List of EastEnders characters (2017)

Keegan Butcher-Baker (also Baker), played by Zack Morris, is a friend of Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) who also goes to school with Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper), Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield), Travis Law-Hughes (Alex James-Phelps), Alexandra D'Costa (Sydney Craven) and Madison Drake (Seraphina Beh). He first appears in the episode broadcast on 9 January 2017. On 23 February 2022, it was announced that Morris would be leaving his role as Keegan with his exit scenes set to air in the spring. Keegan departed on 17 March 2022, alongside his wife Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith).

Keegan is first seen playing a ball game with Shakil, and he causes the ball to land on Louise's mobile phone, smashing it and causing her to call him a "toenail" in anger. He later attends a party arranged by Shakil, and shows Shakil a video he took of a girl at school in the changing room, without her knowledge or consent, revealing he has sent it to everyone at school, which Shakil says is horrible. When Louise arranges a date with Travis Law-Hughes (Alex James-Phelps), Travis does not turn up, but Shakil, Keegan and their friends arrive and Keegan tells Louise she was messaging him and he teases Louise with things she said in the messages. Keegan pushes Louise into the lockers at school and insults Bex. Keegan is on board a bus that crashes into the market and viaduct. Keegan gets himself off the bus and films the incident and takes the opportunity to steal cigarettes from the local shop, and pushes Emerald Fox (Doña Croll) when she tries to stop him. Keegan posts the video of the bus crash online and teases Louise. He later annoys Denise Fox (Diane Parish) by trampling flowers in the gardens and insulting her, which results in her hitting him. Keegan angrily declares that he will inform the police and that Denise will be jailed for assault. In court, Denise is made to pay Keegan £50, which he tells her has paid for his new trainers, and he continues to disrespect Denise and the gardens.

After finding out Bex had sex with Preston Cooper (Martin Anzor), Keegan suggests to Shakil they should get revenge on Bex, and Keegan imposes Bex's face on a porn video and sends it to Madison Drake and Alexandra D'Costa (Seraphina Beh and Sydney Craven). This leads to the police becoming involved, and a naked photo of Shakil is found. Shakil and Bex are both interviewed by the police and given warnings, and Bex takes the blame despite being innocent. Shakil blames Keegan for all the problems and fights with him, which is stopped by Shakil's mother, Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford), who bans Keegan from the Kazemi house because of what he did. While in the local supermarket, the Minute Mart, Keegan attempts to steal a bottle of drink but Derek Harkinson (Ian Lavender) threatens to call the police, and though Keegan says the CCTV is only for show, Derek tells him that may or may not be the case and convinces Keegan to return the drink. Keegan arrives at Louise's house after Madison and Alexandra invite people. Louise unknowingly has drinks that Madison and Alexandra spiked, resulting in Louise getting drunk and being sick, which Keegan films. As Louise staggers outside, she collapses after bringing up blood, panicking Keegan and the others. He later bumps into Denise, he apologises to her but she tells him to get lost.

After Travis humiliates Keegan in front of his schoolmates, Keegan tells Louise that they had sex at the party, but Louise says he is lying, but worries after Madison and Alexandra tell her that Keegan is telling people about Louise's birthmark. Louise goes to a clinic to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases and Louise is shocked that Keegan is the son of a new neighbour, Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley). Louise speaks to the police and Keegan, despite admitting he made the rumour up because he likes Louise, is arrested on suspicion of rape. The investigation is dropped due to the lack of evidence, but Keegan receives a juvenile warning and Sharon decides to get answers from Keegan for Louise.

Keegan tells Louise and her stepmother, Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) that Dennis Rickman Jnr (Bleu Landau), Sharon's son, told him about Louise's birthmark and Keegan apologises. Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) sees Keegan stealing a magazine in the Minute Mart, but is afraid to confront him. Derek warns Keegan and states that Honey saw him, so Keegan accuses Honey of being racist. He then confronts Derek and calls him an "old queer", before leaving the store. When Keegan is told his 15-year-old half-sister Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) is pregnant, he calls her stupid. Keegan later buys a bar of chocolate in the Minute Mart but Derek tells him he is banned from the shop. Honey gets both of them to apologise. Keegan tells Derek that it was a joke.

