Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the drama's longest-serving main character and one of four remaining original characters, the others being his mother, Kathy, his long standing best friend and ex-wife, Sharon Watts and Queen Vic barmaid, Tracey. The character appeared in his 2,000th episode in the show on 26 March 2007, and his 3,000th on 27 May 2016. Woodyatt took an extended break from EastEnders on 22 January 2021. He made appearances on 12 December 2022 and 22 June 2023, prior to a full-time return on 22 August of that year.
David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael French. David originally appeared from 23 December 1993 to 21 November 1996. He returned to the show on 1 January 2012 and departed two weeks later on 13 January. French returned to the role on 26 September 2013. David has been involved in various storylines, such as his troubled and dysfunctional reconciliation with his biological children Bianca Jackson and Joe Wicks, his volatile and equally dysfunctional relationship with his mother Pat Butcher, an affair with his sister-in-law Cindy Beale, reuniting with Carol Jackson and struggling to cope with her diagnosis of breast cancer. On 17 May 2014, it was announced that French had once again decided to leave the show. David last appeared on 30 May 2014, after his relationship with Carol broke down following their botched wedding day. In July 2024, it was announced that French would be reprising the role for a short stint after ten years away, with David returning on 3 October 2024 and departing the following week on 10 October 2024.
Dean Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Matt Di Angelo. He made his first appearance on 2 January 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that the characters of Deano and his sister Carly Wicks were being axed by executive producer Diederick Santer. Deano made his final appearance on 7 February 2008. On 15 January 2014, it was announced that Deano, now called Dean, would be returning and he first reappeared on 11 April of that year. Di Angelo took a three-month break from the soap from January to April 2015, with a one-off appearance in February to tie in with the show's 30th anniversary celebrations. In October 2015, it was announced that Di Angelo would leave the show in early 2016. The character is arrested for attempted rape with his final scenes set in court airing on 4 and 5 February 2016. On 19 August 2016, Dean is acquitted of attempted rape after standing trial off-screen. On 30 October 2023, Di Angelo made an unannounced return as Dean. On 15 July 2024, it was announced Di Angelo had finished filming with the show and Dean departed on 4 September 2024.
Lesley Jane Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 21 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. She returned on 8 November and departed again on 27 January 2012. Jane made a temporary return to the show on 6 January 2014 until 20 May of that year and permanently from 24 November 2014 to 23 October 2017.
Peter Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Peter makes his first appearance in episode 926, originally broadcast on 16 December 1993. Peter has been played by seven actors since being introduced in 1993. Francis Brittin-Snell portrayed the role from 1993 to 1996, followed by Alex Stevens from 1997 to 1998 and Joseph Shade from 1998 to 2004. James Martin took over and played the role from 2004 to 2006. He was played by Thomas Law from 2006 until 2010, when the character departed the series. In April 2013, it was announced that Peter would return, played by Ben Hardy who made his first appearance on 7 June 2013. Hardy announced his departure from the role in November 2014, making his final on-screen appearance on 24 February 2015.
Bobby Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who made his first appearance in episode 2557, originally broadcast on 24 July 2003. The character was originally played by Kevin Curran as an infant. Prior to his introduction, Bobby's paternity is at the centre of a storyline and is resolved when Ian Beale is revealed as Bobby's father. His mother, Laura Beale, is killed off in 2004 and Bobby's stepmother, Jane Beale, later adopts Bobby. Curran was replaced by Alex Francis in 2007. Following Jane's departure, Bobby finds a mother figure in Mandy Salter and is upset when she leaves.
The Beales and the Fowlers are a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. They were the main family for storylines in early episodes of EastEnders, and remained as such ever since. With at least one member of the family having been a member of the cast from the first episode in February 1985, they are the show's longest serving family. The original Beale/Fowler family consisted of matriarch Lou Beale and her children Pete and Pauline, alongside their families including their children Ian, Mark, Michelle and their spouses Kathy Hills and Arthur Fowler. Additionally, several members of the family have been introduced at a later point, including Pauline and Arthur's son Martin who was the first baby to be born into the show in 1985. The family has been headed with a matriarch first seen with Lou, and over the years, Lou's daughter Pauline, Ian's wife Jane Collins and more recently Pete's wife Kathy, have filled this role.
