The Queen Victoria Public House, simply known as the Queen Victoria, Queen Vic, The Vic or The Vicky by the locals, is the local pub in Albert Square which has been the centre of drama since the very first episode was broadcast It is the only pub for the next 5 miles. The Queen Vic is currently owned by Linda Carter and her mother, Elaine Peacock, after Linda's ex-husband and co-landlord Mick Carter gets lost at sea.
During the first few months of the show, the Queen Vic had a partition wall which separated it into two sections. The smaller section (the Public Bar) housed a dart board and fruit machines with very little seating. It was popular with people who were calling in quickly. The larger section (the Saloon Bar) had more seating, including tables and was used when people wanted to stay longer. Den Watts, who was the landlord at the time, got permission from the brewery that owned The Queen Vic to remove the partition in October 1985, and hired Tony Carpenter to do the job. Den hoped that removing the wall and opening up the bar would create a more modern environment and appeal to a younger, hipper crowd and as if by magic, the first character we see drinking in the modernised Vic is young, hip Simon Wicks on his first day in the Square.
History[]
The Queen Victoria was built in the 1860s and, as was typical of the time, originally had two bars: the public and the saloon. According to Sharon's account given in February 2020, the first publicans were Mr and Mrs Bagstock and that Mr Bagstock allegedly drowned his wife in the bath.
Clare Bates did a school project in 1997 about the history of Queen Victoria which revealed that the Queen once visited The Queen Vic; however, no specific date was given for when this happened. It would have been at some point between 1860 and 1901. The pub was originally called The Balmoral Arms up until Queen Victoria's visit. The pub would also go on to have another royal visit in 2022 when the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited Albert Square.
Den and Angie Watts took control of the Vic in 1975, with plans to make their fortune and buy a "big house in Reigate". By 1985, the pub was still something of a "boozer" so publican Den Watts decided to dismantle the partitions between the two bars in an act of modernisation, so it became one. During the early years of EastEnders the pub was owned by the brewery Luxford & Copley who then rented it out to the Watts family.
In 1986 after Den divorced Angie on Christmas Day, Den's mistress Jan becomes the landlady for a few months, before Den splits up with her. Meanwhile Angie begins running the new rival pub in the Square named ' The Dagmar', owned by James Willmott-Brown. On New Year's Eve 1987, at the party in The Vic, Angie demands that she runs The Vic again with Den. In 1988, Angie leaves The Vic and Walford for Spain after telling Den that they will both run a new pub together. Den, falling for her plan, signs the lease of the pub over to Frank Butcher and his barmaid Pat Wicks. After Den finds out Angie's plan, it is to late for him to keep The Vic. Den goes on to run Strokes wine bar, which is a front for a criminal gang called 'The Firm". His involvement with the gang led to his (fake) death in 1989.
Pat and Frank gave up The Vic in 1990 to run the B&B. This was because Janine was young and Frank and Pat found it hard to look after Janine and run the pub. Den and Angie's daughter Sharon Watts and Simon Wicks managed the pub until the brewery found a new landlord. The brewery found Eddie Royle, who was an ex-policeman. He later invited his Irish fiancee Eibhlin O'Donnell to live with him after they were engaged in April 1991. However, this was short-lived as Eddie was stabbed in the Albert Square Gardens by Nick Cotton.
After Eddie's death, the brewery decide to sell The Vic off. Sharon Watts, partner Grant Mitchell and his brother Phil Mitchell, buy the pub off the Brewery. Sharon's name is put above the door, due to Phil and Grant having criminal records. In 1993, Phil decides to sell his share of The Vic to Sharon and Grant, who are married by this time.
In 1994, after Sharon's affair with Phil Mitchell, Grant forces Sharon out of The Vic on Christmas Day. Sharon returns in 1995 and even though it breaks her heart, she signs the deeds to The Queen Vic over to Peggy Mitchell, making her the new landlady.
