Who are the Beale and Fowler families on EastEnders and where are they now? | The Sun
THE Beales and Fowlers have remained Albert Square stalwarts for more than three decades.
But with all the drama in EastEnders, it's easy to lose track of who is part of the soap's most iconic families. Here's your reminder.
The Beale family
Lou Beale
Lou Beale was the matriarch of the Beale family – and allegedly the first character ever created for the needs of the BBC One soap.
A long-time resident of Albert Square, Lou moved there in 1935 alongside her husband, ironically named Albert Beale, who only appeared in the Civvy Street spin-off.
Lou was portrayed by actress Anna Wing and was killed off three years after the London-based drama was first aired.
Anna threw in the towel after she reportedly expressed disapproval at the direction her character was taking.
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The actress passed away on July 7, 2013, at the age of 98.
Pete Beale
Pete, the son of Lou and Albert played by Peter Dean, inherited his father's food and veg stand.
Against his mothers' wishes, Pete married a prostitute named Pat, at the young age of sixteen after believing she had fallen pregnant.
Pat (EastEnders legend Pam St. Clement) eventually told Pete she had lost the baby, but the pair remained married and went on to have two children together, Simon and David.
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However, Pete believed his youngest was not really his and the marriage eventually fell apart.
Not long after, in 1993, Pete was killed in a car accident.
Pat later joined the Butcher family and went on to live a drama-packed life in Albert Square until her death from pancreatic cancer in 2012.
Kenny Beale
Kenny Beale is another child of Lou and Albert, who was banished from Albert Square in 1965 after having an affair with his brother Pete's first wife, Pat.
However, he returned in 1988 from his new home in New Zealand with his teenage daughter, Elizabeth, in tow.
Not long after his return, Kenny decided to leave again, despite believing that he could be the father of Simon Wicks, Pat's son.
Kathy Beale
Kathy Hills, portrayed by Gillian Taylforth since day one, married into the Beale family after getting together with Pete following his split from first wife Pat.
The pair married in 1968 and had a son, Ian, but called it quits after 21 years when Kathy was raped by another man.
Kathy remained in Walford and her character regularly appeared on the show until 2000.
In 2015, she returned to the show on a permanent basis after a fifteen year hiatus.
Following her first marriage to Pete, she tied the knot with Phil Mitchell, which led to the birth of her son Ben Mitchell, and Gavin Sullivan.
Her rape by Marcus Duffy also resulted in the birth of a daughter, Donna, who she gave up for adoption.
Donna Ludlow tragically died from a heroin overdose in 1989 after being rejected by Kathy.
Ian Beale
Ian Beale is the son of Kathy and Pete Beale, who made his first appearance on the show in February 1985 and was a regular on the program.
Despite starting out as a simple food stall worker, Ian becomes arrogant and smug after finding success as a businessman – leading to a feud with Phil Mitchell.
Ian has also been married five times on the show and has five kids – three biological, and two which he adopted.
One of his marriages ended on a very sour note when he found out that Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) had been trying to poison him for his part in her son's death.
Ian ran away from Albert Square in early 2021 but reappeared in December, 2022, just in time for Dot Branning's funeral.
Could Adam Woodyatt reprise his role again?
Cindy Beale
Cindy was a newcomer to Albert Square in 1988.
She married Ian in 1989 and let him believe that he is the biological father of Steven Beale, who she gave birth to in the same year and who Ian adopted.
Despite a brief split due to Steven's paternity being revealed, the pair reconciled and Cindy gave birth to twins, Peter and Lucy, in 1993.
The union imploded again and Cindy tried to have a hit taken out on her ex-husband.
Eventually, she died in prison in 1998, while giving birth to another daughter, Cindy Williams Jr.
Ian took on the role of father figure for the young Cindy and she left Walford alongside Liam Butcher.
The pair moved away to Germany for a fresh start and haven't been seen since 2015.
David Wicks
Another of Pete Beale's sons, David Wicks was adopted by his mother Pat's second husband Brian Wicks and lost contact with Pete.
