Ian Beale

Ian Beale is well known for two things - his reluctance to spend money even on important things and his four marriages which have created some of the most dramatic storylines in the show's history.

Ian's been everything from a loan shark to a property tycoon. Thankfully the fish and chip shop, fruit and veg stall, cafe and Beale's have seen him through the recession. A long timer on Albert Square, Ian has pretty much seen it all (and been through it all). Death threats, breakdowns, marriages, divorces and most recently Lucy's death.

1985-1988: Early romances
As a teenager, Ian argued with his father Pete Beale over his desire to become a caterer, but his grandmother Lou Beale encouraged him. He started several businesses and brought a local café soon after graduating from catering college. Ian had several failed romances, including one with his childhood friend, Sharon Watts. Sharon became interested in Simon Wicks, who was believed to be Ian's half-brother, but they remained close friends.

When his cousin Michelle fell pregnant, he was initially suspected of being the father by Pete and Kathy. He started a relationship with Tina Hopkins, and the pair decided to move in together, renting one of Kelvin Carpenter's fathers flats. Ian eventually lost his virginity to her, to his glee. Ian and Tina broke up when Tina's parents made an unannounced visit and were unhappy with the couples living conditions, so they took Tina to Ilford. Ian's uncle, Kenny Beale and cousin Elizabeth Beale visited from New Zealand and Ian and Elizabeth took a liking to each other, but they broke up when Elizabeth constantly flirted with men, and she returned home. Ian began to develop a relationship with Donna Ludlow, not knowing she was his half-sister until his mother told him she was raped as a teenager and gave Donna up for adoption.

1989-1998: Marriage to Cindy
Ian got engaged to Cindy Williams in 1989; however, a one-night stand with Simon left her pregnant. Cindy married Ian and claimed that the baby she is expecting, Steven Beale, was his, which resulted in Ian attempting suicide when he learned the truth. He recovered and caused Simon to have a car accident in revenge so Simon, Cindy and Steven left Walford together. Ian immersed himself in his catering business, but his exploitative working practice alienated his friends, employees and family. He and Cindy later reconciled, and Ian was thrilled to become a father to twins, Peter and Lucy Beale. After opening a fish and chip shop, Ian became so obsessed with building his business empire that he neglected Cindy, who decided to leave him for his half-brother, David Wicks. Ian won custody of their children and made Cindy so miserable that she hired John Valecue, a hitman to kill him. Ian was shot, but the bullet only clipped him and recovered. Cindy left the country with Steven and Peter and spent a year in Italy before Ian traced them and retrieved the boys. Cindy returned to Walford and won back custody of the children but was implicated in Ian's shooting. She was jailed on remand and died several months later in prison during childbirth.

1999-2003: Life after Cindy
Ian had a serious romance with Mel Healy, the manager of his bric-a-brac shop. She proposed to him but later cheated on him with Steve Owen. Suspecting that she was planning to leave him, Ian manipulated her by falsely claiming that Lucy was dying from lymphoma. They married in 1999, but she left him during their wedding reception after she discovered that Lucy was fine. Ian then pursued a new business venture: developing of high-market flats. He began a casual relationship with his nanny, Laura Dunn, but only committed to her after he was declared bankrupt. Laura brought back the fish and chip shop and, despite fearing that Ian was only interested in an inheritance she had received, they married in May 2001. Their marriage deteriorated when Ian attempted to kiss Mel. He refused to have a child with Laura, who frequently belittled him. Steven learned that Ian was visiting the local prostitute Janine Butcher and he told Laura before he moved to New Zealand to live with Simon. Laura forgave Ian on the condition that they had a baby. Although he agreed, Ian had a secret vasectomy and threw Laura out when she became pregnant later that year after he conned her into signing over control of their business.