Peggy and Grant own the Vic until 1999, when Peggy and Frank Butcher get together and marry. Grant decides to give his 50% share of The Vic to his brother Phil, who sells his share to Dan Sullivan for £5. With Dan as the new landlord, he starts making Peggy and Frank's lives hell until June 2000 when in a game of cards Phil tricks Dan in to signing an amendment to the deeds signing his share over to Peggy, making her the sole owner.
In November 2000, Peggy and Frank split up after his affair with his ex-wife, Pat Evans. Frank leaves the square shortly after leaving Peggy in serious debt with The Vic. This leads to Peggy selling The Vic unknowingly in 2001 to Sharon Watts. Sharon and her ex-brother-in-law Phil Mitchell get back together and Phil buys Steve Owen's share of The Vic. In 2002, after Angie Watts dies in Spain, Sharon decides to make a new start without The Vic, and sells her share to Phil. Sharon then buys the E20 nightclub from Beppe di Marco, and renames it Angie's Den, after both her parents.
Peggy once again becomes landlady of The Vic and runs the pub for Phil until she decides to leave and live with Grant, leaving Bar Manager Alfie Moon to run the pub. When Phil is accused of armed robbery in 2003, he signs all of his business interests over to his sister Sam Mitchell so she become power of attorney, including the pub. In 2004, Sam gets conned out of The Vic by ex-landlord Den Watts after his return from the dead.
On Christmas Eve 2004, Den Watts take over the pub, and the new Watts family, (Den, Sharon, Vicki, Dennis and Den's new wife, Chrissie) move in The Vic.
In February 2005, Den is killed by wife Chrissie Watts and is buried under concrete in the cellar of the pub. Chrissie forges Den's signature on The Vic's deed of transfer, and takes over control of The Vic. In July 2005, In November 2005 Chrissie tries to do a runner out of Walford so sells the Queen Vic to Ian Beale but Chrissie is caught and exposed as Den's murderer, and is arrested. Before Chrissie Watts would speak to the police, she wanted to talk to Sharon Watts where she told her she'd forged Den's signature on The Vic's deed of transfer, which meant as Den's daughter she had inherited the The Queen Vic. Sharon decides to sell the pub to Phil and Peggy Mitchell once again.
In 2009, Christmas Eve, Peggy's estranged husband Archie Mitchell and his new fiancee Janine Butcher take over The Vic. Later on Christmas Day, Archie throws out Janine, and is later killed by Stacey Branning by the famous Queen Vic Bust. In Archie's will, he leaves The Vic to daughter Roxy Mitchell making her the newest landlady.
Roxy is in charge of The Vic until September 2010 when she admits that she can't run The Vic properly, so signs the pub back to Peggy, making her the owner of the Vic for the second time, and landlady for a fourth time.
In 2010, after Phil Mitchell sets fire to The Vic in a drug fuelled rage, Peggy heartbroken at the burnt out wreckage of her beloved pub and seeing the damage she has caused to Phil leaves and a short while later signs The Vic over to Phil. With no interest in running The Vic himself , Phil decides to rent The Vic to ex-bar manager Alfie Moon and his wife Kat Moon making them the new landlord and landlady as well as the licensees.
After Kat has an affair with Derek Branning in 2012, she leaves the pub, leaving Alfie in charge until he gets with ex-landlady and Phil’s cousin, Roxy, who becomes the new landlady until November 2013. Alfie and his new wife Roxy split up and Alfie goes back to ex-wife Kat. However, this is short-lived as Phil announces that he is selling the Vic.
On Christmas Day 2013, Phil is due to sell The Vic to ex-landlady Janine Butcher, temporarily. After she is arrested for murder, the pub is sold to Mick and Linda Carter, the brother and sister-in-law (later to be revealed as son and daughter-in-law) of Shirley Carter.
In 2014, when Mick and Linda discover a damp problem in the cellar, which Phil never told them about when he sold the pub, they resort to getting a loan from Mick's estranged grandfather, Stan, for the repairs to The Vic's cellar. Stan's condition for giving them the loan is that they have to sign a share of The Vic over to his daughter and Mick's mother, Shirley, making her co-landlady and co-licensee, along with Mick and Linda.