Steven Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Edward Farrell from 1989 to 1990, Stuart Stevens from 1992 to 1998, Edward Savage from 1998 to 2002, and Aaron Sidwell from 2007 to 2008 and then from 2016 to 2017. It was announced on 22 February 2008, that the character would be written out at the end of Sidwell's contract. Sidwell made his on-screen departure on 9 May 2008. On 2 May 2016, it was announced that Sidwell would return to the role. Steven made his return on 27 May 2016. On 9 August 2017, it was announced that Sidwell would leave the show again. Steven made his final exit on 8 September 2017, when the character was killed off during a high-profile stunt week.
Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another character, Mark Fowler; Mark's actor, David Scarboro, had left the serial prematurely due to personal problems. Wicksy was the soap's first male pin-up.
Cindy Williams is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, that has been played by four actresses since being introduced in 1998. She makes her debut in episode 1692, originally broadcast on 9 November 1998. Cindy is brought up by her maternal grandmother and aunt off-screen after her mother, Cindy Beale, supposedly dies off-screen in prison while in labor. In 2023, Cindy Beale makes a return in France alongside Ian Beale which confirms she had not died during childbirth – rather she went into Witness Protection, still unbeknownst to Cindy Jr. The characters most prominent storylines see her learn of the murder of her sister Lucy, enter a relationship with Liam Butcher, and struggle as a teenage mother to daughter Beth Williams. Cindy made an unannounced departure on 17 August 2015.
Lauren Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The role was originated by Madeline Duggan, who first appeared on 3 July 2006. Duggan played the role for four years until her exit on 23 June 2010. Three months later, on 27 September 2010, the role was recast to new actress, Jacqueline Jossa. In August 2014, Jossa announced that she was expecting her first child. In December 2014, Jossa filmed her final scenes prior to taking maternity leave, which aired on 24 February 2015, following the show's 30th anniversary celebrations. She returned temporarily on 14 September 2015 for her father's murder trial before departing again on 2 October 2015. Lauren made a permanent return on 27 May 2016. In September 2017, it was announced that Jossa and Lorna Fitzgerald, who plays Lauren's sister Abi, had been axed by executive consultant John Yorke. Jossa finished filming with the show on 11 January 2018, and Lauren departed on 16 February 2018. Lauren returned to the show on 12 December 2022 for the funeral of her step-grandmother Dot Cotton before departing again in the following episode. Lauren made an unannounced appearance alongside Peter Beale during the episode broadcast on 22 June 2023. On 30 September 2023, it was announced Jossa will return to the role in the New Year. Lauren’s return scenes aired on 1 January 2024.
Lucy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The character was played by Eva Brittin-Snell, Casey Anne Rothery, Melissa Suffield, and Hetti Bywater. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the daughter of Ian and Cindy Beale. She was the twin sister of Peter Beale, and had three half siblings, Steven Beale, Cindy Williams and Bobby Beale.
"Who Killed Lucy Beale?" is a storyline from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It was announced on 21 February 2014, and began on 18 April 2014, when Lucy Beale was discovered dead on Walford Common from a deliberately inflicted head injury. The storyline reached a peak during EastEnders Live Week on 19 February 2015, the show's 30th anniversary episode, during which Lucy's 10-year-old half-brother, Bobby, is revealed to have killed her following a confrontation at home. Bobby's adoptive mother, Jane Beale, had covered for him, moving Lucy's body to Walford Common and convincing Bobby that he was not responsible for his sister's death.
