19 Fictional fraudsters

Nathaniel Fitzwilliam Archibald is a character in the best selling Gossip Girl book series. He is portrayed by Chace Crawford in the television series of the same name. In the novels, he is considered the primary male character, always being fought over by the two most prominent females, Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen.

Kathy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Taylforth. Portrayed as "an attractive, bright, caring and highly moral woman", Kathy is one of the serial's original characters, appearing in the first episode of EastEnders on 19 February 1985. Taylforth was originally dismissed for the role of Kathy due to her young age, but was reconsidered when she impressed show bosses. Kathy remained in a prominent role throughout her original stint on the serial, featuring in high-profiled storylines involving her rape at the hands of James Willmott-Brown and the discovery of a long-lost daughter, Donna Ludlow, after she was sexually assaulted as a teenager.

Todd Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, formerly played by Bruno Langley from 2001 to 2017, and now played by Gareth Pierce. The character's debut was broadcast on 14 January 2001. He was introduced as part of the Grimshaw family, formed around the established character Eileen Grimshaw. Todd was the programme's first gay character which generated much coverage in the British media. The coming out storyline was credited for helping Coronation Street portray a more accurate depiction of society in the 21st century. The character's storylines have mainly focused on his relationships with Sarah-Louise Platt, Karl Foster, Marcus Dent and Billy Mayhew. Langley decided to leave the show in 2004 but returned for brief appearances in 2007 and 2011. The actor agreed to reprise the role on a permanent basis in 2013. Todd remained a part of the series until Langley's contract was terminated following an accusation of sexual assault against him in 2017, to which he later pleaded guilty. It was announced in July 2020 that Todd was to return, with the role having been recast to Pierce; Todd returned on 9 October 2020.

Alan Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Howard Antony. He originally appeared between 16 November 1993 and 16 October 1997, and returned on 12 October 2010 for three episodes.

Kyubey is the main antagonist of the 2011 anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its 2013 sequel The Rebellion Story. They are a "messenger of magic" that can grant any wish to a certain girl, on the condition that she become a magical girl and fight against witches. It is later revealed that their true identity is Incubator .

Joe McIntyre is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character was portrayed by actor Reece Dinsdale. Joe was introduced as the father of Tina McIntyre, and made his first appearing on-screen during the episode that aired in the UK on 26 May 2008. After Dinsdale quit the show in 2009, the character was killed off in February 2010. Known for his bad luck, Joe died whilst trying to fake his own death in order to claim insurance money.

Mercedes McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Jennifer Metcalfe. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 as the first character to be introduced to the series by series producer, Bryan Kirkwood. In 2008 Metcalfe feared that the character was to be axed but was later reassured by the series producer that she would not be. Metcalfe later stated her intention to stay with the series. Mercedes is part of the McQueen family and is the longest serving McQueen on the series. On 26 August 2014, it was revealed that Metcalfe had decided to quit the soap. On 18 November 2014, Mercedes was presumably stabbed to death, with her body discarded. However, Metcalfe returned to screens on 17 February 2015 in a surprise, unannounced twist which saw Mercedes revealed as alive and well, living in Nice, France. It was announced that Mercedes would make a full-time return to the show in May 2015, after brief appearances on 18 February, 9 March, and 6 April. Metcalfe announced her pregnancy in 2017 and revealed that she would be taking a year's break from the show. Mercedes was last seen on screen leaving with Goldie McQueen on 4 July 2017, although she briefly appeared on 7 September 2017 in a fake flashback scene involving her and Amy Barnes surmised by James Nightingale. Mercedes returned on 9 July 2018, and then made several other appearances before returning permanently on 13 August. Mercedes made another departure on 23 September 2021.

Keith Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Spinx. He made his first appearance on 6 September 2004. It was announced on 25 February 2008 that the characters of Keith and Mickey had been axed by EastEnders' executive producer Diederick Santer. He left the show on 1 July 2008.

Alfie Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005. He returned to EastEnders on 21 September 2010, following the return of on-screen wife Kat two episodes previously.

