Pete Beale

Pete's marriage to Kathy hit the rocks after his failure to support her through her rape ordeal. Ex-wife Pat and the uncertain paternity of her sons David and Simon didn't help raise his mood much either...

However, a chance meeting with childhood sweetheart Rose Chapman led to a return to happiness after the wilderness years. That is, until his new gangster in-laws disposed of him in a motorway accident. He didn't live to meet his twin grandchildren, Lucy and Peter – Ian's children.

The fruit and veg stall has been manned by various stallholders and staff since – Mark and Martin Fowler, Ian Beale, Billy Mitchell and Luke to name but a few, but no one will ever match Pete's way with a Cox's Pippin.

Backstory
Pete and his twin sister Pauline were born to Albert and Lou Beale on the 11th March 1945. They were born and raised in number 45 Albert Square. Albert owned a fruit and veg stall on Walford market. Pete used to help out on the stall as a boy, and when Albert died, Pete inherited the stall.

Pete schooled with his neighbour and friend, Den Watts; they remained close in adulthood. In his late teens, Pete had a one-night stand with prostitute Pat Harris, she then informed Pete she was pregnant. Pete did the chivalrous thing and married Pat when he was 16; however it transpired that the pregnancy was a false alarm and Lou always felt that it was a ploy to trap her son. During the marriage, Pat gave birth to two sons, David and Simon, whom Pete believed to be his. Yet Pat couldn't settle down. She had various affairs, including a tryst with her former lover Frank Butcher, a one-night stand with Den Watts, and an affair with Pete's older brother Kenny. Lou found Pat and Kenny in bed together and banished Kenny abroad, but Pete was unaware of the affair. Pat was also having an affair with another man named Brian Wicks. When Pete found out he left Pat - she was six months pregnant with Simon at the time - and then went into a relationship with local girl, Kathy Hills. There was a messy divorce in 1966 and soon after, Pat married Brian and he took on responsibility of her two sons. Pete had little contact with his children following this.

A few years after leaving Pat, Pete married Kathy, although there was strong opposition from Lou, who wouldn't condone her son's divorce. And before the wedding, Pete faced the wrath of Kathy's older brother Ted Hills who tried to frame him for robbery. Den Watts helped Pete out and threatened to break Ted's legs if he did not leave Walford. A year after Pete and Kathy married, they had their only son Ian. The family did reasonably well financially and enjoyed a more luxurious lifestyle than Pete's extended family.

1985-1993
Pete Beale was 40 in 1985 and had run the market stall for 20 years. In late 1985, Nick Cotton broke into Dr. Harold Legg's surgery to steal drugs to sell and leafed through highly confidential patient records, one of them was Kathy Beale's. He blackmailed Kathy. Kathy later told Pete and Pete brutally beat Nick to a pulp in Bridge Street. The local policeman witnessed it and turned a blind eye. In June 1986, Pete's ex-wife Pat Wicks turned up to say he was not Simon's father. In 1987, Pete was a suspect in a spate of attacks in the area and when interrogated he assaulted a police officer. In 1988, his marrige to Kathy ended after she confessed to being raped. Also, Pete and Kenny were told neither were the father of Simon Wicks but Brian Wicks was, whether this was true is not known. Pete went off the rails after his marriage broke up and was arrested for drink driving. He took a holiday to New Zealand.

In 1993, Pete began dating Rose Chapman, his old schoolfriend. However she was still married to gangster Alfie Chapman. They later arranged a car crash and Pete and Rose were killed. Pete was buried in Walford Cemetery.

As of 2015, photos of Pete hang on the walls of his son Ian's restaurant and No 45.