In 2017, Woody Woodward becomes the new bar manager. In April, Shirley and Linda sold the freehold to the Queen Vic with out Mick’s consent, to a business called Grafton Hill and, the company now own the building. Grafton Hill employs Fi Browning as Accountants Manager of the Pub. Fi tells Shirley and Woody they have too many staff and need to sack two. Woody later sacks long term barmaid Tracey and Sharon. In May 2017 Mick returns to the Square and sacks Woody, re-employing Tracey.
In 2020, Mick and Linda decide it is time to sell the pub due to Linda's alcoholism. So they put it up for sale and Phil Mitchell and his wife, Sharon, are interested but they break up and Phil is determined to buy the Vic before Sharon does. It was revealed on the very last episode of EastEnders (until September 2020) that there was a mystery buyer and Phil comes round to have Mick and Linda sign the pub over to him, but Mick says someone already bought it, much to Phil's anger. When they walk out they see Phil's estranged wife, Sharon, behind the bar with her best friend, Ian Beale, on the other side of the bar. Phil is furious and Sharon says her iconic line "Hello Phil. What can I get ya?". In 2021, after Sharon runs Ian out of Walford, due to him inadvertently killing her son Dennis Rickman Jr, Ian sells his share of the Vic to Sharon, meaning she now has full ownership. Soon after gaining full ownership Sharon sells the Vic back to Mick and Linda Carter after Phil is blackmailed by Max Branning.
In 2022, Mick moves in his new girlfriend, ex-landlady Janine Butcher, after she returns to the Square. Janine's daughter Scarlett also moves in with Mick, his mum Shirley, and son, Ollie. Janine goes on to marry Mick in December 2022, making her the non-official landlady. On Christmas day, Janine's lies are exposed which leads to the exit of Mick. Janine is arrested on Boxing Day, leaving Mick's ex-wife Linda in charge of the Vic, as she still owns a share. Linda, however, takes Ollie and Annie Carter away from the Square to visit her and Mick's other children, to inform them about their fathers 'death'. A grief-stricken Shirley also leaves the Square and takes Lady Di to stay with her daughter, Carly Wicks, as Walford is full of too many bad memories. As Linda is currently away, Shirley hands the Queen Vic keys over to Denise Fox and tells her to keep an eye on it for her.
In January 2023, Alfie and Patrick manage to steal the keys to The Vic from Denise, and decide to open it up as a favour to Linda. They organise a Caribbean themed party, however Linda returns and throws everyone out. Linda opens up to Alfie and admits that she is going to sell The Vic and leave Walford for good, as she can't deal with all the happy memories from her time with Mick. After talking to solicitors the next day, Linda learns that she can't sell the Vic as Mick hasn't been declared dead, however she is unable to declare him dead as she is no longer his wife. Alfie offers Linda support, and after a heart to heart with both him and Patrick, Linda decides she has to face up to her responsibilities and continue on as Landlady.
When Linda learns that Janine is planning to sell Mick's share of the Vic once his presumed death certificate is finalised, she asks Sharon if she will buy into the pub. When Nish Panesar and his wife Suki learn that half of the Vic is going up for sale, they strike up a counter offer to co-own with Linda. Linda decides to keep both options of Sharon and the Panesar's open, however makes a mysterious phone call to someone, and asks them to buy the Vic. As the months go by, Linda continues to make mystery calls, until Mick's presumed death certificate finally comes through. She owns up to leading both the Panesar’s and Sharon on, and as Sharon lashes out at Linda over keeping her in the dark about her mystery buyer, Elaine Peacock, Linda's mum, struts through the doors, and announces herself as the new owner of The Vic, leaving Sharon reeling.
It is later revealed that Elaine is equal partners with her boyfriend George Knight, and him and his daughters, Anna Knight and Gina Knight, aswell as their pet dog, Tyson, move in.
