Johnny Allen

"Hey, can I give you one final tip? Don't bother to retire, it's too much old graft. There's always one that drags you back..... enjoy your flight!!"

- Johnny Allen seemingly parts ways with his gangland rival Andy Hunter, moments before killing him in retaliation for Andy's attempt to swindle Johnny out of £750,000

Jonathan "Johnny" Allen is a fictional character and recurring antagonist of the BBC British soap opera EastEnders.

He first appeared in 4 January 2005 and became as the show's primary antagonist up until his departure on 20 October 2006.

BACKGROUND
Born to and raised by an impoverished family in the 1940s, Johnny Allen was educated and grew up in Walford - becoming familiar with the local residents, including the Beale Family and Den Watts. At an early age, he became a boxer and quickly became involved with the criminal underworld; by the early 50s, Johnny was an up-and-coming gangster and employer to well-known prostitute Pat Butcher - with whom he had several flings with until she went on to marry Pete Beale in 1961.

By the late 60s, Johnny had fellow boxer Eric Mitchell under his employment. Jealous at Eric for being a more talented boxer than himself, Johnny began tormenting him, starting a strong conflict between the two men. Eric's wife Peggy - fed up wth her husband's abuse - tried to seduce Johnny, but he rejected her. Peggy went on to blame Johnny for Eric's violent ways, as the former's antagonism was what caused the latter to take his frustations out on her. Eventually, Johnny became notorius in London's underworld for his frequent use of torture and murder - even on his own employees. His actions included cutting the fingers off a prostitute's hand, and assaulting a man who misspelled a word on a birthday cake - which he took as a sign of disrespect.

In order to expand his business empire, J.A. Enterprises, Johnny left Walford some time around the early 70s, but still carried out criminal jobs from his mansion in Essex. Some time later, he married a woman named Stephanie, and together they had two daughters, Scarlet (born in 1986) and Ruby (born in 1988). However, in 1994, Johnny began an affair with a bar maid under his employment: Tina Stewart, despite being many years her elder. Tragedy struck the Allen family in March 2004, when an arson attack committed by one of Johnny's criminal rivals killed Stephanie and Scarlet. Johnny attempted to rescue Scarlet, but ended up saving Ruby instead, and he subsequently sent her away to boarding school.

2005: CRIMINAL REIGN ON WALFORD
Johnny Allen makes his first appearance on 4th January 2005 when he arrives at Albert Square, in the fictional district called "Walford", to confront his henchmen Jake Moon and his brother Danny for having a problem with his package job; deliver a duffel bag of money to one of his "mates". When Johnny inspects the bag that Jake and Danny had, he uncovers hidden cocaine and — sensing the problem behind his plan — orders the brothers to remain in the square under further notice. He arranges for the two to stay with their cousin Alfie, and later has them work for the square's local crime boss Andy Hunter — even though Jake and Danny have already embarked on a conflict with Andy.

As he quickly helps the Moon brothers with their problems, Johnny begins to expand his business in Walford; he first obtains the nightclub Angie's Den, which he renames into his deceased daughter Scarlett, and later buys the Ferreira family's flat — where he later moves into the house with his younger daughter, Ruby. By then, Johnny evidently begins to usurp control over Andy's criminal reign as he constantly has Andy make arrangements on his behalf. This enrages Andy, particularly as Johnny finds himself having to step in the ongoing feud between Andy and the Moon Brothers. During one of the incidents between them, Johnny witnesses local shopkeeper Patrick Trueman confronting Andy over the disappearance of his adopted son Paul — whom Andy claims to have left the square on Christmas Day 2004. Johnny, deducing that Andy had Paul killed, arranges for his body to be uncovered and Patrick learns the truth about his son's fate and Andy's role within his death. The result of Paul's death becoming public knowledge further deteriorates Andy's reign, while Johnny continues to place peacemaker with the square.

