Trevor Short

Name: Trevor Short
First Appeared: 1st June 1989
Last Appeared: 1st March 1990
Played by: Phil McDermott

Trevor Short, the lovable but dim-witted character, arrived in Walford in search of his friend Paul Priestly in 1989. Having met Paul two months earlier at a youth hostel, Trevor was thrilled to find him, though Paul initially wasn’t as pleased. Despite this, Paul found Trevor a job on a construction site, which set off a series of misadventures. Trevor’s kind-hearted nature shone through when he mended a broken washing machine at the launderette, winning over Mo Butcher, who took him under her wing. However, his naivety led him to steal supplies from the construction site, costing him his job when Mo forced him to return them.

Trevor’s attempts at various jobs were equally disastrous. He had a brief stint as the potman at the Queen Vic and worked at Frank Butcher’s car lot, but his ineptitude quickly saw him dismissed. Ian Beale’s café also suffered under Trevor’s blunders, with Trevor hilariously resurrecting a partition he’d just demolished. Paul, ever the loyal friend, continued to help Trevor, letting him assist with renovating Julie Cooper’s salon and decorating Ashraf Karim’s property. Yet, true to form, Trevor flooded the market by striking a water main and caused the Karim’s ceiling to collapse.

In July 1989, Trevor started lodging with Mo Butcher and found work on the market, though most of his goods were stolen by thieves, and he became the butt of many practical jokes. He also worked on Pete Beale’s fruit and veg stall and developed an unreciprocated crush on Diane Butcher, Paul’s casual girlfriend. Despite siding with Diane when Paul jilted her for Julie Cooper, Trevor’s hopes were dashed when Paul and Diane reconciled.

Trevor’s bad luck continued when he was wrongly accused of thefts at the Queen Vic. After a tirade from Frank Butcher, Trevor investigated and discovered the real culprit was Janine Butcher. His relief was short-lived as he faced trouble with the Department of Social Security for benefit fraud, having claimed unemployment while working for Pete. Avoiding prosecution, Trevor was heartbroken when Paul decided to leave Walford in December 1989. After a brief romance with Shireen Karim, who revealed she was betrothed, Trevor’s spirits lifted when Paul returned in February 1990 and invited Trevor to join him in Leeds.