Bust[]
1st Bust (1986-1992)[]
- 23 September 1986 - 22 October 1992
- Destroyed in a fire, started by Grant Mitchell.
2nd Bust (1992-2000)[]
- 24 November 1992- 26 June 2000
- Broken/repaired and later replaced.
3rd Bust (2000-2010)[]
- 26 June 2000 - 10 September 2010
- Damaged in a fire, started by Phil Mitchell.
4th Bust (2010-2012)[]
- 2 November 2010 - 1 October 2012
- Removed as Mitchell's were taking over pub again.
Back to 3rd Bust (2012-Present)[]
- 1 October 2012 - Present
Staff[]
Current Employees[]
Name | Position | Years |
---|---|---|
Tracey | Barmaid | 1985-2017, 2017- |
Jean Slater | Bartender/Events Manager/Cleaner | 2010-2013, 2018- |
Linda Carter | Landlady/owner/licensee | 2013-2020, 2021- |
Elaine Peacock | Landlady/owner/licensee | 2023- |
George Knight | Owner/licensee | 2023- |
Gina Knight | Barmaid | 2023- |
Anna Knight | Barmaid | 2023- |
Previous Employees[]
Name | Position | Years |
---|---|---|
Lofty Holloway | Bartender | 1985-1988 |
Arthur Fowler | Bartender | 1986 |
Simon Wicks | Bartender | 1986-1990 |
Jan Hammond | Bartender | 1987 |
Donna Ludlow | Bartender | 1987-1988 |
Pat Evans | Bartender/Landlady/Stand-in manager | 1988-1990, 1994-1995, 2000, 2003, 2010 |
Kathy Beale | Bartender | 1985-1986 |
Clyde Tavernier | Bartender | ???? |
Michelle Fowler | Bartender | 1994 |
Cindy Beale | Bartender | 1989-1990 |
Steve Elliot | Bartender | ???? |
Sharon Watts | Landlady/Full Time Barmaid/Part-Time Barmaid/Assistant Manager | 1991-1995, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2016-2017 2020-2021, 2022 |
Shelley Lewis | Bartender | ???? |
Binnie Roberts | Bartender | ???? |
Peggy Mitchell | Bartender/Landlady/Owner | 1994-2001, 2002, 2005-2009, 2010 |
Sam Hunter | Bartender | 1995-1996, 1999-2000, 2002-2005 |
Ricky Butcher | Bartender | ? |
Tiffany Mitchell | Bartender | 1995-1998 |
Debbie Wilkins | Bartender | ???? |
Lorraine Wicks | Bartender | ???? |
Mary Flaherty | Bartender | 1998-1999 |
Josie McFarlane | Bartender | ???? |
Nina Harris | Bartender | 1999-2000 |
Melanie Beale | Bartender | 2000-2001 |
Trevor Morgan | Bartender | 2001 |
Spencer Moon | Bartender | 2002-2004 |
Dave Roberts | Bartender | 2002 |
Alfie Moon | Bartender/Landlord | 2002-2004, 2010-2013, 2022, 2023 |
Little Mo Mitchell | Bartender | 2004-2006 |
Jake Moon | Bartender | 2005 |
Dennis Rickman | Bartender | 2005 |
Honey Mitchell | Bartender | 2006-2007 |
Dawn Swann | Bartender | 2006-2009 |
Shirley Carter | Barmaid/Cleaner | 2007, 2008, 2013-2020, 2021-2022 |
Roxy Mitchell | Bartender/Owner | 2007-2009, 2010, 2012-2013 |
Ronnie Mitchell | Bartender | 2007-2010 |
Sean Slater | Bartender | 2007-2008 |
Christian Clarke | Bartender | 2008, 2010 |
Janine Carter | Barmanager/Landlady | 2009-2010, 2021-2022 |
Ryan Malloy | Bartender | 2009-2011 |
Stacey Fowler | Barmaid | 2010, 2017-2018 |
Jane Beale | Chef | 2010-2012 |
Danny Mitchell | Bartender | 2010 |
Glenda Mitchell | Bartender | 2010 |
Chelsea Fox | Bartender | 2010 |
Billy Mitchell | Bartender | ? |
Eddie Moon | Bartender | 2011 |
Tyler Moon | Bartender | 2011 |