In February 2005, tensions continue to rise between Johnny and Andy when the pair have another meeting with Jake. Claiming that he is retiring for his criminal life, Johnny authorizes Andy and Jake to work together on a package deal for him; Jake will oversee Andy be given a case containing £750,000 worth in cash, which Andy will then deliver to Johnny on the opening night of his Scarlet nightclub. However, Jake later requests Johnny to be pulled out of the deal after being attacked in a fight; Johnny agrees and tells Andy that he will have to do the job on his own. Andy takes the news badly, up to the point where he publicly insults his wife Sam Mitchell and employee Pat Evans — whom Johnny has once been acquainted with years ago — in The Queen Victoria public house. This prompts Den Watts, the pub's landlord and Johnny's old friend, to throw Andy and his bodyguard Eddie out — with Johnny's help. Andy, seeking to get one over Johnny, hatches a plan to take Johnny's £750,000 and flee the square. He tricks Danny into aiding him with his plan, under the guise that Danny can prove himself to Johnny after Andy tricks him into believing that Johnny favors Jake and that his brother values him to be weak. On the night Johnny's nightclub opens, Andy succeeds with his plan and betrays Danny by ditching him out of the street. Just as Andy is about to flee Walford, Eddie stops the car and claims he needs to go to the bathroom. In reality, Eddie betrays Andy by informing Johnny of his plan. In response, Johnny has Jake intercept Andy and has him come out of the car for "a conversation". Andy, realizing too late that Eddie betrayed him, obliges and talks with Johnny as they walk on a motorway bridge. The conversation seemingly ends with the pair going separate ways, as Johnny offers Andy a handshake before giving him "one final tip". In that moment, however, Johnny - after telling Andy to "enjoy your flight" — suddenly throws him off the motorway bridge, killing Andy on impact. As the police arrive on the scene, Johnny orders Eddie to leave before he and Jake return to the square. The next morning, Andy's death becomes public knowledge — though the police depict his demise to be suicide. While the Moon Brothers are unnerved with Andy's death, Johnny remains calm and later attends Andy's funeral with Pat; even though she had earlier accused Johnny of murdering Andy.

Following Andy's murder, Johnny employs the Moon brothers to work for him at Scarlet. He soon fires them after Jake and Danny buy stolen alcohol to use in Scarlet, which Johnny is quick to discover about. After Johnny steals Danny's idea for a Salsa night at the club, Danny goes to Johnny's house in a drunken state and sets it on fire. Johnny hunts down Danny and plans to kill him, kidnapping Jake in the process as he tries to save Danny. Driving the Moon brothers into the woods, Johnny locks Jake in the car and takes Danny with him for execution. Johnny prepares to kill Danny when Jake, who escaped from the car, intervenes and stops them. Johnny initially considers killing the pair, but ultimately orders them to leave Albert Square and never return. While Danny appears to have left the Square for good, Jake later returns in Walford to help Alfie with his troubles and Johnny allows him to stay — going as far as to hire him as his doorman and bodyguard amid building up his criminal empire.

When Johnny's former mistress Tina Stewart arrives in to Walford to recommence their relationship, Ruby becomes upset after discovering this. Over time, Ruby eventually accepts Tina and they settle their time with Johnny as a family. But Johnny soon tires of Tina, and cheats on her with Amy — one of the barmaids working at Scarlet. When Tina discovers this, she walks out on Johnny and leaves the Square for good. After putting in an offer for the Queen Victoria pub, he sparks a conflict between him and Sam's mother Peggy — whose offer he outbids. It is soon revealed that there is history between the two; her deceased husband Eric had worked for Johnny, many years earlier, and they shared an earlier connection with boxing. Generally, Johnny had mistreated Eric — who would end up abusing Peggy as a result; Peggy subsequently blamed Johnny for being the reason why Eric had took his frustrations out on her. Peggy also has knowledge of Johnny's past crimes, such as cutting the fingers off the hand of a prostitute and brutally beating up his old friend Dougie Collins for a slight misspelling on a birthday cake. She soon exposes this in front of the residents upon encountering Johnny in the pub. Peggy goes on to describe Johnny's character as a thief and that he has extorted people, before proceeding to accuse him of being a murderer — which is later proven to be correct, even though Peggy is amongst the residents left unaware of Andy's fate. Ruby walks into the pub as the story unravels, and soon begins to learn of her father's true past — including that he may be to blame for the deaths of her mother and sister.