However, David returned to Albert Square in 1993 for the funeral of his estranged father and – unannounced – turns up on his mother Pat's doorstep, who it's revealed he also lost contact with at 17.
When an old fling, Carol Jackson, moves to the square, David grows increasingly close to her daughter Bianca until Carol admits that David is actually Bianca's father – a fact he is forced to confess when she drunkenly tries to kiss him.
David was the father of Bianca Jackson but also had a daughter named Karen and a son, Joe.
He left the Square after a heart in 2014 and is living in the United States.
Steven Beale
Steven Beale is the biological son of Simon Wicks, Pat Beale's second child, and the adopted son of Ian Beale.
Steven initially left the show to find his real father in New Zealand after Ian confessed to him that he's not his biological dad.
However, Steven returned in 2007 and stalked Ian by pretending to be his late wife, Cindy, before eventually taking him hostage due to his bitterness over his paternity.
Despite being forced to leave again in 2008, Steven returned in 2015 and tried to mend his relationship with Ian.
He then died from a cardiac arrest a year later.
Peter Beale
Peter is the son of Ian Beale and his late wife Cindy and is born on the very same day his namesake grandfather Pete died in 1993.
In 1996, his mom Cindy fled the Square with him and half-brother Steven Beale after failing to have Ian killed by a hitman – however, Ian eventually found both boys in Italy and took them back with him to Albert Square.
After Cindy died in prison in 1998, Peter and his twin sister Lucy were raised by a series of step-mothers and their father Ian, but Peter suffered a great deal with jealousy towards his sister.
Peter eventually moved to New Zealand but returned in 2020 after he learned Bobby, who murdered their sister Lucy, had been injured in a racially motivated attack.
The hunk was portrayed by a series of different actors throughout his time on our screens with the latest being Dayle Hudson who left the soap in 2022.
Lucy Beale
Lucy was Peter's twin sister and – despite initially being a good student – gradually became more and more rebellious as she got older.
She eventually started using drugs and became involved in a series of flings before being tragically murdered in 2014.
A year later, it was revealed that she was bludgeoned to death by Bobby Beale, her half-brother, who was a minor at the time.
Bobby Beale
Bobby Beale is the younger half brother of Peter and Lucy, and the son of Ian Beale and Laura Dunn.
Bobby was revealed to have murdered his sister Lucy in 2015 with a jewellrey box but has since been somewhat redeemed following his release from prison.
In 2020, Bobby converted to Islam and fell victim to a hate crime.
He returned to Albert Square soon after being released from prison and has been staying out of trouble ever since.
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The Fowler family
Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler, née Beale, was the daughter of Lou and Albert Beale and the twin sister of Pete Beale.
Portrayed by Wendy Richard on the show, Pauline is the mother of Mark, Michelle and Martin Fowler.
She became depressed after the death of her husband Arthur Fowler but thought she'd found new love with Joe Macer, her second husband, who murdered her on Christmas Day 2005.
Joe hit her over the head with a frying pan.
Actress Wendy Richard passed away in 2009.
Arthur Fowler
The late Bill Treacher portrayed Arthur Fowler for 11 years on the soap – and was the first person to be cast for the show.
Fans will likely have spotted Bill in a variety of drama's including ITV police drama The Bill and medical series Casualty.
Aside from his TV career, the star has had success in the film industry, appearing in George and the Dragon and Tale of the Mummy.
Green-thumbed Arthur worked in the local allotment, which he used as an escape from his nagging wife and mother-in-law, and had a steady stream of multiple jobs throughout the decades.
But after being conned by Willy Roper, Arthur was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Arthur succumbed to an injury he sustained from a prison riot, soon after he was released and allowed to return home.
Mark Fowler
Mark's role was played by two different actors – but it was David Scarboro who first joined the cast in 1985.
The troubled actor was at the heart of a number of scandals, and departed the soap after refusing to partake in a racist storyline.
