Disa O’Brien

Name: Disa O’Brien
First Appeared: 27th March 1990
Last Appeared: 12th December 2022
Played by: Jan Graveson

A tough, streetwise teenager from Wearside, Disa saved Diane Butcher’s life. While living rough on the streets, Diane was unprepared for life alone. Disa, having run away from home herself, was also living on the streets, where she resorted to begging and selling her body to survive.

Disa’s life changed forever when she discovered she was pregnant and she gave birth alone in a derelict building. The new-born was left on Diane’s doorstep that Christmas, and it took quite a while for Mark Fowler and Diane to find Disa on the streets and bring her in to Walford.

When Disa’s stepfather, Ken arrived, it turned out he was the father of the baby and he kidnapped little Jasmine in an attempt to regain control over Disa. With the help of Dot, Kathy and the police, Ken was arrested, and Disa confronted her mother about the abuse she and her younger sister had suffered at Ken’s hands. Working through the pain, Disa and Jasmine left with her mother, hopefully for a fresh start.

In 2022, Kathy had a surprise at Dot’s funeral when Disa approached her. She had come to pay her respects to one of the women who had saved her, not just from Ken, but from herself. Dot would be so proud if she could see Disa now.