Johnny's feud with Peggy continues as she appears to turn his daughter against him. After failing to warn Peggy off by threatening her amid slamming the door on her hand, Johnny later arranges for Peggy to be mugged. Before leaving Walford, Tina learns about Johnny's plan and warns Peggy — who leaves the house. She is nearly attacked until her sons Phil and Grant arrive to save her with their cousin Billy, who himself has been working for Johnny at Scarlet prior to the Peggy's return. The Mitchell Brothers later confront Johnny to warn him in staying away from Peggy, but Johnny is unfazed by their threat and declares war on the Mitchell family.

In November 2005, Johnny notices that the CCTV system at Scarlet has recorded a conversation between Jake and his girlfriend — Den's widow Chrissie. She confines in Jake that she had been the one who had murdered Den, which occurred on the same night Johnny killed Andy. By the time Den's body has been found at the Queen Victoria pub, however, Sam is accused of the crime and is held in custody. As Grant and Billy work with Peggy in getting Sam released and Chrissie imprisoned for Den's murder, Phil begins a conflict with Johnny as he continues warning him to stay away from his mother. In order to provoke the Mitchells, Johnny deliberately lets them know about the tape and later threatens to kill Grant — prompting him and Phil to confront Johnny at the same moment where Jake seeks his help so he could flee the country with Chrissie. When Johnny calls the Mitchell brothers pathetic like their father, they fight and Johnny is left battered. He brandishes a gun and threatens to kill them, but relents in letting them leave with the tape when Ruby walks in and reconciles with her father. She then urges Johnny to inform Phil that his stepson Ian Beale is buying the Queen Victoria in his favor, which allows the Mitchells to intercept both Ian and Chrissie. While Phil and Grant work together to prevent Ian from buying the pub, Sam is released when the police catch up with Chrissie and arrest her for murdering Den — thus undoing Johnny's plan altogether; Chrissie is later sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty, leaving Jake devastated.

In December 2005, Johnny continues to clash with Phil and later makes an enemy with local hardman Dennis Rickman — who is Den's illegitimate son and is married to his adopted daughter Sharon. This is further impacted when Phil pays Johnny's waiter Juley Smith to have a relationship with Ruby and then dump her, much to Johnny's annoyance. On Christmas Day, Johnny insults the residents during a party — causing Dennis to throw him out and taunt Johnny on the street. Johnny, outraged that Dennis had humiliated him, responds by attempting to have Sharon leave Walford with Dennis by midnight of New Year's Eve. When Sharon refuses to oblige to his demands, Johnny throttles her and threatens to have Dennis killed if she doesn't relent. This leads Sharon to tell Dennis that she wishes to leave the country and start anew. While Dennis agrees with her plan, Phil learns about Johnny threatening Sharon and informs Dennis about this. This provokes Dennis into confronting Johnny, particularly when Phil reveals to Dennis that Johnny killed Andy — who was Dennis' only friend at the time prior to Johnny's arrival. Johnny, confronted by Dennis, offers to get him a drink. As he does so, however, Dennis attacks Johnny and leaves him unconscious moments before the New Year fireworks descend onto the Square. Just as it appears that Dennis and Sharon will reunite amid the celebrations, he is fatally stabbed by a hooded passer-by and dies in Sharon's arms — much to her anguish. At Dennis' funeral, Sharon attacks Johnny when he appears to offer his condolences. She later informs Phil that Johnny killed Dennis, and Phil swears revenge on Johnny more than ever. After Dennis' funeral, Johnny soon leaves Walford with Ruby on 19 January 2006.