Dennis and his friend, Will Mitchell (Freddie Phillips), plan to throw eggs at Keegan, but accidentally hit Bernadette. Keegan gets into Dennis' house and tells them Bernadette is pregnant. Dennis and Will apologise and Keegan attempts to force Dennis to smoke a cigarette but is caught and thrown out by Michelle Fowler (Jenna Russell). After Madison and Alexandra are banned from the school prom, Alexandra asks Keegan to help ruin the event. However, during a dispute at the prom between Madison, Alexandra and Louise, Alexandra pushes Louise into lit candles. Keegan is sickened by Madison and Alexandra's actions and drags them onto the stage, where Alexandra denies it being their fault. When Bernadette suffers a miscarriage, Karen decides to do a memorial after speaking to Shirley Carter (Linda Henry). Keegan punches Callum (Shaun Aylward) when he realises he is the father, but Callum joins the family for the memorial and Bernadette reveals they were going to name their daughter Belle. After Keegan's initial hostility, he admits to Karen that he blames himself for Bernadette's miscarriage as he was not there for her. He is later given a job by Robbie Jackson (Dean Gaffney) on the market sweeping the roads. Keegan smashes Mrs Robyn Lund's (Polly Highton) car window for her seemingly sarcastic reaction to Keegan revising, but Bernadette takes the blame and is suspended. When Karen thinks Bernadette should have friends her own age, she pays Keegan to take Bernadette out, but Bernadette is hurt when he posts an embarrassing photo of her. Keegan apologises, and says he would have still spent time with her if Karen had not paid him. Keegan is then jealous when he sees Louise hugging Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter). Keegan's father, Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths), arrives on Albert Square and he is warned away from the family by Keanu, but he later returns and he shouts for Karen and Keegan at the flat, but Keanu punches him. Mitch seduces Karen at the launderette whilst she is working and when Karen brings Mitch home, Keegan, Keanu and Bernadette do not want Mitch's presence, but Karen later sneaks him into the flat.

Keegan steals a bike. Upon seeing images posted online of Keegan from those trying to locate the bike, Shakil insists he return it. Keegan refuses and hides when a trio of gang members whom the bike belongs to enter The Queen Victoria public house and ask for his whereabouts. He is later tricked into following one of them into an alleyway beside The Queen Vic and promptly stabbed. As he collapses in pain, Shakil collapses beside him, having also been stabbed. Once Shakil leaves to find help, Keegan is found by Mick, who rushes him to hospital. When regaining consciousness, Keegan asks for Shakil, who is also rushed to hospital when found with fatal wounds. Keegan meets with a friend to trace Shakil's killer. Keegan vows to avenge his best friend's death and meets Bruno, the boy who stabbed Shakil and Keegan, alongside Shakil's mother, Carmel. He tells her that he can make things square by killing Bruno himself but Carmel advises him against this. Instead, the police is called and Bruno is arrested. Shakil's death marks a major milestone in Keegan's development as he matured and becomes a much nicer individual.

Keegan and some other local teens break into e20 nightclub to have a few drinks to honour Shakil. During a game of spin the bottle, Keegan kisses Tiffany which both appear to enjoy, whilst Louise looks on in jealousy. Money goes missing from the club that night and Louise's boyfriend Hunter sends all the teens a text saying 'I know what you did'. Keegan is angry when he discovers what Hunter has done and Louise breaks up with him.

Louise develops feelings for Keegan and the pair kiss passionately in late 2018, with the pair about to have sex whilst Sharon is secretly upstairs with her toyboy lover, Keegan's brother Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). When Louise's father Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) arrives home, he interrupts Louise and Keegan who have undressed to their underwear, much to the pair's embarrassment. Keegan begins work as a waiter at Beale's restaurant and attempts to have sex with Louise at his employer Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) house but are interrupted by Ian. Their romance soon fizzles out as Louise moves on to Keanu.

Tiffany becomes involved in a drug ring when she is groomed by Evie Steele and sells drugs to Keegan to help him block out the pain of Shakil's death, which causes Keegan to collapse. Despite this, the pair become closer and Keegan and Tiffany enjoy a summer romance throughout 2019, which evolves even further throughout the year. Keegan begins feeling the happiest that he has been in a very long time and furiously defends Tiffany to Louise when the latter insults Tiffany behind her back during Keegan's 18th birthday party. Keegan confesses to Tiffany that he is a virgin (he had been interrupted before sleeping with Louise) and she admits that she was raped whilst in the drug ring. Keegan supports her and sleep together for the first time in a hotel room. Following their first time together, Keegan proposes to Tiffany. Because Tiffany is 16, they cannot legally marry in England so the pair elope to Gretna Green in November 2019, despite attempts from Tiffany's aunt Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) to stop the wedding. Keanu serves as best man whilst the rest of Keegan's family arrive to support him. Tiffany and Keegan hyphenate their names to Butcher-Baker.

