(neé '''Williams''') was a
Fictional Character in the popular
BBC Soap Opera ''
EastEnders ''. She was played by
Michelle Collins .
Cindy always had an eye for the lothario's of Walford and despite trying to settle down several times with the more reliable Ian Beale, she just couldnt seem to stay faithful to him. She had a selfish streak, often thinking of her own needs above her husbands and children's. She often lied and schemed, particularly where men were concerned.
Cindy arrived in
Albert Square in
1988 and she proved popular with the local lads straight away. Although it was obvious that Cindy and barman
Simon Wicks liked each other, Simon stepped out of the running when his step-brother
Ian Beale showed an interest in her. Cindy and Ian began a relationship and a year later the two were engaged. However Cindy and Simon couldn't keep their hands off each other and it wasn't long before the two embarked on an affair behind Ian's back, which resulted in Cindy becoming
Pregnant with Simon's child. Cindy was prepared to leave Ian for Simon, but Simon didn't want to get tied down or upset his family, so he finished their affair and told Cindy he wanted nothing more to do with her or the baby. With nowhere left to turn Cindy decided to go through with her wedding to Ian and pretend that Simon's baby was actually Ians. She gave birth to
Steven Beale in
December 1989 and managed to keep his paternity a secret from Ian and the rest of the
Walford for a while. However she grew tired of Ian, who she had never really loved, and she began to feel guilty for deceiving him. While Ian was busy trying to get his catering business up and running in order to provide for his wife and child, Cindy dropped the bombshell that Steven was not really his but Simon's. Ian wouldn't believe that Steven wasn't his however, and desperate to escape him Cindy made plans to flee Walford with her son. Meanwhile Simon, who had embarked on a serious relationship with barmaid
Sharon Watts had also got itchy feet and he made the decision to leave walford with Cindy. The two departed in
1990 , without informing their significant others that they were leaving and Ian was subsequently left a broken man.
In
1992 however, news reached Ian that Simon had abandoned Cindy and Steven, leaving Cindy to bring up her son in poverty. Ian tracked Cindy down to a council flat and persuaded her to come back to Walford so they could bring up Steven together. Cindy was hesitant at first, but she accepted his offer, much to the anger of Ian's mother
Kathy , who had never really taken to Cindy in the first place. Despite hostility from all his family, it wasn't long before Cindy had settled back in to life with Ian, who was now quite a wealthy entrepreneur. Cindy was disliked by almost every female on the square, particularly Sharon, who still resented her for stealing Simon from her, and
Hattie Tavernier , who was regularly the subject of Cindy's jealousy regarding Ian. She did manage to make one friend however, fellow parent
Gita Kapoor , who was privvy to all Cindy's sordid secrets, and was used as a foil whenever Cindy wanted to escape Ian.
Cindy fell pregnant again in
1993 , this time to Ian, and both she and Ian were shocked to discover that she was expecting twins.
Richard Cole took a shine to Cindy, but after she shunned his advances he spread a malicious rumour that he was the father or her unborn children. Knowing Cindy's history, everyone was quick to believe Richard and Ian nearly split with Cindy as a result. The truth finally came out, however, and
Lucy and
Peter (who was named after Ian's late father
Pete ) were born in December 1993.
However, married life and motherhood soon began to take its toll on Cindy and it wasn't long before she was up to her old tricks, playing away behind Ian's back, firstly with Matt the
Lifeguard in
1994 , and secondly with her ex-lover's brother,
David Wicks , in
1995 . Their affair was long and drawn out lasting for a whole year. Cindy would sneak away from Ian at any given opportunity to be with David, often under the pretence that she was seeing Gita. Cindy's feelings for David soon began to grow and as this happened she became less and less tolerant of Ian. Ian eventually began to suspect Cindy was up to no good and this prompted him to hire a private investigator who filmed Cindy and David in a 'steamy clinch' and played it back to a furious Ian, who vowed to take Cindy to court to gain custody of all their children and refused her any access to them.
With David also looking like he might cool their affair, Cindy decided to take drastic action and in October
1996 she hired a
Hitman to rid herself of Ian once and for all. Just at the last minute she had a change of heart and decided she wanted to sort things out amicably, but it was too late however, and Ian was shot by an armed man in a passing car, and collapsed in a pool of blood right in front of Cindy. Riddled with guilt Cindy found it impossible to look innocent in front of the police, who clearly suspected that she had something to do with the attempted murder. When David was called in for questioning, Cindy knew it was only a matter of time before she would be arrested, so she decided to take her children and flee Walford for a second time. With David's help she managed to snatch her sons (Steven and Peter) from their schools. However Lucy, who had been ill that day, was taken home from school early (unbeknownst to Cindy), and so she was forced to leave the country without her daughter. David also opted to stay behind, promising Cindy that he would try to get Lucy and join her later, although he never did.
After recovering from the shooting and realising Cindy's involvement, Ian decided to hire a private investgator named
Ros Thorne to track Cindy down so he could reclaim his children. Ros found Cindy living in
Italy in
1997 and the pair set off after her, with Ian's mum's boyfriend,
Phil Mitchell , and his brother
Grant in tow. Upon finding Cindy working in a sleazy club as a waitress, Ian confronted her and in order to occupy her whilst Phil and Grant abducted her children, he pretended that he still loved her and was willing to forgive her. Cindy wanted her daughter back more than anything so she was willing to listen to Ian's pleas. The plan seemed to be working, but Cindy suddenly grew suspicious and she alerted the police. It was too late however, and despite a mad police chase Ian was successful in bringing his two sons back to Walford.
Cindy wasn't willing to give her children up so easily though and that same year she too came back to walfrod with her new boyfriend
Nick Holland in
1998 . She soon took Ian to court for sole custody of all her children. A long court battle ensued and Cindy was the eventual winner, forcing Ian to hand over his beloved children to her. However moments after the verdict Cindy was arrested for the attempted murder of Ian and she was taken into custody and charged. At this time Cindy was pregnant yet again with her fourth child (this time to boyfriend Nick). However, after seeing Cindy's true colours Nick decided he wanted nothing more to do with her and he left her in prison to rot, without any money for a
Brief to get her off. This was the last time Cindy was seen in Albert Square, however it was subsequently revealed that she died in prison whilst giving birth to her fourth child.
Cindy's baby survived the turbulant birth, and Ian was given temporary custody of her after her mother's death. He named her Cindy in her mother's honour and eventually gave her to Cindy's mother and sister, who lived in
Cornwall .