2004-2010: Meeting Jane
Laura's son Bobby Beale required a blood transfusion shortly after his birth, making Laura realise that Ian must be his father, as her love Garry Hobbs was not a match. Laura died in 2004, breaking her neck after she fell down the stairs. Ian took custody of Bobby and also took in his half-brother Ben Mitchell, following the death of their mother. Ian fought Ben's father Phil Mitchell for custody, which worsened their long-standing enmity which steamed from Phil's disastrous marriage to Kathy. Ian met a new romantic interest, Jane Collins, in 2004. He helped her come to terms with the death of her husband, David Collins from Huntington's disease, and, although their relationship was severely tested when Jane had a brief affair with Phil's brother, Grant Mitchell, they married in July 2007. Steven returned to Walford and stalked Ian, escalating him to hold Ian hostage for several weeks. He accidentally shot Jane during an altercation, which resulted in her needing a hysterectomy. Ian forgave Steven but banished him from his life when he helped Lucy run away. Ian and Jane temporarily separated over Ian's reluctance to adopt a child. When Lucy fell pregnant, she suggested that Jane raised the baby as her own. Jane and Ian agreed, but he secretly helped Lucy to have an abortion, lying to Jane that she miscarried. Jane later learned the truth and decided to steal Ian's money and leave him. Ian arranged for her to adopt Bobby, and was devastated when he discovered Jane's planes. Although she decided to remain with him, Ian began an affair with Glenda Mitchell, who later blackmailed Ian, which forced him to confess the adultery to Jane. A disgusted Peter left Walford and joined Lucy in Devon. Jane and Ian divorced but continued to live together; however, their anger upset Bobby and Jane left Walford in May 2011 as a result. Ian attempted to move on by filling an um with cigarette ash, pretending that he was a widower and that the ashes were Jane to gain more attention from women. However, his ruse was soon discovered.

2011-2012: Becoming homeless
Feeling dejected, Ian went to a strip club in August 2011 and was stunned to see Mandy Salter being thrown out. Ian helped Mandy out and allowed her to stay with him. Mandy helped Ian discover his more frivolous side, and he realised he had feelings for her. They began a relationship after they realised that they both yearned for someone to love them, and Mandy accepted Ian's impromptu marriage proposal. Following the death of his relative Pat Evans, Ian's daughter Lucy returned to Walford, and was angry at Ian for not telling her about Pat's death. She decided to move in with her father and took a disliking to Mandy. The relationship was marred by Mandy's one-night stand with Ricky Butcher, Ian's insecurities, interference from Mandy's abusive mother Lorraine Stevens, and Lucy's hatred of Mandy.

Despite Lucy's best efforts to split them up, Ian was determined to marry Mandy and brought their wedding day forward. Mandy was horrified, however, when Ian chose her over Lucy and thrown his daughter out. Realising she didn't love Ian, Mandy left him in May 2012, leading to Ian to suffer a nervous breakdown. He wandered along a road barefoot, dressed only in pyjamas, not telling anyone where he had gone. Two months later, Lauren Branning, who was working with homeless people, saw Ian at a homeless shelter. Tanya Cross, Max Branning and Alfie Moon found him and brought him back to the Square but Lucy was unsympathetic, angered by him leaving her and Bobby, and slammed the door in his face. Ian refused to acknowledge anyone. He stayed with Tanya and Max until Phil found out he is back and took him to his house to ensure he doesn't tell anybody about Ben murdering Heather. Ian continued to be unresponsive until Phil's partner Shirley Carter mentioned Heather, and his memory returned. Ben attempted to help Ian by taking him to the café, but Lucy screamed and had him physically removed. Ian, extremely miserable, collapsed in tears outside, while Phil worried that Ian would remember that Ben murdered Heather. After Sharon returned to Walford, she successfully persuaded Lucy to give Ian another chance. Lucy agreed but on the condition that Ian signed all of his businesses over to her so that if Ian abandoned her again, she could be financially secure. Ian agreed to this. Ben confessed to murdering Heather and was remanded in custody, which left Ian shocked. He started working again at the café and got back into his old life. Phil then got Ian to visit Ben in prison to try to get him to retract his confession, but Ian said he could not tell Ben what is right. Eventually, Zainab Khan persuaded Ian to attend counselling in an attempt to recover from his mental breakdown and, after she talked to Sharon, Lucy finally made peace with her father.

2013-2014: Relationship with Denise Fox
Ian sparked a friendly rivalry with Denise Fox as the two engaged in a fruit-selling war, though he irritated her. Denise's sister, Kim Fox, attempted to set them up on a date but this upset Denise, who kissed Kim's boyfriend Ray Dixon. Kim discovered this and disowned her sister, so Ian allowed Denise to stay with him, igniting a friendship between them. It eventually led to a relationship when he confided in her about his life on the streets. Ian decided to open a restaurant, though Lucy was worried it would fail because of his mental illness. He ran out of money for construction but then found a box of cash that used to belong to Derek Branning. He also got Janine to invest in the restaurant and eventually tricked Lucy into signing over all of the businesses to him. Peter returned to live with the family and was soon followed by Cindy Williams, the daughter of Ian's dead ex-wife of the same name. Ian let Cindy stay, and Denise also moved in with the family. However Carl White, an associate of Derek, arrived in Walford and soon worked out that Ian had spent Derek's money. Carl claimed the money was his, and so extorted large sums of cash from Ian as payback. Carl was violent and burned Ian's hand when he tried to refuse to pay him before promising that the debt will be paid if Ian lied in court, and says that he saw Max tampering with the brakes of Carl's car. Ian reluctantly agreed, but on the day of the court case he was kidnapped by Phil, and Max was found not guilty. It was then revealed that Max was in on the kidnapping, but it was just to lure Carl into a trap. Ian then had to face the consequences of his actions, and Denise was angry when she found out the truth.