2006: GET JOHNNY WEEK
Towards the end of March 2006, Phil tracks down Johnny in the Essex countryside. Phil convinces Grant to help confront him at his new mansion, where the former intends to bring Johnny to justice for Dennis' murder — as he had promised to Sharon. Reluctant at first, Grant agrees and the Mitchell Brothers set off to Johnny's mansion. They chase Johnny down to his office, where Ruby walks out on her father after discovering that he had been withholding alcohol in his safe — even though he claimed to have gotten rid of them. As Ruby leaves, Grant goes to calm her down while Phil uses this opportunity to come face-to-face with Johnny. They talk and Johnny admits to having Dennis killed, prompting Phil to attack him until Grant stops his brother. Johnny flees and the Mitchell brothers pursue him until they end up at a scrapyard, where Johnny captures Phil and Grant at gunpoint. It is at this point where it transpires that Johnny had ordered Danny to kill Dennis, and that Danny has been working at Johnny's mansion since then. When Jake learns about his brother working for Johnny, he arrives at the mansion to take him home — trying to convince him that Johnny is just using him for dirty work. However, Danny refuses to leave the mansion and even ignores Jake when his brother reminds him about the time Johnny originally planned to kill them. The pair end up in a fight when Danny reveals to Jake that he killed Dennis on Johnny's orders, and Jake attacks him in response; the fight ends with Danny, after being punched by Jake whilst holding him at gunpoint, knocking his brother unconscious. Johnny later orders Danny to execute Phil and Grant, but Jake intervenes and shoots Danny — killing him; despite the fact that Jake had merely tried to shoot Danny in the leg or arm to stop him from killing the Mitchell Brothers. As Jake buries Danny's body and the Mitchell Brothers rush back to the mansion, Ruby uncovers Danny's phone and learns the truth about Dennis' murder. She calls the police on her father, and urges him to turn himself in — threatening to change her name and disown Johnny otherwise. Johnny, after learning from Ruby that it is the second anniversary of when her mother and sister were killed, obliges and is arrested; he is later sentenced to life imprisonment after confessing to all of his crimes, including the murders of Andy and Dennis.

OCTOBER 2006: DEATH
In October 2006, Johnny is contacted by Jake — who shares his concerns to him about Ruby's new relationship with Sean Slater, the brother of Ruby's best-friend Stacey. This prompts Johnny to arrange for Sean to visit him, where his attempts to threaten Sean in ending his relationship with Ruby are rebuffed — with Sean taunting Johnny at the hint that his plan with dating Ruby is to assert control of her assets. Johnny lashes out at Sean, but is forced back into his cell. Johnny, humiliated and angry, desperately attempts to phone Jake in a bid to have Sean killed. Unfortunately, he suffers a heart attack from stress just as he begins to dial. Believing that Jake is on the phone, Johnny proceeds to whisper "Jake... kill him for me" before falling unconscious. Johnny's cellmate hears his last words and mistakenly believes that Jake is the one he wants killed, leading to Jake being confronted by a stranger and presumably killed while leaving Walford. Elsewhere, Johnny is rushed to hospital and he dies before Ruby can visit him — leaving her heartbroken. She later arranges for her father's funeral at the end of October 2006.

