Wellard

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For the Perth suburb, see Wellard, Western Australia

EastEnders character

Wellard
Portrayed by	Kyte
Duration	1994–
First appearance	18 October 1994
Occupation	Pet
Owner(s)	Gus, Robbie

Wellard is a fictional dog in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kyte. He is a Belgian Tervuren, though Kyte is actually a female dog.

Wellard's first appearance in Albert Square was on 18 October 1994. He was spotted by Robbie Jackson who assumed he was a stray. Robbie named him Wellard (short for "well hard"). Wellard's owner, Mr. Hammond, demanded the dog back and Robbie handed him over. However, Wellard soon returned to the Square and Robbie realised he was being mistreated by his owner and had run away. Mr Hammond later admitted to neglecting Wellard, and allowed Robbie to keep him. The pair became best friends.

Wellard once fathered puppies with Grant Mitchell and Nigel Bates's dog, Frieda. Unfortunately, the puppies were stillborn.

When Robbie was due to leave Walford in February 2003 to live in India, Wellard was run over and delayed Robbie's departure. Wellard is now looked after by Gus Smith.

In October 2005, Wellard bit Ian Beale on the bottom in the café. Despite Gus's apologies, Ian reported Wellard to the police. Gus hid Wellard at the allotments, and later at the Slaters' home, however, Ian eventually tracked the dog down and turned up with the police who took Wellard away. In December 2005, Gus tried to make some money so he was able to visit Wellard in "prison".

The day after Deano Wicks arrived in the Square, he designed a t-shirt for Gus as part of the "Walford One Owed Freedom" (WOOF) campaign. The t-shirts were a huge success.

Ian and Gus appeared in court on January 12, 2006 for Wellard's trial. Before the trial, Ian's partner, Jane Collins, gave Gus character witness statements for Wellard written by Ian's children, Lucy and Peter. Although Wellard was found guilty, because of these statements, there was no order to destroy Wellard, so Gus was free to take him back home, as long as he kept him on a lead at all times.

[edit] In popular culture

Wellard's, the internet company, was so-named in honour of the Belgian Shepherd Dog.

For Red Nose Day 2007, Aardman Animations did a Creature Comforts style short featuring Wellard asking for money for Comic Relief, along with selling his offspring and being put in prison.