Rumours swelled that the actor had been fired from the show after being uncooperative on the set and turning up late.
The actor sued many major news outlets for libel following his departure from EastEnders, before he sought help from a psychiatric unit.
David's life was tragically cut short after his EastEnders fame when he was found dead in East Sussex in 1988, aged just 20 years old.
Todd Carty took over the role after the tragic death, and became a firm fan favourite for his 13 years on the soap.
Mark was one of the original 23 characters created for the soap.
Initially a delinquent teenager, Mark became a changed man when he returned to Albert Square as a 22-year-old in 1990.
He was featured in some of the most prominent storylines during his tenure on the soap and announced he had been diagnosed HIV positive.
This forced him to grow up fast and accept his responsibilities but he frequently found it difficult to accept the restrictions of the illness.
Mark died from the illness in 2004, shortly after leaving the Square.
Mark Fowler Jr.
Mark actor Ned Porteous shot onto screens in 2016 for a short period before he quit the soap and moved over to ITV show Emmerdale for a two-year contract.
The actor has had many fans convinced he may return to Albert Square after his character walked away in tense scenes back in 2017.
Fans might recognise Ned, 27, from his starring role in Netflix drama Bridgerton, where he played Lord Wetherby.
Mark Jr. is the son of Grant Mitchell and Michelle Fowler and was born off-screen in 1996.
He appeared in 13 episodes of the long-running program in 2016 and has been said to be living in Australia.
Michelle Fowler
Michelle was played by actress Susan Tully, who appeared in the first ever episode of the soap back in 1985.
The single mum departed a decade later to pursue a career as a producer and director working on ITV projects.
When Susan left the soap, Michelle's role was taken over by Jenna Russell.
The daughter of Pauline and Arthur Fowler, Michelle was introduced as a typical teen but she fell pregnant at the age of 16.
The father was revealed to be her pal Sharon Watts' adoptive father, Den.
She gave birth to a daughter named Vicki, and moved in with barman Lofty Holloway who pestered her about adopting Vicki as his own.
The couple divorced soon after Michelle went through an abortion funded by Den and she went on to live with Sharon Watts.
Michelle graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts and, although she never liked Sharon's ex-husband Grant Mitchell, she had a one night stand with him.
She emigrated to Alabama, where she married a man named Tim off-screen.
Michelle came back to Walford in 2016 and left two years later.
Martin Fowler
Martin, the youngest son of Arthur and Pauline Fowler, was played by actor James Alexandrou for more than 12 years before he left the show to chase other acting opportunities.
His character had a number of dramatic storylines, including affairs, underage pregnancies and even murder.
James left his role in 2007 before he went on to present BBC Three show Bizarre Crime and star in Silent Witness.
James Bye took over from the original actor,joining the cast in 2014.
Vicki Fowler
Vicki, the daughter of Michelle Fowler and Den Watts, was portrayed by a number of stars throughout the character's lifespan – and most recently by Scarlett Johnson.
The 38-year-old has been spotted in a number of other TV shows, including BBC Three comedy Pramface until 2014.
After leaving EastEnders, she returned to screens in 2008 in drama Adulthood, where she played iconic young character Lexi.
In Walford, Scarlett was seen as Vicki in 2003, when her character ran away from home after an argument with her mother Michelle.
She stayed in the Square for a year, getting involved in plenty of explosive storylines.
But when she overheard Den tell Sharon he didn't love Vicki as much as he loved her, the teen decided to leave Walford and go back to her mother.
She hasn't been seen since 2004.
Bex Fowler
Bex is the daughter of Martin Fowler and Sonia Jackson.
Actress Jade Sharif took on the role of Bex back in 2005, where she was a part of the cast for a two-year period.
Jade quit acting shortly after in order to focus on her studies, and was replaced by Jasmine Armfield.
Bex was adopted by the Millers but she returned to Sonia in the early noughties.
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After going through a rebellious stage, she left Albert Square in 2020 and has been travelling ever since.
Meanwhile, EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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