Billy may be Mr Nice Guy now, but he’s flirted with the dark side, from drink-induced violence to selling drugs. A loser in love, he tries to be the knight in shining armour to his damsels in distress, but it often ends in disaster.
'Ere, do you want any gear? I’m seeing me mate later.
1998 Guardian to teenager Jamie Mitchell, but drinks heavily and knocks him around. Billy’s cousin Phil rescues Jamie from his clutches.
1999 Turns up in the Square and attempts to blackmail other cousin Grant, who’s already in debt with a loan shark. Suggests the Mitchell brothers rob cash from a drug dealer but the plan goes wrong.
2000 Gets a job with club boss Steve Owen and supplies him with drugs. Steve’s girlfriend Mel gets Billy to pose as her lover to wind up Steve.
2001 Tries to woo Little Mo, but she’s still stuck on her violent hubby Trevor Morgan. Bad girl Janine Butcher gets him into bed when he comes into some money.
2002 Confronts his past when he sees his childhood abuser, Ernie, a carer from his children’s home. Gets together with Little Mo and spells out a proposal in alphabet spaghetti. They marry on Christmas Day.
2003 Gets into money troubles and steals from the club by faking an armed robbery. Is appalled when Mo is raped, but he stands by her.
2004 Mo realises she’s pregnant with her rapist’s baby and leaves the Square when Billy can’t deal with it. They are reunited when she returns with the baby, Freddie.
2005 Little Mo breaks up with him after falling for her brother-in-law, Alfie, and Billy hits the bottle. Has a brief flirtation with pole dancer Sasha and falls for new resident Honey Edwards when she plays helper to his Santa.
2006 Learns he’s going to be a dad and demands a divorce from Little Mo. Marries Honey on their third attempt. Baby daughter Janet is born with Down’s syndrome and the stress almost destroys his marriage to Honey.
Perry was born in 1962 and brought up in the East End of London with dad John, mum Diane, older sister Tracey and two younger brothers, Faron and Lee. He joined after school drama classes with famous acting coach Sylvia Young and he went on tour aged 13 with the stage show Oliver! Perry appeared in many TV dramas, including Minder and The Bill, before starring in EastEnders. Perry is married to former Corrie star Angela Lonsdale. He’s best friends with actress Kathy Burke and is an avid supporter of football club West Ham.
