Beale family

The Beales, together with the Fowlers, are a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. They were the main family for storylines in early EastEnders making them the longest-serving family 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 Beale 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. In addition to this at the start of 2014 Rebecca Fowler returned to the serial with her mother Sonia Fowler, with Martin Fowler following 11 months later in December. In 2014 Lucy is found dead, causing her family and friends to struggle to come to terms with her death and the secrets she left behind, putting many people in the frame for her murder. It was revealed on 19th February 2015 that she was killed by her own little brother, Bobby. Members of the Beale family currently in EastEnders include Kathy Beale, Ian Beale, Jane Beale, Peter Beale, Bobby Beale, Martin Fowler, Rebecca Fowler and Liam Butcher. Cindy Williams is also a member of the Beale family as Ian's stepdaughter and ward.

Storylines

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

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For many years before the show began, the Beale family consisted of head of the family, Albert, his wife, Lou Beale, and their six children, Harry, Ronnie, Dora, 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.

The Fowlers—Pauline, Arthur, Michelle, Mark (recast), and Vicki—at Michelle's graduation in 1994

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 former 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 former 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 his half-brother 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, Cindy Williams, 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 opening a new restaurant in the process. In 2013, Peter returns to Walford for the restaurant's grand opening. Bobby started a relationship with Tiffany (despite their blood relation), to their parent's displeasure. In August 2013, Cindy Williams arrived in Walford to live with the Beale family, however Peter was not pleased by her presence. It is later revealed that this is because Cindy knew that Peter's friend from Devon had died whilst swimming, and Peter suffered from survivor's guilt as a result.

In 2014, Jane Beale returned to Walford and became a partner in Ian's new restaurant. Lucy Beale also opened her own lettings agency, called LB Lettings, with her best friend Lauren Branning. However, Lucy was having a fling with Lauren's dad, Max Branning. Cindy Williams also had sex with TJ Spraggan, in spite of having a relationship with Ian's great nephew Liam Butcher, and got pregnant by him. Peter began a relationship with Lola Pearce and moved in with her. Lucy called off her relationship with Max Branning and it was revealed that she was using cocaine on a regular basis because of problems with her father. After beginning a relationship with Lee Carter, she was murdered in the Walford Common. Her lifeless body is discovered by a young girl; when Ian hears the news, he is devastated.

Jane leaves Walford with Bobby to overcome their grief away from Ian. Peter moves back in with Ian when his relationship with Lola hits a rough patch. DC Emma Summerhayes becomes the Beales' family liaison officer following Lucy's death, and, at Lucy's funeral, her relationship with Max is revealed, causing Ian to lash out at him publicly. Denise nearly leaves Ian, but decides to stay and they grow closer. Phil begins to question Ian's alibi when he overhears Cindy questioning Ian as she knows his alibi is fake, and later it is revealed Ian saw prostitute Rainie Cross on the night Lucy died. Rainie begins blackmailing Ian, threatening to reveal his infidelity to Denise in order to fund her drug habit. When Ian stops paying her, she reveals what happened to Patrick Trueman, Denise's father figure. Patrick tries to tell Denise but suffers a stroke before he can.

Various suspects, including Max, Jake Stone, and Billy Mitchell, are questioned by the police, but they are all proved innocent. DI Keeble takes over the case, and encourages a press appeal, at which they ask for a man in a beanie hat to come forward as he was on the bus with Lucy on the night she died. Ian makes an impact statement, but afterwards is interrogated by press as to Lucy's drug habit. Phil realises that Keeble did not stop the interrogation as she knows Ian is hiding something, and Ian confesses the truth about Rainie to Phil. Mick Carter helps Ian through his issues, but sees Ian and Rainie together. While speaking with Rainie, he is arrested for kerb crawling, but Ian convinces him to keep quiet and plead guilty to protect his fake alibi. Rainie tells Denise the truth, and she leaves him, while Cindy returns to Walford and gives birth to a daughter, Beth. Peter proposes to Lauren Branning, who has become his girlfriend after supporting him through his grief for Lucy, after holidaying in New Zealand with Steven, but she rejects him when she discovers he was Lucy's cocaine dealer. Ian disowns Peter but later makes amends with him with the help of Jane, who returns with Bobby.

Martin's wife Sonia, who has been visiting her mother Carol Jackson to help her with her breast cancer, reestablishes herself in Walford and begins running a 'Fat Blasters' club to helping women lose weight. She feels insecure in her marriage and Martin pays little attention to her. She collapses after a dodgy gastric band implant in Bulgaria, and Martin returns to find her being rushed to hospital.

In 2015, It is revealed that Bobby was the one who killed Lucy.

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. After Janine leaves Walford, the restaurant is relaunched, with Ian and his ex-wife, Jane Beale, in joint ownership, under the name Beale's.

Family members

Before the mention of Harry, Ronnie, Dora and Kenny, there were three other children: Keith, Paul and Norma — who had moved away to Romford and Eastbourne before the series began. As the series progressed Keith, Paul and Norma were apparently forgotten in favour of other children and were not mentioned again. In 2000 an EastEnders book was published entitled EastEnders Who's Who. The book pertained to the existence of Ronnie and yet another child, Maureen, who had both died.^[30] Harry and Dora were not mentioned in the book and neither Maureen or Dora have been mentioned or seen on-screen, either in the serial itself or EastEnders: Civvy Street. Albert Beale's aunt Dolly Beale was also mentioned in the EastEnders novels.

See also

• Who Killed Lucy Beale?

References

External links

• Beale family at BBC Online