Danny Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jake Maskall. He made his first appearance on 30 December 2004 and was initially axed in July 2005, but reappeared on 21 March 2006 and was killed off on 31 March 2006.

Jack Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jimmy McKenna. He first appeared on 18 November 1996 and is the second longest serving character in the serial. He was introduced as part of the Osborne family along with son Darren and wife Celia who joined daughter Ruth to live in Hollyoaks village. His storylines have included an affair with Dawn Cunningham, four marriages and an insurance scam which saw him fake his own death. In his later years, Jack was more commonly known as the landlord of the show's pub, The Dog in the Pond.

Patrick James "Pat" Phelan is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Connor McIntyre. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 2 October 2013. The character was introduced as an acquaintance of builder Owen Armstrong, who he soon goes into business with as part of a revenge plot. Phelan blackmails both Owen and Gary Windass into working for him for free, after Gary attacks him for making sexual advances towards his mother and Owen's girlfriend, Anna Windass. The character's first stint culminates in Phelan coercing Anna to have sex with him in exchange for relinquishing his torment of Gary and Owen. He departed on 14 April 2014.

Paul Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, a long-running serial drama about social life in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. He is played by Stefan Dennis. Paul was created by producer Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' original characters. He debuted in the first episode of the show broadcast on 18 March 1985 and is currently the sole remaining original cast member. Paul appeared on a regular basis until 1992 when Dennis quit Neighbours to pursue work elsewhere. He agreed to reprise the role for a guest appearance in 1993. Dennis returned to the show full-time in 2004 and has since remained in the role. Dennis viewed his decision to leave Neighbours as a mistake.

Trevor Andrew Short is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Phil McDermott from 1 June 1989 to 1 March 1990.

Gavin Sullivan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Paul Nicholas. He first appears in episode 5124 of the show, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2015. Gavin is the third husband of Kathy Sullivan and is also revealed as the biological father of Sharon Watts. He is first mentioned as Sharon's father in 1990 and as Kathy's husband in 2001, but does not appear on screen until 2015 and it is not known that Sharon's father and Kathy's husband are the same person until October 2015. Viewers are informed in a 2006 episode that Kathy and Gavin are dead, but Kathy returns in February 2015, revealing that Gavin is also alive. Billed as "an EastEnders villain like no other", Gavin has been described as "dangerous", "sinister", "nasty" and "evil". His storylines include his "abusive", "controlling" and "manipulative" relationship with Kathy, kidnapping recovering alcoholic Phil Mitchell and getting him drinking again, and blackmailing Claudette Hubbard. His departure involves kidnapping Kathy, causing the death of his sister Margaret Midhurst and being arrested after threatening to kill himself and Sharon. He appears in 30 episodes, and his final appearance is in episode 5312, broadcast on 8 July 2016. In 2021, Gavin was killed off off-screen.

Kim Tate is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Claire King. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Kim is portrayed in the serial as an antagonist, who often concocts money making and vengeful schemes against other characters. During her first stint in the series, Kim's turbulent marriage to Frank Tate was prominent. Writers also explored her difficult relationship with her stepchildren, Chris and Zoe. Kim's motive for her scheming was to gain control of the Tate family business; her marriage was problematic due to her affairs with Neil Kincaid and Dave Glover, the latter died after he saved Kim's son James from a fire.

Dean Thompson is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Patrick O'Connor. The character made his first screen appearance on 1 February 2018. The character was introduced as one of Home and Away's new River Boys, who are a fictional criminal gang that reside in Mangrove River. The show had previously included actors playing the River Boys in their regular cast, most notably the Braxton brothers. They became popular with viewers and were led by actor Steve Peacocke as Darryl Braxton. When O'Connor joined the show he felt pressured to live up to the "legacy" Peacocke had created on the show. He watched old episodes and researched the role with two former cast members who played River Boys.

V. M. Varga is a fictional character in the FX television series Fargo. He is the main antagonist of the third season and is portrayed by David Thewlis.

Dawn Hope is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Julia Mallam. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 February 2003 and her last on 14 July 2006.