Beale family

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. They were the main family for storylines in early EastEnders and were for many years. In 2007, there were few members of the Beale family left and no Fowlers, so the family were revamped. Peter Beale and Lucy Beale were recast to give them a more mature look, Ian Beale started a relationship with Jane Collins and Steven Beale also returned. By 2010, the number of Beales had fallen again. Lucy was recast and in 2013, Peter and Bobby were recast and Cindy Williams Jr, the half-sister of Peter and Lucy, was reintroduced.

Storylines

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. Also, Simon Wicks, Pete's long-lost son turned arrived at Walford and he was followed by his mother, Pat Wicks who revealed that Simon was not Pete's son. 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 in July 1988, 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's. 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. Kathy Beale died in a car crash in 2006. When Joe couldn't decide between his marriage to Pauline and friendship with Bert, she threw him out. Joe responded by hitting Pauline with a frying pan and she subsequently died of a brain injury caused by the blow on Christmas Day 2006. Joe died soon after in February 2007 but not before confessing to Pauline's murder.

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 that news that Mark had died of an AIDS-related illness 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, Rebecca and Sonia had left, Ian and his family moved in and kept the house in the family.

In 2007, Steven returned to Walford and proceeded to stalk Ian, pretending to be his deceased first wife, Cindy. Ian was held hostage for several weeks whilst Steven rejoined the family, poisoning Lucy's mind against her father in the process. When Steven's deception was revealed, Ian's wife Jane was accidentally shot and needed an emergency hysterectomy. Whilst Jane was devastated that she was now unable to conceive, Ian eventually forgave Steven. However, the final straw comes when he helps Lucy to run away and Ian banishes his stepson from his life for good. In 2010, Ian made plans for Jane to adopt Bobby which gave her legal rights to him. Meanwhile, in 2008, Bianca returned to Walford with her children Liam, Tiffany and Morgan, as well as her stepdaughter Whitney Dean. Bianca's partner was introduced and it was eventually discovered that he had been grooming Whitney. Bianca and Ricky eventually got back together and married for a second time in February 2010. In 2013, Liam was the target of a gang that terrorised Walford and he eventually left to protect his family. Bianca also served two separate stints in prison for assault but upon her return, vowed to do her best for her family. David also briefly returned in 2012 to visit his dying mother Pat and was reunited with Bianca and Carol.

Ian and Jane's marriage was marred with various affairs on both sides and eventually, Jane left Walford in May 2011 to avoid upsetting Bobby with her and Ian's constant fighting. By this time, Lucy had already left as Ian could not control her rebellious behaviour and Peter joined her in Devon four months later. With the family now consisting of only Ian and Bobby, Ian became depressed until he was reunited with Mandy Salter. The two began a relationship but a one night stand with Ricky destroyed his marriage to Bianca as she drove him away from Walford and Ian was left unable to trust her. Despite this, Ian and Mandy decided to get married when she confided in him about her deceased daughter, who was fathered by Ricky in 1994 and she apologised for the betrayal. To impress Mandy, Ian bought the cafe back, once again adding it to his empire. This disgusted Lucy, who had returned to Walford and quickly disliked Mandy. Unfortunately, numerous pressures added strain to the relationship- trust issues, Lucy's interfering, money woes and the revelation that Ian's brother Ben had murdered Heather Trott- and Mandy, seeing that Ian was ready to give up his daughter for her, left him on their wedding day in May 2012.

Upon Mandy's departure, Ian suffered a breakdown and went missing from Albert Square for several weeks, leaving Lucy to look after Bobby and the businesses. Upon his return, Lucy forced her father to sign all of his businesses and the family home to her in case he ever disappeared again. Eventually, Ian did return to his normal state and began a relationship with Denise Fox whilst buying a new restaurant, Le Square, in the process. In 2013, Peter returns to Walford for the restaurant's grand opening. Bobby started a relationship with Tiffany, despite their parent's displeasure.

Despite originally being the show's most dominant family, the only remaining Beales consist of Ian, Bobby, Peter and Lucy. Bianca and her family also live on the square but associate more with the Branning family rather than the Beale family.

