George "Lofty" Holloway is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tom Watt. Lofty is one of the serial's near-original characters, making his first appearance in the third episode, which was first broadcast on 26 February 1985. Lofty is generally depicted as a meek, luckless and hapless victim. A long-running storyline concerns his relationship with the character Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully). Lofty departed in episode 334, first broadcast on 19 April 1988. Watt reprised his role in 2018 for the funeral of Harold Legg (Leonard Fenton). Lofty appears in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019. He reprised the role again in 2022 for the funeral of Dot Cotton (June Brown); Lofty appears in episode 6608, first broadcast on 12 December 2022. Storylines George Holloway, nicknamed "Lofty" due to his above average height, serves in the army but has to leave because he suffers with chronic asthma; he settles in Walford and gets a job as a barman at The Queen Victoria public house. Lofty is devoted to his aunt Irene (Katherine Parr), who lives in a hospice, stricken with inoperable cancer. He takes on the task of caring and visiting her and is devastated when she eventually dies in 1987. He grows close to Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) after she becomes pregnant in 1985 and refuses to name the father: Lofty's employer, Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), is the actual father although Lofty never discovers this. Michelle finds the prospect of bringing up a child daunting. Lofty struggles to see Michelle unhappy and chivalrously offers to marry her and help bring up her baby, Vicki, as his own. Although Michelle does not love Lofty, she accepts his proposal, realising that she can never be with her baby's real father. However, on their wedding day, Michelle is visited by Den in secret and this makes Michelle reconsider her options; she jilts Lofty at the altar, devastating him. When Michelle changes her mind months later, Lofty is overjoyed and sneaks Michelle away for a secret wedding. Money is sparse for the couple and Michelle is never truly happy; she quickly tires of Lofty. When Lofty begins pressuring Michelle to have a baby with him and to allow him to adopt Vicki, she is unwilling. She discovers that she is pregnant with Lofty's child and has an abortion. Lofty is devastated by Michelle's betrayal and their marriage breaks