Lily Fowler

Lily Branning made her first appearance on 23rd June 2010 and she is the daughter of Stacey Branning and Ryan Malloy as well as the niece of Whitney Dean.

Sorylines
Lily is conceived in September 2009 when Stacey stops taking medication for her bipolar disorder, causing her to act irrationally and sleep with numerous men, including Ryan. Around the same time, she is raped by Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) and after trying to tell ex-husband Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements), she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Upon Stacey's return to Walford, she and Bradley reconcile and she tells him that she is pregnant. He is overjoyed, thinking the baby is his until she says that she is 3 months pregnant, and the baby cannot be Bradley's. After admitting Archie raped her, Bradley vows to raise the child as his own but after Bradley dies, Ronnie tells Stacey that Archie was sterile due to cancer treatment, making Stacey realize the father must be Ryan. However, Stacey doesn't tell him and goes into labour alone but Ryan finds her and takes her to hospital. During labour, the baby is starved of oxygen, but is born healthy and is named Lily when they come home. Stacey refuses to take Lily out of the house and panics when Jean does so without her knowing. However, Max Branning (Jake Wood) soon convinces Stacey to take Lily outside. In September 2010, during the Queen Vic fire, Stacey and Lily are trapped upstairs and are rescued by Ryan, who has just married to Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) and shortly after, Stacey tells Ryan he is Lily's father. The next day, Ryan declines an offer to hold Lily, and walks away. On Christmas Day 2010, Janine stabs herself to frame Stacey, causing Stacey and Lily to flee the country for Mexico.

After Ryan and Janine's honeymoon, Janine discovers that Ryan is Lily's father and is angry about it. She phones Social Services to report Stacey for neglecting Lily but the social worker, Maria de Costa (Judy Browne), can see that Lily is fine and notes that the allegation was false. Stacey has Ryan's name added to Lily's birth certificate but Ryan lies to Janine about where he's been and Janine does not tell him that she knows. She decides to kidnap Lily and go to France to get Stacey out of their lives. However, when Ryan finds Lily in the car, he orders Janine to stop. She does stop—on a level crossing with a train approaching—unable to restart the car. Ryan gets Lily out but Janine cannot open her door. Then she starts the engine in time for the train to miss hitting her car. Ryan insists they return Lily to her mother in Walford. Stacey has called the police but Janine tells her that she heard Lily crying and took her to look after her. Ryan backs up Janine's story.

Lily returns on 13 February 2014, when she answers the door to Stacey's cousin Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace). She gets on well with Stacey's new boyfriend Luke Riley (Matt Willis), although he thinks that Stacey's real name is "Jenny Smith". Kat let slip about Stacey's true identity to Luke, who throws both Stacey and Lily out of the house. After spending a week back in Albert Square, Stacey and Lily leave to spend time with Stacey's mother and Lily's grandmother, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright). After Stacey confesses to Archie's murder and is sentenced to five years imprisonment, Lily is sent to live with Jean in Brighton. She returns with Jean in August, and eventually stays with Kat and Alfie when Jean returns to Brighton. When Stacey returns from prison, Lily refuses to spend time with her and seems to be close with her auntie, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty). Lily and Stacey eventually reunite. When Lily asks about her dad, Stacey confronts Whitney about her telling Lily about Ryan without Stacey's consent. Stacey bans Whitney from seeing Lily, but later reconsiders when she realizes how much Lily means to Whitney.