn's life at risk. When May leaves to get her surgical tools, Dawn tells Rob of May's plans and begs him to let her go. She manages to free herself and knocks Rob out. She stabs May with a scalpel before escaping in their car. Later, Rob returns to [Albert Square](/source/Albert_Square) to apologise to Dawn, but she threatens him and her family discover what he did to her. Rob tells them that he has had May sectioned, when she is actually waiting at home for him to call her. Dawn leaves to visit Keith and her mother, [Rosie Miller](/source/Rosie_Miller) ([Gerry Cowper](/source/Gerry_Cowper)), [Mickey Miller](/source/Mickey_Miller) ([Joe Swash](/source/Joe_Swash)) and [Garry Hobbs](/source/Garry_Hobbs) ([Ricky Groves](/source/Ricky_Groves)) keep Rob hostage, torturing him by holding him down and pouring gravy on him and allowing their dog to lick him clean. While this is going on, they learn from [Carly Wicks](/source/Carly_Wicks) ([Kellie Shirley](/source/Kellie_Shirley)) that Dawn went into labour on the tube and has delivered baby Summer in hospital. Rob is thrown out of the hospital when he tries to visit her. Despite Rob's pleas to forget their plans, May goes into the hospital posing as Dawn's GP and tries to abduct the baby, but Dawn wakes up in time and refuses to let May take her. Distraught, May runs out of the hospital and tries to run Rob down, He calls her bluff, resulting in May driving away. Rob goes to the police and tells them about the surrogacy agreement they had with Dawn. He then visits Dawn and Summer and tries to propose to Dawn, but she punches him, furious that he told the police she wanted to sell her baby. Keith drags him out of the house and he is never seen again. When May returns in 2008, she reveals that Rob has left her and is now living with a new woman with whom he is expecting a baby. ## Reception The storyline seeing [Dawn](/source/Dawn_Swann) handcuffed to the bed by Rob and [Mad May](/source/May_Wright) was highly criticised by viewers. The episode showing Dawn handcuffed to the bed grabbed 9.3 million viewers in total. In the episode, Rob lures Dawn out into the country so that May can handcuff her to the bed in order to give Dawn a home [cesarean section](/source/Cesarean_section). This episode prompted over 200 complaints to the BBC. Laing commented: "I was shocked when I read the script and my girlfriend Ali has been a bit disturbed by what I've been up to. She's enjoyed it but she's been a bit horrified at the same time! I didn't have any idea how bonkers it was going to get. [...] Rob and May were going through real problems with IVF then made some bad choices which got them spiralling into this very dark place. It's good drama and a difficult thing to pull off when it's going out at 8pm. Although we received a lot of complaints last week nobody was trying to offend people." Dawn falls in love with Rob, and he uses this to get a child for May and himself. Laing admitted it was an "intense" period, and commented: "As an actor, you've got to find a way to get your head around it. I never thought about Rob as a villain, he's just someone who makes bad choices and digs holes he can't get out of. The very last turn, when it got so extreme, I put it down to him falling out of love with Dawn and his wife having this spell on him. [...] He justifies it to himself by thinking Dawn wants to give the baby up anyway and she was going to take money for it. I think deep down he has a conscience and there is probably a part of him which is horrified but there's no going back."[6] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-joins_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-joins_1-1) Green, Kris (6 May 2006). ["Stuart Laing joins 'EastEnders'"](http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a32541/stuart-laing-joins-eastenders.html). *[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy)*. [Hachette Filipacchi UK](/source/Hachette_Filipacchi_UK). Retrieved 16 June 2007. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-surgery_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-surgery_2-1) Green, Kris (16 June 2007). ["Exclusive: Surgery door slams on Enders' Dr. May"](http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a61310/surgery-door-slams-on-enders-dr-may.html). *[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy)*. [Hachette Filipacchi UK](/source/Hachette_Filipacchi_UK). Retrieved 16 June 2007. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Green, Kris (23 December 2006). ["Stuart Laing"](http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/interviews/a41015/stuart-laing.html). *[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy)*. [Hachette Filipacchi UK](/source/Hachette_Filipacchi_UK). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121024234321/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/interviews/a41015/stuart-laing.html) from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-cm_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-cm_4-1) ["EastEnders To Re-Write Kidnap Storyline"](http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/eastenders-to-re-write-kidnap-storyline_1031857). ContactMusic. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Green, Kris (22 May 2007). ["'EastEnders' axe baby abduction plot"](http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a58142/eastenders-axe-baby-abduction-plot.html). *[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy)*. [Hachette Filipacchi UK](/source/Hachette_Filipacchi_UK). