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Lou Beale

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Lou Beale
Duration1985–1988
Book appearances1, 2, 3, 4
In-universe information
OccupationHousewife
FamilyAlbert, Maggie, Harry, Dora, Ronnie, Kenny, Pete, Pauline, Terence, Flo, Doris, Liz, Elsie, Queenie

Louise Ada "Lou" Beale (née Medeemey) was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Anna Wing from the show's inception on 19 February 1985 until the character's death in 1988. The character also featured in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set during the Second World War, and was then played by Karen Meagher. Lou was also the main character of two of the EastEnders novels, written by Hugh Miller.

Lou was the archetypal East End matriarch throughout EastEnders' first three years. An intimidating force within the local community, she was the dowager of the 'first family' of Albert Square, the Beales and Fowlers. Never afraid to speak her mind, and woe betide anyone who managed to get on her wrong side, Lou had the respect of her friends and family, even if they did find her a bit of a nuisance at times.

Original character outline

Lou Beale was the first EastEnders character to be created by series co-creator Tony Holland, taking the inspiration for some of the series' earliest characters from his own London family and background. Lou was based on his Aunty Lou - one of four sisters from a large Walthamstow family. Mother to his cousins Pete and Pauline and sister to his mother Ethel. Lou's original character outline as written by series creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story.

'LOUISE (Lou) BEALE. A lively 70 year old. Archetypal East-end mother-earth figure. Fat, funny, sometimes loud, often openly sentimental. An obsessive view of family...she can be a stubborn cruel "old bag" when she wants to be, sometimes keeping "atmospheres" going for months. It was always Lou's house that was used for the big family celebrations. Especially Christmas. Twenty or more people crammed into a tiny house. Five sisters wedged into a minuscule kitchen; drinking gin and orange; wearing funny hats; all wearing aprons; laughing raucously and trying to cook a huge dinner at the same time. Lou's house was also the meeting place for the family Sunday teas. Ham, or tinned salmon salad. Bread and butter. Jelly and tinned cream. And, tea...the changing face of the area (especially the immigrants) is a constant source of fear to her, but then she doesn't go out much. She prefers to be at home, or on a trip down memory lane: day trips to Southend - the Kursal, Rossi's ice-cream and a plate of cockles; one wonderful week's holiday in a caravan in Clacton; fruit picking in Essex; Christmas; weddings; street parties...She has a soft spot for her son, Pete...'.[1]

Lou's history

Lou was a true East-End girl and lived in Walford all her life. Albert and Lou were childhood sweethearts and they came to their house on the corner of Albert Square, number forty-five, in the 1930s. Lou remained in the house throughout the Second World War and brought up her children there. Her affinity and ties with the area meant that she tended to view Albert Square as her own and that gave her an excuse to intrude into anyone's business as she saw fit.

Lou was mother to Kenny and twins Pete and Pauline. Three other children, Harry, Dora and Ronnie, moved away from home when they were in their twenties, and lost contact with her. After the untimely death of her beloved husband, she remained in the house on Albert Square with her daughter's family; son-in-law Arthur Fowler and grandchildren Michelle and Mark. Kenny emigrated to New Zealand in the 1960s and so it was left to Pauline and Pete to tend to their mum's welfare in her old-age. The Beales had been running the fruit and veg stall on Bridge Street market for generations; an 'honour' that was passed to Ronnie upon his father Albert's death, and again passed to Pete when Ronnie moved away from Walford with his wife Gail.[2][3]

File:Dot Lou Ethel ee.jpg
Dot, Ethel & Lou

Lou was great friends with Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner, her life-long neighbours. She also had a good relationship with the local GP, Dr. Harold Legg and the old Jewish pawnbroker known only as 'Uncle'.

She had a tempestuous relationship with son-in-law Arthur; nothing he did was ever good enough for her daughter Pauline. In February 1985, she was furious to discover that Pauline had fallen pregnant for the third time, her family already crippled by Arthur's long stint of unemployment. Lou wasn't adverse to speaking her mind or scolding her family if she disapproved of their actions; although she soon came to celebrate her grandson Martin's, birth. She was a strict traditionalist and moralist but she believed in strong family-values most of all, and would defend her family to the hilt if any outsider dared to criticise. She provided a warm shoulder to cry on when Michelle found out she was pregnant in the Autumn of 1985 and was supportive of her favourite grandchild Ian, when he announced his plans to become a chef rather than following in his father's footsteps.

The youngest of seven siblings, Lou was from a large East-end family herself. Only her sister Flo came to outlive her.

Lou had a long standing feud with Pete's ex-wife Pat, who she had never forgiven for betraying her son, with his older brother Kenny. After banishing Kenny from their lives, Lou was plagued with mixed-feelings when he returned to London in 1988. She had always had a difficult relationship with her son, feeling him to be 'too big for the Square'. Kenny was shocked by the revelation that Pat had claimed him to be the real father of Pete's son, Simon Wicks. Before his return to New Zealand, Lou managed to make amends with her estranged son, despite Pat's malicious stirring - who later admitted to Simon that Brian Wicks was his real father after all.

In April 1985, Lou was forced to take to her bed, suffering from shingles. Within the next three years, her health continued to be on shaky grounds. In July 1988, she returned from a holiday in her beloved Leigh-on-Sea feeling distinctly out of sorts. Sensing her own demise, she took the opportunity to announce to her nearest-and-dearest exactly what she thought of them; even managing to make a truce of sorts with arch-nemesis Pat. After gathering her clan of Beales and Fowlers around her, she had a few choice words of wisdom and encouragement for each family-member. The next morning, she was discovered dead in her bed by daughter Pauline, having passed away peacefully in her sleep the previous night. Her friends and family mourned her passing affectionately, never quite managing to forget the irreplaceable 'old bag'.

Since her death, Pauline has struggled to live up to her mother's reputation as battle-axe of Albert Square and Lou would surely be turning in her grave if she knew what was left of her beloved family today.

In 1997, it was discovered that Lou had given birth to another daughter, also fathered by Albert, who Lou had given up for adoption after she was conceived out of wedlock. Pauline, Ian and Mark travelled to Ireland later that year to reunite with their long-lost family member, Maggie Flaherty.

Family


References

  1. ^ Smith, Julia (1987). EastEnders - The Inside Story. Book Club Associates. ISBN 0563206012.
  2. ^ Miller, Hugh (1986). EastEnders - Book One: Home Fires Burning. Inner Circle Books. ISBN 1850180458.
  3. ^ Miller, Hugh (1986). EastEnders - Book Two: Swings and Roundabouts. Inner Circle Books. ISBN 1850180504.

See also

The Fowler/Beale Family

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