1988

Events

 * 7th January - Angie Watts collapses following severe damage to her kidneys after all the drinking she has been doing behind closed doors.
 * 12th January - The Karims take over the shop.
 * 21st January - Michelle Fowler aborts her and Lofty's child leading to Lofty viciously attacking her.
 * 28th January - Pauline Fowler discovers that Den Watts is the father of Vicki.
 * 9th February - Kenny Beale returns to Walford from New Zealand with explosives confessions in store.
 * 11th February - After Lou Beale's interference on Wicksy's parentage, Kenny, Lou and Pete conclude that Kenny is the father.
 * 23rd February - Pete and Kenny finally decide to confront Pat on who the father is, and she doesn't give them a straight answer "You were both useless in bed" she says.
 * 1st March - Ian Beale celebrates his not-so-simple eighteenth birthday after receiving a very interesting book about sex and thinking its from Dot Cotton so spends the majority of his day avoiding her only to find later out it was Kelvin Carpenter who had sent it to him.
 * 10th March - Mary Smith chucks Rod Norman out along with all of his possessions.
 * 22nd March - Darren Roberts holds a porn video show at the Community Centre.
 * 24th March - Sue Osman gives birth to her second child Little Ali Osman.
 * 31st March - Magda Czajkowski leaves the Square.
 * 12th April - Donna Ludlow reveals to Kathy Beale that she is the daughter she gave up for adoption at fourteen and her thoughts of starting a new life with Kathy is shattered when she is ordered to leave Walford.
 * 19th April - Lofty Holloway leaves Walford to start a new life as a handyman in a Children's home in Bedfordshire.
 * 21st April - Tom Clements sufferers from a heart attack in the Queen Vic toilets and dies.
 * 28th April - Colin Russell is mugged and saved by David Samuels, the nephew of Dr Legg (first appearance of the character).
 * 10th May - First appearance of Cindy Williams.
 * 12th May - First appearance of Frank's teenagers, Ricky and Diane.
 * 19th May - Angie Watts leaves with her love interest Sonny to run a bar in Spain.
 * 26th May - After vandalising her fathers business, Mary Smith departs on a bus along with Annie.
 * 7th June - Kathy contacts Donna's adoptive parents for them to try and convince Donna to leave Walford and return home with them, no surprise Donna is adamant she is staying in Walford.
 * 9th June - Darren Roberts is savagely beaten by The Firm after several attempts of trying to gain membership in the gang.
 * 16th June - Kathy tells Donna that she was the product of rape, leaving Donna devastated and appalled.
 * 7th July - After many months of trying to gain her favour and dropping flirtatious remarks James Willmott-Brown rapes Kathy.
 * 12th July - Following Den finding Kathy after the rape, he orders The Firm to torch The Dagmar.
 * 26th July - After gathering her family together and telling a few people in the community a few home truths Lou Beale dies peacefully in her sleep.
 * 28th July - Lou Beale's funeral takes place, and it's a sad day in Walford.
 * 16th August - Den is forced by The Firm to go on the run after him being a number one suspect for the torching of The Dagmar.
 * 25th August - Charlie Cotton steals all of Dot's money and does a runner.
 * 1st September - The battleaxe mother of Frank Butcher arrives, and tensions increase between her and Pat.
 * 8th September - Den hands himself into the police for the torching of the Dagmar to escape The Firm's hands.
 * 13th September - Den is sentenced to jail and taken to Dickens Hill Prison.
 * 13th October - The Beale flat is vandalised.
 * 22nd November - Carmel Roberts and Matthew Jackson get engaged.
 * 29th November - Rod finds out that Donna is addicted to heroin.
 * 20th December - Willmott-Brown returns to Walford and bribes Kathy with money.