is a
Fictional Character in the popular
BBC Soap Opera ''
EastEnders ''. He is played by
Adam Woodyatt , one of the two remaining original cast members.
Ian is the son of
Pete and
Kathy Beale , the father of
Lucy ,
Peter and
Bobby Beale , the nephew of
Pauline Fowler and cousin to
Mark ,
Michelle and
Martin . He is currently dating widow
Jane Collins , who has slept with
Grant Mitchell , brother of Ian's enemy
Phil Mitchell behind Ian's back.
In February 2006, after his mum Kathy's death in a car crash he went to
South Africa and brought back his half-brother
Ben in early March.
Ian's three marriages to trophy wives have brought little happiness.
He first married pregnant
Cindy Williams , whose baby he initially believed was his. The child she was carrying actually belonged to
Simon Wicks , Ian's suspected half-brother, with whom she had a brief fling before she started dating Ian. She told him the truth and ran off with baby Steven and Simon Wicks. However, she returned with Steven, and Ian stood by her, loving baby Steven as his own. Ian and Cindy later had twins, Peter and Lucy. Their marriage was extremely volatile due to Cindy's greed and dissatisfaction. She tried running away with Simon, but this was short-lived. She also had an affair with
David Wicks (Simon and Ian's other half-brother), and after falling head over heels for him, she had Ian shot (although he survived). As Cindy and David prepared to flee to
Italy with Steven and Peter (they didn't manage to collect Lucy, as Ian had her), David got cold feet and left her at the airport. She went alone with the kids. Ian realised the truth and tracked her down, re-abducting the children, and Cindy was sent to prison for conspiracy to
Attempted Murder , and her new boyfriend, Nick Holland, ditched her, despite the fact that she was now pregnant with his baby. Cindy died in childbirth, and her mother and sister are now raising her daughter, also named Cindy (after her).
Melanie Healy , Ian's second wife, proposed to him while they were watching the
Eclipse in August 1999. However Mel got cold feet and Ian knew she was partly going ahead with marrying him for the sake of Steven, Peter and Lucy, who she loved. In the middle of all this, Lucy became ill with suspected cancer. Lucy had some tests and when it turned out it was not cancer after all, Ian lied that Lucy had a terminal illness in order to emotionally blackmail Mel into marriage. The ploy worked and the two were married in a joint
Millennium wedding with
Barry and
Natalie Evans on New Year's Eve 1999. However that very same night disaster struck when Mel found out the truth about Lucy, and left Ian as the clock struck
Midnight into the new millennium.
Laura Dunn had originally been hired as a nanny for Ian's children but they eventually fell for each other. Laura even forgave him when he once kissed Mel and when he slept with then prostitute
Janine Butcher . Laura had an overwhelming desire for a child however Ian, not wanting more children, had a secret
Vasectomy . After revealing she was pregnant, Ian went to see a doctor to make sure the vasectomy had worked; it had, and Ian assumed that she had been cheating on him, and threw her out of the house on
Christmas Day 2002 after she revealed that she remembered being very drunk one night and zipping up Garry Hobbs's trousers. Ian had another blow when Steven discovered that Ian was not his real father, and he went to live with his biological father, Simon Wicks, in
New Zealand . Garry's marriage to Lynne ended, and he and Laura decided to make a go of things with each other for the sake of baby
Bobby , despite the fact that Laura found out at birth that Garry wasn't the real father! The relationship quickly disintegrated and he reconciled with his estranged wife, Lynne, who was now pregnant with his child. Laura fell down the stairs and died and Pat Butcher discovered Bobby's birth certificate which revealed Ian as the true father. He had tests which confirmed this, and it turned out that, although his vasectomy had worked, he was not supposed to have sex for six weeks, to let the procedure kick in, but he ignored this, thus resulting in Laura's pregnancy. Bobby came to live with Ian, Peter and Lucy shortly before his first birthday.
The former wife of his arch enemy Phil, Ian and Kate grew very close after she split up with Phil. Kate missed Phil's little girl, Louise and enjoyed spending time with Ian and Lucy, Peter and Bobby. Ian got the wrong idea when Kate said she liked being with a family again and asked her out but Kate stressed that she just liked Ian as a friend. Kate encouraged Ian and Jane to get together.
