List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2023
![[[Patsy Kensit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Patsy_Kensit_BAFTA.jpg)
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Brett Nelson, played by
Fabrizio Santino, first appears in episode 6625, originally broadcast on 9 January 2023. The character and Santino's casting details were announced on 29 December 2022. Brett is introduced as someone from
Zack Hudson's (
James Farrar) past. He is described as "enigmatic". Producers used the characters of Brett and Zack to explore the issue of
HIV and worked with the charity
Terrence Higgins Trust to develop the story. Having previously tackled the issue in the 1990s using the character of
Mark Fowler (
Todd Carty), ''EastEnders'' aims to highlight the developments in HIV research in the last 30 years. The shared backstory between Brett and Zack states that the latter contracted HIV from Brett after they shared needles from
steroid injections. The character makes his final appearance in episode 6631, originally broadcast on 19 January 2023.
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