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100612085949/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a58142/eastenders-axe-baby-abduction-plot.html) from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Hendry, Steve. ["Who's the baddy? EXCLUSIVE EASTENDERS STAR INSISTS TOT PLOT ROB'S A GOOD GUY"](http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who%27s+the+baddy%3F+EXCLUSIVE+EASTENDERS+STAR+INSISTS+TOT+PLOT+ROB%27S+A...-a0165514806). [Sunday Mail](/source/Sunday_Mail_(Scotland)). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130602175631/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who%27s+the+baddy%3F+EXCLUSIVE+EASTENDERS+STAR+INSISTS+TOT+PLOT+ROB%27S+A...-a0165514806) from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2011. ## External links - [Rob Minter](https://web.archive.org/web/20071018044408/http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/characters_cast/characters/character_rob_m.shtml) at [BBC Online](/source/BBC_Online) - [Dawn's 'new life' kidnapping nightmare](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t16tdvMu4I) on [YouTube](/source/YouTube_video_(identifier)) v t e EastEnders characters Present characters Tracey Kathy Beale Sharon Watts Ian Beale Vicki Fowler Cindy Beale Phil Mitchell Peter Beale Billy Mitchell Kat Slater Zoe Slater Mo Harris Patrick Trueman Alfie Moon Yolande Trueman Jean Slater Honey Mitchell Chelsea Fox Denise Fox Max Branning Lauren Branning Janet Mitchell Jack Branning Oscar Branning Penny Branning Kim Fox Lily Slater Linda Carter Johnny Carter Elaine Peacock Callum Highway Suki Panesar Zack Hudson Harvey Monroe Ravi Gulati George Knight Gina Knight Priya Nandra-Hart Nicola Mitchell Jasmine Fisher Bea Pollard Former characters AJ Ahmed Iqra Ahmed Masood Ahmed Della Alexander Johnny Allen Ruby Allen Chantelle Atkins Gray Atkins Aunt Sal Finlay Baker Keegan Baker Tom Banks Geoff Barnes Clare Bates Debbie Bates Julie Bates Laurie Bates Nigel Bates Bobby Beale Jane Beale Laura Beale Lou Beale Lucy Beale Pete Beale Steven Beale Polly Becker Adam Best Manda Best Abi Branning Alice Branning April Branning Bradley Branning Derek Branning Jim Branning Joey Branning Suzy Branning Tanya Branning Aidan Brosnan Jay Brown Diane Butcher Frank Butcher Janine Butcher Liam Butcher Mo Butcher Pat Butcher Ricky Butcher Tiffany Butcher Kelvin Carpenter Tony Carpenter Mick Carter Nancy Carter Shirley Carter Stan Carter Tina Carter Zsa Zsa Carter Lorna Cartwright Barry Clark Christian Clarke Paul Coker Richard Cole Julie Cooper Ashley Cotton Charlie Cotton (1986) Charlie Cotton (2014) Dot Cotton Dotty Cotton Nick Cotton Tom "Rocky" Cotton Stella Crawford Cora Cross Rainie Cross Whitney Dean Beppe di Marco Bruno and Luisa di Marco Gianni di Marco Rosa di Marco Ray Dixon Jase Dyer Huw Edwards Steve Elliot Nellie Ellis Barry Evans Natalie Evans Roy Evans Fatboy Ferreira family Conor Flaherty Mary Flaherty SJ Fletcher Fred Fonseca Arthur Fowler Bex Fowler Lisa Fowler Mark Fowler Martin Fowler Michelle Fowler Pauline Fowler Ruth Fowler Sonia Fowler Libby Fox Joanne Francis Jodie Gold Vanessa Gold Marge Green Nina Harris Ava Hartman Dexter Hartman Alex Healy Christine Hewitt Ted Hills Tony Hills Garry Hobbs Lynne Hobbs Lofty Holloway Claudette Hubbard Vincent Hubbard Andy Hunter Alan Jackson Bianca Jackson Billie Jackson Blossom Jackson Carmel Jackson Carol Jackson Robbie Jackson Naima Jeffery Saeed Jeffery Al Jenkins Greg Jessop Lucas Johnson Danielle Jones Naomi Julien Gita Kapoor Sanjay Kapoor Karim family Kush Kazemi Yusef Khan Tony King Anna Knight Junior Knight Harold Legg Donna Ludlow Joe Macer Ryan Malloy Jill Marsden Mila Marwa Afia Masood Amira Masood Shabnam Masood Syed Masood Tamwar Masood Zainab Masood Lilly Mattock Josie McFarlane Poppy Meadow Darren Miller Demi Miller Keith Miller Mickey Miller Rosie Miller Rob Minter Archie Mitchell Ben Mitchell Danny Mitchell Glenda Mitchell Grant Mitchell Jamie Mitchell Kate Mitchell Little Mo Mitchell Louise Mitchell Peggy Mitchell Ronnie Mitchell Roxy Mitchell Sam Mitchell Teddy Mitchell Tiffany Mitchell Vinnie Monks Aaron Monroe Dana Monroe Anthony Moon Danny Moon Eddie Moon Jake Moon Michael Moon Nana Moon Spencer Moon Tyler Moon Trevor Morgan Joyce Murray Rod Norman Andy O'Brien Mercy Olubunmi Ali Osman Mehmet Osman Sue Osman Mel Owen Steve Owen Annie Palmer George Palmer Ash Panesar Jags Panesar Kheerat Panesar Nish Panesar Lola Pearce Danny Pennant Minty Peterson Frankie Pierre Paul Priestly Irene Raymond Louise Raymond Simon Raymond Terry Raymond Dennis Rickman Binnie Roberts Roly Willy Roper Matthew Rose Colin Russell Mandy Salter Aleks Shirovs Trevor Short Lydia Simmonds Ethel Skinner Bev Slater Charlie Slater Freddie Slater Kyle Slater Sean Slater Stacey Slater Leon Small Babe Smith Gus Smith Mary Smith Dan Sullivan Gavin Sullivan Dawn Swann Celestine and Etta Tavernier Clyde Tavernier Hattie Tavernier Jules Tavernier Karen Taylor Keanu Taylor Kelly Taylor Terence Heather Trott Anthony Trueman Paul Trueman Owen Turner Angie Watts Chrissie Watts Den Watts Wellard Carl White Carly Wicks David Wicks Dean Wicks Joe Wicks Kevin Wicks Lorraine Wicks Simon Wicks Debbie Wilkins Cindy Williams James Willmott-Brown Willy May Wright Donna Yates Sadie Young Lists of characters by year 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Others: Flaherty family The Banned members Characters from spin-offs --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rob Minter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Minter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Minter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.