When Ian took his children to the funfair, he came to blows with
Jane Collins , selling candyfloss. A ride collapsed, resulting in injury to Peter and Ian was also injured. Jane came to look after Ian and, despite their initial hatred towards each other, they became attracted to each other. Ian wanted to get together with her but Jane rejected him initially because Jane had a secret. She was married and her husband was terminally ill. Eventually her husband died and Ian comforted Jane and got her to come to terms with his death. They eventually fell for each other and Jane now lives with them. Jane and Ian talked about trying for their own child, before deciding they were happy as they were. However problems have emerged in Jane and Ian's relationship after Ian brought his half-brother Ben to live with them after the death of Ben and Ian's mother and stepfather in a car crash. Ian is reluctant to let Ben see his father Phil, while Jane thinks Ben should get to know his dad. As Ian and Phil rowed, Jane and Phil's brother Grant grew close, Jane promising to keep Ian under control and Grant promising to keep Phil under control. In April 2006, Jane and Grant slept together, unbeknown to Ian.
Steven was born on Boxing Day 1989. Unbeknown to Ian, he was not Steven's biological father. Ian found this out when Cindy ran off with baby Steven and his real father. Later, Ian tracked Cindy and Steven down and they moved back in with him, Ian bringing Steven up as his own son. Steven was separated from Ian when Cindy kidnapped him and took him to Italy but Ian kidnapped him back and Cindy was taken to prison, where she died in childbirth. Steven was a quiet, sensitive little boy but grew up bitter and angry with the world. He found out that Ian wasn't his real father and eventually moved to New Zealand to be with his biological dad.
Ian's twins with Cindy, Peter and Lucy, were born on December 9th 1993, the same day Ian's dad died. Peter is named after him. Peter was separated from Ian when Cindy kidnapped him and took him to Italy but Ian kidnapped him back. Cindy died in prison during childbirth and Peter has witnessed Ian marrying first Mel and then Laura before settling down with Jane.
Peter's twin. She was separated from Peter and Steven when Cindy snatched the boys and took them to Italy. Lucy fell ill with suspected cancer just before Ian was due to marry Mel and when she got the all clear Ian told Mel she had cancer to emotionally blackmail her into marriage. Mel found out the truth and left Ian. Lucy witnessed Ian marrying Laura before divorcing her and settling down with Jane. She went off the rails for a short period but has now settled down
Ian's youngest child, born July 2003. Ironically, while Ian believed initially that Steven was his son then Steven turned out not to be, Ian did not find out Bobby was his until Bobby was ten months old. Ian had had a secret vascetomy and Bobby's mother Laura had had a one-night-stand with Garry Hobbs so it was thought that Garry was the father. Laura found out Ian was Bobby's father after Bobby had a blood test soon after his birth and named him as the father on his birth certificate but told Garry Bobby was his as she believed Garry would make a better father. After Laura died, Bobby's birth certificate was found stating Ian as his dad and Bobby moved in with Ian, Peter and Lucy in May 2004.
Ian has a longstanding rivalry with
Phil Mitchell , whose favourite pastime is to flush Ian's head down the toilet. This dates from Phil marrying Ian's mum
Kathy Beale in
1995 and then proceeding to destroy both their lives with his alcoholism in
1997 . Ian also became a suspect in the Who Shot Phil? storyline when Phil was shot on his doorstep by a unknown person in March
2001 . Most recently in April
2005 Ian tricked Phil into thinking he was helping him escape from police by providing money when he was on the run. Instead he had Phil arrested and Phil vowed to get revenge. When Phil returned from prison he got revenge on Ian by covering him with Tomato sauce in the street and bullying him into selling the Arches back to him. In
2006 when he discovered Kathy had died in a car crash and his son Ben had been staying with Ian, he attacked Ian for not telling him Ben is with him. He has since apologised to Ian and they agreed to take Ben out together. But Ian backed out at the last minute and took Ben with him on a camping holiday which angered Phil even more.
Ian made a bad impession on
Gus Smith 's faithful hound
Wellard , who bit Ian on the backside whilst they were in the café. Ian had the dog taken away by police to be destroyed and planned to take Gus to court. Ian and Gus went to court and Ian won the court case, however, Wellard was not destroyed, he just had to kept on a lead.