Victims

 * Stephanie Allen — Johnny is indirectly responsible for the death of his wife Stephanie when their youngest daughter Ruby is alleged to have discovered that both she and her sister Scarlet were incidentally killed in a shootout caused by Johnny's gang rivals, more likely as a result of Johnny's criminal activities.
 * Scarlet Allen — Johnny is indirectly responsible for the death of his wife older daughter Scarlet when her younger sister Ruby is alleged to have discovered that both she and their mother Stephanie were incidentally killed in a shootout caused by Johnny's gang rivals, more likely as a result of Johnny's criminal activities.
 * Suzie Laura — Johnny had allegedly cut off Susie's hand and fingers in the events prior to the character's first appearance in Walford from January 2005.
 * Dougie Collins — Johnny beat up Dougie to the verge of death in retribution for making a mistake on his birthday cake, which occurred prior to the character's first appearance on the show from January 2005.
 * Eric Mitchell — Johnny bullied Eric whilst the latter worked for him on their boxing project, a result which caused the events of Eric's mistreatment of his family and subsequent death prior to Johnny's first appearance in Walford on January 2005.
 * Andy Hunter — Johnny killed Andy by forcing him off a motorway bridge to his death, upon discovering Andy's plot to con him out of £750,000. Following Andy's death, Johnny later usurped his position as the crime kingpin of Walford.
 * Jake Moon — Johnny kidnapped Jake when intending to kill his brother Danny in retribution for setting fire to his nightclub, and contemplates on executing Jake as well for defending Danny against him; however, Johnny ends up banishing the Moon Brothers from ever returning to Walford. When Jake returns to Walford for personal reasons, Johnny deliberately obstructs his efforts to flee the country with his girlfriend Chrissie Watts and help her elude justice for murdering her husband Dirty Den — which results in Chrissie being arrested. Jake's ordeal continues up until Johnny's criminal reign ends with him killing Danny.
 * Danny Moon — Johnny forged the idea that Danny formulated to represent his nightclub, and later kidnapped him with the intent of killing Danny in response to the latter setting fire to his house. When Danny's brother Jake intervenes on his behalf, however, Johnny instead banishes Danny from Walford until he soon orders him to kill Dennis Rickman on New Year's Eve 2005. In the "Get Johnny Week" storyline, Johnny has rendered Danny's mental stability - to which he neglects up to the point where Jake is forced to kill Danny to stop him from killing the Mitchell Brothers. Because of this, Johnny is directly responsible for Danny's ordeal and subsequent death.
 * Peggy Mitchell — Johnny is the cause of Peggy being subjugated to years of abuse by her husband Eric, as a result of Johnny bullying Eric whilst the latter worked for him on his boxing project. When their ensuing feud leads to Peggy turning his daughter Ruby against him, Johnny retaliates by slamming the door on Peggy's fingers whilst threatening her.
 * Sam Mitchell — Johnny virtually caused Sam to be wrongfully imprisoned for murdering his friend Den Watts as a result of his conflicts with Den's wife Chrissie and Sam's mother Peggy respectively.
 * Chrissie Watts — Johnny toyed with Chrissie when she attempts to sell the Queen Victoria to him, not knowing that Johnny is acting out for their neighbor Ian Beale, in her bid to flee the country and avoid going to prison for killing her husband: Johnny's best-friend Den Watts. Ultimately, Johnny ends up causing the events of Chrissie getting arrested.
 * Sharon Watts — Johnny throttled Sharon to coerce her and her brotherly husband Dennis Rickman to leave Walford, after Sharon stands up to Johnny in Dennis' favor as a result of his feud with the couple.
 * Dennis Rickman — Johnny killed Dennis in retribution for the latter attacking him, after Dennis learned from their enemy Phil Mitchell that Johnny threatened his sisterly wife Sharon Watts and killed his best-friend Andy Hunter. During the fireworks of celebrating New Year's Day 2006, Johnny's henchman Danny Moon stabbed Dennis to death on Johnny's orders.
 * Phil Mitchell — Johnny clashed with Phil in the events of the former's feud with Phil's mother Peggy, and the latter discovering Johnny's partnership with his Chrissie Watts - the nemesis of Phil's sister Sam, whom she framed for killing her husband and Johnny's close friend Dirty Den. Following Chrissie's imprisonment, Johnny tormented Phil with their involvement in the death of their shared enemy Dennis Rickman - which Johnny carried out as a result of Dennis attacking him, which Phil staged in retribution for Johnny throttling his ex-girlfriend and Dennis' wife Sharon. In the "Get Johnny Week" scenario, Phil's attempt to avenge Dennis' murder results in Johnny nearly killing him and his brother Grant.
 * Grant Mitchell — Johnny clashed with Grant in the events of the former's feud with his brother Phil, up to the point where the two confront Johnny over his partnership with their sister's nemesis Chrissie Watts - who killed her husband Dirty Den and framed their sister Sam for the crime. In the "Get Johnny Week" storyline, Grant's attempt to help Phil confront Johnny for tormenting their lover Sharon with the death of her husband Dennis Rickman results in Johnny nearly killing the brothers.

Trivia

 * Johnny Allen started out as a central character from 4 January to 18 February 2005, after he killed-off the show's main antagonist Andy Hunter - ironically on the same night that the series' original villain, Den Watts, was killed-off as well. Following the deaths of both Andy and Den respectively, Johnny became the show's primary antagonist up until his death on 20 October 2006.
 * The character's portrayer, Billy Murray, won the award for "Villain of the Year" at the 2006 British Soap Awards; after his performance as Johnny was well-received by critics.
 * He was also nominated for "Villain of the Year" at the 2005 British Soap Awards.