Keegan and Tiffany enjoy a stable marriage, although struggle with affording accommodation. Keegan however does spend money on a wedding ring for Tiffany, which he hides in her cake for her, however she throws this in the bin and the pair chase a rubbish truck to retrieve the ring after the truck takes their bin bag. Keegan, who had not long had a shower, is dressed only in a towel which he drops whilst searching for the ring in front of the whole square. However, he finds the ring. They initially live in the flat underneath Karen before moving in with Sonia and her lodger Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero). Tiffany starts a beauty course at college, whilst working part time at the funeral parlour to make up the corpses prior to funerals. Meanwhile, Keegan starts a sandwich making business out of a van bought for him by his brother in law Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith (aptly titled 'Butcher, Baker, Sandwich Maker'). Tiffany is asked to be a surrogate for Rainie Highway (Tanya Franks), her colleague at the funeral parlour which puts a strain on the Butcher-Baker's marriage as Keegan is against this, and Tiffany eventually declines. Keegan cheats on Tiffany with Dotty in August 2021- despite Keegan's friend Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) having feelings for Dotty. Keegan feels guilty when he returns from his one night stand with Dotty to find Tiffany collapsed on the floor following an allergic reaction. Tiffany eventually finds out and she furiously confronts Dotty.

Tiffany and Keegan separate in light of Keegan's infidelity and plan to divorce despite their feelings for one another. Tiffany's brother Liam Butcher (Alfie Deegan) arrives to visit family and is antagonistic towards Keegan. Tiffany decides to move to Germany with Liam and signs divorce papers which she puts in an envelope for Keegan. She spends the night with Keegan on the eve of her departure and writes a letter in a separate envelope asking Keegan to meet her at the tube. However, thanks to Liam, he does not receive this and only receives the divorce papers. Tiffany assumes Keegan doesn't want to reunite when he doesn't arrive at the tube station, unaware that he never received the note from her and only found the divorce papers. Keegan is upset by Tiffany's departure and feels further betrayed when he discovers that Gray is a serial killer, including killing Keegan's sister Chantelle Atkins (Jessica Plummer). Keegan sets fire to his sandwich van (since Gray paid for it) and the police become involved. Concerned for Keegan, Tiffany's sister Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) calls Tiffany back to Walford. Tiffany tells the police that Keegan was with her and the pair discuss their marriage, with Keegan and Tiffany discovering Liam's role in their break up. Tiffany and Keegan decide that he will join her in Germany and the pair leave together, with Keegan bidding farewell to Karen, Vinny, Mitch and his sister Bailey Baker.

When Tiffany's father Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) returns later in the year, he reveals that Tiffany and Keegan are still together and Keegan has started working with Ricky in his garage.

Morris' casting in ''EastEnders'' was revealed on Twitter by D&B Performing Arts, while a show insider told Digital Spy that "we'll be seeing more of Keegan in storylines with Shakil, Louise and Bex, as he continues to cement his reputation as a troublemaker." Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy said that Keegan had a "pretty memorable first scene". Duncan Lindsay from ''Metro'' said that through the young characters, ''EastEnders'' "is nailing the representation of the various young characters you find in school environments" and that Keegan is a complete bully. He also said that Morris is "deliciously contemptable as Keegan, a character we are meant to hate." Kilkelly later named Morris one of "Soapland's rising stars", praising the decision to introduce a family for Keegan and suggested that this could be used as "a great opportunity to explore Keegan and what makes him tick". He called the character "rude, aggressive and very annoying most of the time", but opined that Morris had "a screen presence". In February 2018, Roger Griffiths was cast in the role of Mitch, Keegan's father.

In March 2018, it was announced that Keegan and Shakil would be involved in a "hard-hitting" knife crime storyline that "will place the Kazemis and Taylors at the heart of the show", following Keegan and Shakil being attacked in "tragic scenes" that sees their lives turned "upside down." The storyline will explore the "wide-reaching ramifications of knife crime for those for all those involved." For the storyline, the show is working alongside the Ben Kinsella Trust, which was founded by former ''EastEnders'' actress Brooke Kinsella, who played Kelly Taylor from 2001 to 2004, after her brother was stabbed to death. Kinsella said that she "commend[s]" ''EastEnders'' for choosing to "portray the realities of knife crime" and with it still rising, "people [need to] understand its lasting impact" as "It simply destroys lives forever." Executive consultant John Yorke added that "the brutal reality" of knife crime was "brought home" to everyone at ''EastEnders'' through the murder of Kinsella's brother. He described knife crime still as "prevalent today" and the show has "a long tradition of tackling serious public issues" and described the knife crime storyline as "the most important the show has ever embarked on", calling the episodes "powerful, heart-breaking and dramatic" as well as hoping the make "it clear that knife crime destroys the lives of everyone it touches."

Morris was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2017 British Soap Awards for his role as Keegan, but was beaten by ''Coronation Street'' actor Rob Mallard. Provided by Wikipedia