Denise thought that Ian was planning to propose to her as a Christmas present, but he denied it even though he had bought an engagement ring. Peter revealed that he was in a relationship with Lola Pearce, the mother of Phil's granddaughter and Ian's niece, Lexi Pearce. Phil threatened Ian and forced him to end the relationship. Ian told Peter this, and Peter told Ian that he had found £10,000 that Cindy stole from Phil. They returned the money, and Phil blamed Ian, believing that he put Cindy up to taking it. In January 2014, just as Ian was about to propose to Denise, Jane arrived unannounced. Jane later brought into Ian's restaurant, and they began running it together, leading Ian to harbour feelings for Jane.

2014-2016: The death of Lucy and aftermath
Ian was pessimistic when Lucy decided to set up her own property business and later became concerned about her when he discovered she was sleeping with Lee Carter and was taking cocaine. He confronted her and admitted she was the child he was most proud of, but this was overheard by Peter, which resulted in Lucy storming out. Ian tried to contact her when she didn't return home that night but was later informed by DC Emma Summerhayes and DS Cameron Bryant that Lucy had been found dead. He identified her body and then shared his devastating news with Jane, Denise, Cindy, Bobby and finally Peter. Struggling with their grief, Ian and Jane shared a passionate encounter, which gave Ian hope that they might reunite. When Jane dashed his hopes, Ian took his anger out on Bobby and Jane decided it would be best if she took Bobby away for a while. Cindy also left the Square to return to Devon with her aunt, Gina Williams. Increasingly alone, Ian leaned on Phil for support and questioned how he could move on from his daughter's death. With Peter's help, he staged an opening for the new and improved restaurant, but during opening night Summerhayes revealed that Lucy's body had been released for burial. Ian left early with Peter to see her but was unable due to his grief. He wanted to organise the funeral for as soon as possible but discovered that Max and Lucy were together; Ian angrily attacked Max as he carried Lucy's coffin down the aisle of the church and it was clear that Ian was not coping. Worried, Sharon believed that he was relying on pills to numb the pain of his grief and she and Carol Jackson comforted him.

Ian received texts from Rainie Cross that he hid from Denise. It was later discovered that he paid Rainie for sex on the night Lucy died, and, knowing that he had given a false alibi to the police, Rainie demanded money to fund her drug addiction. When Ian couldn't pay Rainie, she came to Walford and told Patrick Trueman what Ian did. Patrick confronted Ian and decided to tell Denise, so Ian arranged a surprise trip to see Denise's daughter Libby Fox in Oxford, and they left before Patrick could tell Denise. Patrick suffered a stroke, and he was unable to communicate what happened to Denise. Ian met Rainie at her request but Mick Carter saw them together. When Ian drove away, Rainie approached Mick who was then arrested and charged for soliciting.

Ian tried to convince Denise to put Patrick in a care home, fearful of his secret. However, he eventually agreed that Patrick could live with them. Rainie told Denise the truth, but before Ian could explain to Denise, Cindy made a sudden return, already several hours into her labour. Ian delivered her baby daughter and agreed that she could live with him. Denise moved out, refusing to forgive Ian for his actions when she discovered that Patrick knew and that Ian was willing to put Patrick in a care home to keep his secret. Concerned for Ian, Sharon and Phil organised for him to visit Michelle in America. Ian returned on Sharon's wedding day to try to stop her marrying Phil. Jane returned with the news that Bobby was missing — he was found on Walford Common— he wanted to return to Walford and Jane agreed. She fell for Ian again and proposed to him at the Christmas Eve carol concert. They planned their wedding for the next February.