The Beale family in 2010 from left to right: Peter Beale, Bobby Beale, Lucy Beale, Jane Beale, Ian Beale and Christian Clarke.

The Beale empire

Since 1939, the Beales own the market stall in Walford. Pauline Fowler runs the launderette from 1965–2006. Local miser Ian Beale is the owner of Meal Machine before the business dissolves and the Arches garage for a while before Phil Mitchell buys it again. Ian owns several other businesses: the market stall (since 1939), Bridge Street Café ("Kathy's", 1990–2011; "Mandy's", 2012, "Cindy's" 2012–present), Fit For a Queen (part of Masala Queen, 2008–12) and Beale's Plaice (since 1995, briefly named Peter's Place in 1997). In 2012, Ian signs all his businesses and properties, including 45 Albert Square, to his daughter Lucy Beale, who is also a landlord of many flats in George Street. Ian also owns The Queen Victoria in 2009 as part of a loan contract, which he sells to Archie Mitchell. Chrissie Watts also sells it illegally to him in 2005. As she has forged her husband's signature, it is returned to the Watts. David Wicks, Ian's half-brother, owns the car lot when he lives in Albert Square. In 2013, Ian decides to start his own restaurant using stolen cash, which he calls Ian Beale @ Le Square, but investor Janine Butcher changes it to Scarlett's.

Family tree

The Beale/Fowler family tree.

Family members

• Kenneth Beale, married unnamed wife
  • Albert Beale, married Lou Medeemey (1936–65)^[1]
    • Maggie Medeemey, married Sean Flaherty
      • Eamonn Flaherty, married Brenda
        • Colette Flaherty
        • Eamonn Flaherty Jr.
        • Declan Flaherty
        • Kylie Flaherty
        • Carl Flaherty
      • Conor Flaherty, married Geraldine
        • Mary Flaherty
      • John Flaherty
      • Thomas Flaherty
    • Harry Beale
    • Ronnie Beale, married Gail
    • Dora Beale, married unnamed husband
    • Kenny Beale, married Barbara
      • Elizabeth Beale
    • Pauline Beale,^[2] married Arthur Fowler (1965–96),^[3] married Joe Macer (2006)
      • Mark Fowler,^[4] son of Pauline and Arthur, married Gill Robinson (1992), married Ruth Aitken (1995–99), married Lisa Shaw (2002–04)^[5]
      • Michelle Fowler,^[6] daughter of Pauline and Arthur, married Lofty Holloway (1986–88), married Tim
        • Vicki Fowler,^[7] daughter of Michelle and Den Watts^[8]
        • Mark Fowler Jr, son of Michelle and Grant Mitchell^[9]
      • Martin Fowler,^[10] son of Pauline and Arthur, married Sonia Jackson (2004–06, 2007–)^[11]
        • Rebecca Miller
    • Pete Beale,^[12] married Pat Harris (1961–66),^[13] married Kathy Hills (1968–93)^[14]
      • David Wicks, son of Pete and Pat, married Lorraine Foster (1980–90)
        • Bianca Jackson,^[15] daughter of David and Carol Branning,^[16] married Ricky Butcher (1997–2000, 2010–)^[17]
          • Natasha Butcher
          • Liam Butcher^[18]
          • Tiffany Butcher^[19]
          • Morgan Jackson-King,^[20] son of Bianca and Ray Dixon
          • Whitney Dean,^[21] daughter of Nathan Dean and Debra, adopted by Bianca
        • Joe Wicks,^[22] son of David and Lorraine
        • Karen Wicks, daughter of David and Lorraine
      • Ian Beale,^[23] son of Pete and Kathy, married Cindy Williams (1989–97),^[24] married Melanie Healy (1999–2000), married Laura Dunn (2001–04),^[25] married Jane Collins (2007–11)^[26]
        • Peter Beale,^[27] son of Ian and Cindy
        • Lucy Beale,^[28] daughter of Ian and Cindy
        • Bobby Beale,^[29] son of Ian and Laura, adopted by Jane
  • Betty Beale
• Dolly Beale

References

External links

• Beale family at BBC Online