Jodie Gold | Bartender | 2011 |
Kim Fox | Bartender | 2011 |
Mo Harris | Bartender | 2011-2013 |
Ray Dixon | Bartender,
Chef |
2012-2013 |
Arthur Chubb | Bartender | 2012-2013 |
Kirsty Branning | Bartender | 2013 |
Mick Carter | Landlord/Owner/licensee | 2013-2020, 2021-2022 |
Johnny Carter | Barman | 2013-2014, 2016-2018 |
Nancy Carter | Barmaid | 2014-16, 2021-2022 |
Lee Carter | Bartender | 2014-16 |
Tina Carter | Barmaid | 2014-2019 |
Babe Smith | Bartender/Food Preperation | 2014-17 |
Abi Branning | Cook | 2015-2017 |
Masood Ahmed | Barman | 2018 |
Callum 'Halfway' Highway | Barman | 2018-2019 |
Frankie Lewis | Barmaid | 2021-2022 |
Tom 'Rocky' Cotton | Bartender | 2022 |
Patrick Trueman | Bartender/Potman | 2011-2013, 2017, 2023 |
Bernadette Taylor | Breakfast chef | 2023-2024 |
Residents[]
Current[]
Name | Year(s) |
---|---|
Linda Carter | 2013-2020, 2021, 2023- |
Johnny Carter | 2013-2014, 2016-2018, 2024- |
Ollie Carter | 2015-2020, 2021-2022, 2023- |
Elaine Peacock | 2015, 2023- |
Annie Carter | 2021, 2022, 2023- |
George Knight | 2023-2024, 2024- |
Anna Knight | 2023- |
Kojo Asare | 2024- |
Tyson | 2023- |
Past[]
Owner/Licensee[]
Deaths & Injuries[]
There has been 5 deaths within the premises. There has also been 3 deaths right outside of the premises.
Inside the Premises/ Accidents In The Building[]
Name | Year | Cause Of Death/ Injury |
---|---|---|
Tom Clements | 21 April 1988 | Heart Attack |
Den Watts | 18 February 2005 | He was hit over the head by a cast iron metal doorstop by Zoe Slater. Chrissie later delivers the fatal blow using the doorstop and Den dies instantly. |
Tracey | 29 August 2005 | Unconscious after being beaten up by Sam Mitchell. |
Archie Mitchell | 25 December 2009 | Stacey Slater used The Queen Vic Bust to murder him |
Linda Carter | 8 May 2015 | Fallen Down The Stairs And Waters Broke |
Ollie Carter | Early 2016 | Fell over in his highchair. |
Sylvie Carter | 30 March 2017 | Sylvie died on 30th March 2017, after pulling a radio into the bath, while her great grandson Johnny, sorted the fuse box out. |
Ian Beale | 4 December 2020 | Attacked by a Phil Mitchell and was left for dead. He had a bleed on the brain but survived. |
Shirley Carter | 10 March 2022 | Shirley was hit around the head with a stool by Gray Atkins when she beat him up following the revealed that he killed Tina Carter |
Nish Panesar | 25 December 2023 | Hit over the head with a wine bottle by Denise Fox to stop him from attacking Suki Panesar |
Keanu Taylor | Stabbed by Linda Carter in self-defence. |
Outside the Premises[]
Name | Year | Cause Of Death/Injury |
---|---|---|
Tiffany Mitchell | January 1999 | She was ran over by Frank Butcher and hit her head on the pavement. |
Dennis Rickman | January 2006 | He was stabbed by Danny Moon |
Bradley Branning | February 2010 | He fell to his death from the roof of The Queen Vic while being chased by police. |
Abi Branning | 25th December 2017 | Fell off the roof; declared brain dead in hospital. |
Lauren Branning | Fell off roof; recovered in hospital. |