| Beale/Fowler family | |
|---|---|
| The Fowler family in 1994 (clockwise from top left: Arthur, Michelle, Pauline, Mark, Vicki) | |
| EastEnders family | |
| Created by | Tony Holland and Julia Smith |
| Introduced by | Julia Smith |
| Duration | 1985— |
| First appearance | 19 February 1985 |
The Beale/Fowler family is a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
For many years before the show began, the Beale family consisted of head of the family, Albert, his wife, Lou Beale, and their three children, Kenny and twins Pauline and Pete. Before the show began, Albert had died and Kenny had been banished by Lou to New Zealand for sleeping with Pete's wife, Pat and fathering her son, Simon. Albert and Lou also had a daughter named Maggie before marriage and put her up for adoption.
As well as Maggie, Kenny, Pete and Pauline there were also three other children who are rarely spoken about; Harry, Dora and Ronnie, who all moved away from Albert Square, lost touch with their mother, and were never heard of or seen ever again. Harry moved to York where he became a hotel manager, he was an alcoholic who had a strained relationship with his mother which is why they lost touch. Dora married and moved away from Albert Square with her husband, it was on her wedding day that Arthur had proposed to Pauline. Ronnie was married to a woman named Gail and moved away from Albert Square because of a heart condition and later died. It is not known if Harry, Dora or Ronnie had any children.
When the show first began the family consisted of head of the family, Lou Beale, along with her son, Pete and daughter, Pauline. They were joined by Pete's wife Kathy and son, Ian as well as Pauline's husband Arthur Fowler, and their son, Mark and daughter, Michelle.
Pauline had a baby boy, Martin, in July 1985. A few months later, her 16-year-old daughter Michelle also fell pregnant, but nobody knew who the father of her baby was. She arranged to meet the man by the canal, and it turned out to be Den Watts, the father of Michelle's best friend, Sharon. Michelle's baby, Vicki was born the following year, and Michelle jilted her fianceé, Lofty at the altar. Arthur had dipped into the Christmas Club money to pay for the wedding reception and was sent to prison for 28 days, resulting in a mental breakdown, when he spent many days at a time hidden away in his shed at the allotments. Michelle later married Lofty in a quiet register office ceremony. She got pregnant by him but had an abortion and he left her.
Kathy Beale was raped by James Wilmott-Brown, and Pete couldn't take it, resulting in the eventual breakdown of their marriage. Also, Kathy's illegitimate daughter Donna Ludlow turned up to find her mother, but later died of a heroin overdose. Lou Beale died of angina later that year, and Pete broke down at her funeral. Wilmott-Brown convinced Kathy to drop charges, and Pete drunkenly went after him in a stolen car, only to be stopped by the police. He was convicted of drink-driving and received a driving ban.
Ian bought Sue and Ali Osman's café on Bridge Street, and became besotted with new market trader, Cindy Williams. They eventually married, Ian thinking that Cindy was carrying his baby, but the baby was actually Simon "Wicksy" Wicks'. Steven Beale was born on Boxing Day 1989, and Cindy confessed to Ian who, in a drunken frenzy, crashed his van and ended up in hospital, and Cindy and Wicksy ran away with Steven.
Mark revealed that he was HIV positive in 1991, Ian's businesses grew, and Michelle began college and started dating Clyde Tavernier. Clyde was framed by Nick Cotton for the murder of Eddie Royle, and had to go on the run, taking Michelle, Vicki and his son Kofi with him.
Ian set up a new restaurant, The Meal Machine, with Hattie Tavernier. In June 1992, Mark married Gill Robinson, a day before she died from AIDS-related cancer. Arthur's friendship with his boss, Christine Hewitt, developed into a sexual relationship, and he had an affair. Pete struck up a romance with school friend Rose Chapman, the ex-wife of gangster, Alfie Chapman.
Cindy and Ian got back together in 1993, and Cindy gave birth to twins. Tragically, Pete Beale was killed along with Rose in an arranged car accident, set up by Rose's ex-husband's family. One of the twins was named Peter after him, and the other twin was named Lucy. They were born on the same day that their grandfather died.