Elaine Peacock is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Introduced as the mother of established character Linda Carter, Elaine is originally played by Maria Friedman from October 2014 until June 2017 as a recurring character, before being recast to Harriet Thorpe from May 2023 as a series regular, taking over The Queen Victoria as landlady alongside Linda, following on from the disappearance of Linda's husband Mick Carter. Elaine's storylines in her first stint saw the character arrive to comfort Linda following her rape by Dean Wicks, pursuing a relationship with toyboy Jason Adams, and feuding with Babe Smith.
Anna Knight is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Molly Rainford. Anna first appears in episode 6708, originally broadcast on 1 June 2023, introduced alongside the Knight family. The newcomer family consisted of youngest daughter Anna, "fiery" and "demanding" older-sister Gina and "old-school gent" and "charming rogue" father George, all set to join Elaine Peacock in running The Queen Victoria public house, alongside Elaine's daughter Linda Carter, who is struggling to cope following the loss of her husband Mick on Christmas Day 2022. Rainford's casting was initially reported on 1 March 2023 – speculated until the production team for EastEnders confirmed the family were set to join the show on 28 March 2023. The character's backstory states that Anna's mother ran out on her family when Anna was only eleven. In a plot twist from episode 6719, originally broadcast on 21 June 2023, it was revealed Anna was in fact the daughter of Cindy Beale to facilitate Collins' "return from the dead", after she was killed-off in 1998 from an off-screen childbirth that resulted in the birth of Anna and Gina's older half-sister Cindy Jr. It was later revealed in a flashback episode Cindy did not walk out on Gina and Anna – Cindy received the news over the death of their other older half-sister, Lucy Beale in 2014, and returned to Albert Square – breaking her cover of witness protection that gained her the identity of "Rose Knight". Rainford did not initially know of the plot-twist – she found out within the same week it was transmitted. Rainford has also said she plans to become a "legacy character".
Gina Knight is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Francesca Henry. Gina was introduced by executive producer Chris Clenshaw in episode 6708, broadcast on 1 June 2023. She was introduced as a member of the Knight family; the daughter of George Knight and older sister of Anna Knight. Her older brother Junior Knight was later introduced. Her storylines in the series have included the reveal that her mother Rose is actually Cindy Beale and therefore discovering that Peter Beale is her half-brother, her cocaine addiction, her relationship with Dean Wicks, suffering racial discrimination from her adoptive grandfather Eddie, and supporting Anna through her abortion.
George Knight is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Colin Salmon. George was introduced by executive producer Chris Clenshaw in episode 6708, broadcast on 1 June 2023, as the patriarch of the Knight family. Initially billed as a charismatic ex-boxer and protective father, the character debuted alongside his girlfriend Elaine Peacock and daughters Gina and Anna. His storylines in the serial have included his arrival and moving into The Queen Victoria, his proposal to Elaine, his friendship with Phil Mitchell, the reveal that his ex-wife Rose was actually Cindy Beale, discovering he was adopted through baby farming, his ensuing identity struggles, his complicated relationship with his adoptive parents, cheating on Elaine with Cindy, and meeting his biological brothers Kobina and Kojo Asare.
Episode 6994 of the British soap opera EastEnders aired on 10 October 2024. It was originally released on BBC iPlayer and released on BBC One later that day. The episode revolved around the aftermath of David Wicks finding out about Cindy Beale's affair with Junior Knight, and the episode sees David and Cindy discuss their past relationship. The episode also sees Junior ask his father, George Knight, for relationship advice. This was the final episode in French's week-long guest stint as David, with the episode further exploring David's relationships with Cindy and his daughter Bianca Jackson. Both Collins and Palmer were happy to work with French again. In addition to David's departure, the episode also marked the cameo return of David's son Joe Wicks, which was not announced prior to the broadcast, and the brief appearance of Joe's daughter Holly. The episode ends on a Cliffhanger where it is revealed that Cindy's admission that she is having an affair with Junior and that she is still in love with George has been recorded. Joe's surprise return was well-received by viewers and critics.