In 2005 Ian bought
The Queen Vic from
Chrissie Watts just before she was arrested for the
Murder of her husband,
Den . As Chrissie was not the legal owner of the property the contract turned out to be invalid. Ian lost a lot of money as a result of this.
- Ian has three biological children; Peter, Lucy and Bobby, although he brought stepson Steven up as his own from Steven's birth in 1989 until Steven left to live in New Zealand with his natural father in 2002. Ironically, while Ian believed for a while that he was Steven's biological father, for nearly a year after Bobby's birth he thought Bobby was another man's child. In a mid 2005 episode of EastEnders, Ian told Jane he had four children, implying he still thinks of Steven as his son. As well as Steven, Ian considered adopting Cindy's youngest child, Cindy Jr. after Cindy Sr.'s death, before deciding baby Cindy would be better off living with her maternal aunt and grandmother
- Ian's half brother Ben was born in 1996, making Ben younger than Lucy and Peter, his nephew and niece.
- Adam Woodyatt , who plays Ian, and Wendy Richard , who plays Pauline, are the only two cast members who have played their character continuously since Eastenders began in 1985.
- : Hello, dad. Had a nice day? '''Ian''': Pass
- ''(To Laura on New Year's Eve 2000)'' 'This time last year I was getting married and divorced in a matter of minutes!'
- : What would the customers think? Blood all over the bar. '''Ian''': They'd think 'I'm in the Queen Vic!'
- ''(About Steven after the poison pen letters)'' He's not mine though, is he? He's Cindy's little brat! ''(Ian turns round and Steven is standing there)''
- ''(To Andy)'' 'You're a big bully with a bog brush!'
- : There you are y’see, stuck here on your own. '''Ian''': ''(muttering)'' Chance would be a fine thing. : What? '''Ian''': D’you know what, I need to change this sling.
- : There are things you don't know about me. There's things you just don't understand. '''Ian''': Like what? Got some big dark secret, have ya? That you're actually a bloke?
- : Are you splitting up with me? '''Jane''': Is that what you're saying? : No, that's not what I'm saying! '''Jane''': Well, what are you saying then? : What I'm saying is...I love ya.
- : So what're we gonna do now? '''Jane''': We open up : Be completely honest? '''Jane''': No, I mean the caff!
- ''(To Juley)'' 'Haven't you got a fake jewellery stall to run?'
- ''(After Minty asks Ian for advice on weddings)'' 'Yes I've had three wives. One cheated on me, one didn't make it past reception, and one shot me. What would you like to know?'
- : I'll be back.'''Jane''': Off you go, Arnie.
- ''(about Phil)'' 'He's in the vic. Chubby fella, round face. Looks like he's chewing a wasp.
- ''(To Lucy)'' 'You're not old enough to have your own opinions!'
- : You're going to be the most hated man in Walford.'''Ian''': I've held that title since the mid-nineties!
- Parents: '' Pete Beale '' (deceased), '' Kathy Hills '' (deceased)
- Paternal grandparents: '' Lou Beale '' (deceased), ''Albert Beale'' (deceased)
- Maternal grandparents: ''Dennis Hills'', ''Brenda Hills''
- Children: '' Peter Beale '', '' Lucy Beale '', '' Bobby Beale ''
- Half-siblings: '' Ben Mitchell '', '' Donna Ludlow '' (deceased), '' David Wicks ''
- Uncles: ''Kenny Beale'', ''Ted Hills''
- Aunts: '' Pauline Fowler '', ''Maggie Flaherty'', ''Maureen Beale''
- Cousins: '' Mark Fowler '' (deceased), '' Michelle Fowler '', '' Simon Wicks '', '' Martin Fowler '', '' Conor Flaherty '', ''Tony Hills'', '' Sarah Hills '',
- First cousins once removed: ''Mary Flaherty'', '' Vicki Fowler '', ''Mark Fowler Junior'', '' Rebecca Miller ''
55 Victoria Road
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/eastenders/characters/character_content/character_ian_b.shtml Ian Beale, BBC character profile]
- Adam Woodyatt, BBC profile