Mark met Ruth Aitken, a Scottish nanny, and they married. Michelle, pregnant with Grant Mitchell's baby, and Vicki moved to America so Michelle could go to university there. Ian's wife Cindy had another affair, this time with David Wicks. Bianca Jackson attempted to seduce David, until he revealed he was her father. Ian had to deal with the news that his mother was having another baby with Phil Mitchell, one of his worst enemies. Local money went missing, and Arthur was soon the prime suspect. Arthur had in fact been framed by his friend Willy Roper, but was sent to prison where he suffered a mental breakdown, which lead to his eventual death. Later that year, Ian was shot whilst walking in the Square. He survived the attack, and discovered that he had been shot by a hitman hired by his wife, Cindy.
Martin started hanging around with a gang, who vandalised Walford with their graffiti tags. At the age of 12, he was caught breaking into Carol Jackson's house and was arrested for stealing computers from a school. Bianca married Ricky Butcher, and Cindy left Walford, with the help of Barry Evans, taking two of her children, Steven and Peter, with her. She failed to snatch Lucy from Ian, as she was ill and Cindy couldn't get to her. Later that year Ian tracked Cindy and the boys down to Italy, where they were living with Cindy's new boyfriend Nick Holland. With the help of Phil (his stepfather) and Grant Mitchell, Ian snatched the boys back, forcing Cindy to return to England and face trial for kidnap. Also this year, Bianca was forced to have an abortion, as the child, Natasha, had spina bifida.
Bianca later had a son called Liam, but her marriage to Ricky collapsed after her fling with stepfather Dan Sullivan and she moved to Manchester.
Cindy was jailed for 10 years in 1998 after being found guilty of attempted murder, but she died in childbirth just weeks into her sentence. The child was raised by Cindy's Sister.
During 1999, Lucy became ill and it was feared that she was suffering from cancer. At the same time, Ian was engaged to Melanie Healy and just days before the wedding Ian received a letter from the hospital which confirmed that Lucy did not have cancer. He decided to keep this from Mel, fearing that she would leave him, and they were married on 31 December 1999. But she walked out on him hours later after hearing from Natalie Evans that Lucy had been given the all-clear.
Ian married Laura Dunn in May 2001, but their marriage was on the rocks within months after Ian's fling with 18-year-old prostitute Janine Butcher. It finally collapsed on Christmas Day 2002, when Laura revealed that she was pregnant. Ian said that he could not have been the father, as he had just undergone a vasectomy, and Laura was convinced that Garry Hobbs was the baby's father. Her son Bobby was born in 2003, and after Laura died in a fall down the stairs the following year, Ian found Bobby's birth certificate and discovered that he was the baby's father after all. Since then he has raised Bobby with his two other children. Steven found out that he was not Ian's son in 2002, and went to live with his real father Simon.
Pauline married Joe Macer in 2005, but she soon discovered his criminal past with close friend and lodger Bert Atkinson. When Joe couldn't decide between his marriage to Pauline and friendship with Bert, she threw him out.
Mark married Lisa Fowler in April 2002, but she left him for Phil Mitchell (the father of her daughter Louise) within months. Soon after this, Mark discovered that his medication for HIV was no longer working, and he left Walford in February 2003. Pauline received the news of his death 14 months later.
Martin ran over Jamie Mitchell in December 2002. After Jamie died in hospital from his injuries, Martin was sentenced to four months in youth custody. A year later, 19-year-old Martin married Jamie's ex-girlfriend Sonia Jackson.
In February 2007 after Pauline and Joe had died and Martin and Sonia had left there are now no remaining Fowlers. However Ian and his family moved in and kept the house in the family.
Since 1939, the Beales owned the market stall in Walford. Pauline Fowler ran the launderette from 1965–2006. Local miser Ian Beale, was the owner of Meal Machine before the business dissolved and the Arches before Phil Mitchell bought it again. Currently, the Beale Empire is operated by Ian Beale and it covers the market stall (since 1939), Bridge Street Café ("Kathy's") (1990–2011), Fit For a Queen (part of Masala Queen, since 2008) and Beale's Plaice (since 1995). Ian is a landlord of many flats in George Street. He has also owned The Queen Victoria once in 2009 as part of a loan contract, which he sold to Archie Mitchell. Chrissie Watts also sold it illegally to him in 2005 as she had forged her husband's signature it was returned to the Watts. David Wicks, Ian's half-brother, owned the carlot whilst he lived in Albert Square.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1939–present | Market stall |
| 1990–2011 | Kathy's Café |
| 1995–Present | Beale's Plaice |
| 2008–Present | Masala Queen |
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