Ian and Jane got married in a restaurant with their friends and family as witnesses. After Lauren told Peter that she believed a member of the family murdered Lucy, he accused them of killing Lucy. Jane admitted that Bobby accidentally killed Lucy by hitting her over the head with a jewellery box. Though Bobby believed that Lucy was still alive, Jane realised she was dead and covered up her murder by faking a mugging. Ian, Jane and Cindy decided to cover up Lucy's death; however, Peter didn't agree to do this. Ian, Jane, Bobby and Beth went on holiday for Ian and Jane's honeymoon, and Peter left Walford along with Lauren. A few weeks later, Ian and the rest of the Beales returned to Walford and reunited Beth with Cindy, but Cindy believed that she was not a capable mother and abandoned Beth at the park, but she was picked up by Liam Butcher. Ian and Jane agreed to adopt Beth, but Cindy decided she does not want to be in the same house as her baby, so says that if she is not adopted into a different household, she would tell everyone Bobby killed Lucy. After Beth was taken in by her paternal relatives, Ian told Cindy to leave and not come back. Jane paid Carol to look after Cindy, and Ian found out from Carol after an argument with her. On the day of Cindy's school prom, Ian revealed this to Cindy. After Cindy got into a car with two strange men, feeling she had no home, a concerned Ian phoned the police. After Cindy returned, Ian tried to convince her she was wanted and Liam convinced her to give her family a chance, so she and Ian made up. Ian and Jane were upset to learn about a new lead in the murder investigation but they still planned silence even after Ben was arrested in the hope that he was released. However, when Max was arrested and charged for the murder, Jane began to contemplate telling the truth when she felt guilty for not being able to help Carol prove Max's innocence. Ian was adamant that Bobby's role in the murder wouldn't be made public and confronted Sharon when she discovered the truth. Max was found guilty and sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Ian put Bobby in a private school, hoping that it would help with his anger problems. However, to pay for it, Ian decided to sell his restaurant to a supermarket chain, causing the locals to protest. Ian eventually chose not to sell, meaning Bobby must leave the school, even though he was happy there and doing well. Bobby overhears Jane talking about Bobby leaving the school, and when she stopped him going back to the school, he hit her over the head with his hockey stick three times, leaving her in a critical condition. He told Ian in the pub that he had killed Jane, just like he killed Lucy, within earshot of everyone in the pub. After Bobby was questioned about the assault, he confessed to the police that he killed Lucy. They are reluctant to reopen the case, but Ian was horrified when Bobby said he still has the murder weapon.

Bobby was charged with unlawful killing and denied bail. He was sent to a youth detention centre until his next hearing the following week. Ian then went to see Jane in hospital, where she told him she knew about Steven returning and the Beale family was better off without her, ending her and Ian's relationship. Bobby was sentenced to three years of custody. A week later, after visiting Bobby in prison and telling him not to appeal his sentence, Ian received a threatening note from Max, saying that he would never forget what Ian did. Ian worried when Max returned, but Max told him and Jane that he had forgiven them. Ian was thrilled when Michelle returned. He started to worry about his health when he had a medical checkup, and he was told that his BMI was high. Michelle crashed her car into Ian's fish and chip shop, for which he had no buildings insurance. Max's employer eventually purchased the chip shop, despite it arousing Ian's suspicions.

2017-: The death of Steven
Ian and Jane were devastated to hear that Steven had a brain tumour, but he had been lying about this in a desperate attempt to stay with Lauren. Jane discovered Steven's lie and that Max had not really forgiven them and was secretly planning revenge. In a bid to get rid of Jane, Max forced Steven to kill her. As a result, Steven set fire to the restaurant, trapping Jane inside. Steven tried to save Jane but was violently shoved into a table by Max, who left Jane to die. However, while Jane was rescued, Steven died from a liver bleed. Ian, Kathy and Lauren were shocked when they learned that Steven did not really have a brain tumour. After Jane came out of her coma, Max forced her to leave Walford with Ian, but James Willmott-Brown, who was working with Max, ordered Max to ensure that Ian remained in Walford, so Max blackmailed Jane into leaving Walford alone. Ian allowed Lauren and Louie to move back in with him and told Lauren's sister, Abi Branning, about making Beales into a franchise to pass onto Louie, so Abi told him that she is pregnant with Steven's baby, but Ian didn't take the news well. Later, Lauren warned Ian to watch his back as Max may be out for revenge, and a broken Max visited Ian and says he will kill him and Phil for making him suffer in prison. Ian tried to escape, but Max attempted to strangle Ian with fairy lights as Lauren and Louie come home. On Christmas Day, Tanya returned to Walford and revealed to Stacey and Abi that Jane told her that Max killed Steven, news which Abi relayed to Lauren, Kathy and Ian. Ian attacked Max in the street, but Max overpowered and punched him.

Background information

 * Ian Beale is one of the original twenty-three characters written by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. He has gone on to be the longest running character in the soap's history.
 * Because the actress playing Ian's mother Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) was fair-haired, they also wanted him to be fair, and because of Taylforth's age he also had to look very young. Ian was meant to be 14 years old when the programme first aired, but because of licensing regulations, the actor cast was required to be a 16-year-old who could "play down".
 * In 1990 Ian's age was increased and he celebrated his twenty-first birthday two years after his eighteenth. The producers felt Ian needed to be a bit older and more mature for storylines planned for him later that year.

First and last lines
"Yeah, course she will." (First line)