User:AnemoneProjectors/EastEnders storylines

1985

EastEnders started with the discovery of a badly beaten Reg Cox, found in his dilapidated house by Den Watts, Arthur Fowler and Ali Osman. Reg died in the second episode. The killer was later revealed as Nick Cotton, although he was never arrested.

Meanwhile, 39-year-old Pauline Fowler discovered she was pregnant, much to the dismay of her mother, Lou Beale. She demanded that she abort the baby, but Pauline refused. Arthur Fowler had been made redundant from the toy factory a year earlier, and struggled to find another job. This meant that money was tight for the Fowlers throughout the year.

Publicans Den and Angie Watts's marriage is on the rocks. Den took a holiday with his mistress Jan Hammond, while Angie had a brief affair with Tony Carpenter in revenge. Their Sharon Watts and her best friend Michelle Fowler competed for the attentions of Kelvin Carpenter. He chose Michelle, but dumped her soon after to concentrate on his exams.

In April Debbie Wilkins and Andy O'Brien successfully campaigned against local council plans for demolition of the Square.

There was heartbreak for café owner Ali Osman and his wife Sue in June, with the cot death of their one-year-old son Hassan. While the Osmans were grieving the loss of their child, Arthur and Pauline Fowler celebrated the birth of their son Martin in July, ironically on the 16th birthday of their daughter Michelle.

A young Simon Wicks showed up on the Square to reunite with his alleged father, Pete Beale - Pauline Fowler's twin brother. The Beales then had to deal with the news that Nick Cotton had stolen Kathy Beale's medical records from the local surgery, and discovered she had a baby at 14, which she gave up for adoption. He demanded money in return for his silence. Kathy was forced to admit to her husband, Pete, that the baby was a result of rape and he found this hard to take. Pete and Kathy's 16-year-old son Ian took up boxing.

In September, Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts, in an attempt to make her unfaithful husband Den jealous, unsuccessfully tried to seduce barman Lofty Holloway.

Single mother Mary Smith took up stripping to support her baby daughter Annie.

16-year-old Michelle Fowler, who had only recently left school, announced to her best friend Sharon that she herself was pregnant, but refused to name the father. In true whodunit style, pregnant Michelle, who had consistently refused to name the father of her child, arranged to meet him secretly by the canal. Millions of viewers watched as the pub's poodle Roly jumped from the car — followed by Den Watts himself, thus earning him his "Dirty Den" title.

In December, Saeed and Naima Jeffery's arranged Islamic marriage finally crumbled when Naima discovered that Saeed had visited prostitutes. A series of thefts from the Vic were blamed on Lofty, but was later revealed to be Sharon. 17-year-old Mark Fowler ran away from home, only to be tracked down at Southend in December. He was acting as a surrogate father to a middle-aged woman's two children and refused to return to Walford just before Christmas.

1986

The troubled marriage of Den and Angie Watts worsened when his mistress Jan visited the Queen Vic, and in despair, Angie took a near-fatal overdose.

Cassie Carpenter moved in with her father, Tony, after her mother's boyfriend beat her. Hannah and Tony also tried to patch up their failed marriage, with little success.

Michelle's daughter Vicki was born towards the end of May, and subsequently Michelle jilted Lofty at the altar in late September. Arthur had dipped into the Christmas Club money to pay for the reception and when the missing money was noticed he staged a fake robbery, but was soon found out and arrested. This in term, resulted in Arthur's breakdown — he spent whole days doing jigsaw puzzles or locked in his shed at the allotment. Later in the year, Lofty and Michelle tied the knot in a quiet registry office ceremony.

Ethel Skinner's adored pug Willy was kidnapped, but was found weeks later by Detective Roy Quick, who spent most of the year trying to woo Debbie Wilkins and even proposed, whilst Andy had a brief affair with Angie Watts. Debbie turned Quick down and agreed to marry Andy instead. Sue Osman, still affected by her son's death, invented a phantom pregnancy, and confessed to her deception a few weeks later during a visit to new mother Michelle Fowler.

Pat Wicks arrived in Walford in June and told her son, Simon, that Pete Beale was not his real father, and that he was the son of Pat's husband Brian Wicks.

Mehmet and Ali Osman opened a cabfirm, Ozcabs, from inside the café. The youths of Walford tried to break into pop music with their group The Banned, but didn't have much success.

Andy O'Brien died in August after being hit by a lorry, while saving the life of a young boy.

Mehmet Osman slept with Mary Smith for a bet, and then acted as Pat's pimp, and then persuaded her to coax Mary into prostitution too.

Pauline was distressed to discover that Mark had been placed in a detention centre for burglary and assault.

New arrivals in the Square during 1986 were gay graphic designer Colin Russell and wealthy businessman James Willmott-Brown, and by the end of the year Colin was joined by his young boyfriend, Barry Clark.

The Carpenters worried about their son when he began dating the middle-aged health visitor, Carmel Roberts.

Throughout the year, Den and Angie's relationship became more strained. Den asked for a divorce; Angie said she was dying: "Six months to live"; Den agreed to stay. They took a trip to Venice where Den had a chance meeting with Jan, and Angie started drinking. While confessing to a barman that she was not really dying, Angie was overheard by Den who, in a ratings-record Christmas Day episode, demanded a divorce. Arthur Fowler smashed up his living room as his depression hit rock bottom.

1987

Arthur Fowler spent the early part of the year in hospital following his breakdown. When he recovered he stood trial for the theft of the Christmas club money and was imprisoned for 28 days.

Simon Wicks and Sharon Watts began dating, but he soon grew bored when she refused to sleep with him. The Angie and Den saga continued with the pair operating as professional rivals. Den carried on running the Queen Vic and Angie managed The Dagmar for Den's arch rival, James Wilmott-Brown. Den soon began an affair with the Vic's new caterer Magda Czajkowski, but she dumped him for Simon Wicks.

The Walford prowler was a serious threat to the women of Walford with Sue and Sharon both having narrow escapes while Pat Wicks was battered. Simon Wicks and Pete Beale were supects, and Pete was arrested after attacking an arresting police officer. The real attacker was eventually caught whilst trying to attack Debbie Wilkins in the launderette. Debbie began a relationship with detective Terry Rich. They got engaged and moved to South London in May. Naima Jeffery also found love with another cousin, Farrukh, and returned to Bangladesh.

This year saw the departure of the entire Carpenter family. Hannah and Tony split, Tony returned to Trinidad and in September Kelvin left for university. It was also the year of the highly-publicised gay kiss between Colin and Barry, which at the time was seen as controversial. The press reacted with 'outrage' and 'fury' at this 'filth' and, for a while dubbed the show EastBenders. Many residents on the Square revealed their bigotry when they discovered Colin's sexuality too.

Den got involved with the criminal organisation known as The Firm and was sent to Morocco as a courier. The ladies darts team entered a tournament that took them to the Isle of Dogs. Whilst on the trip Pat met her old flame, Frank Butcher. They had slept together at a holiday camp almost 30 years earlier. He wanted to get back together with her, but she was hesitant.

Charlie Cotton's appearance was a nice surprise for Dot Cotton, and he met her son Nick for the first time. They were soon causing trouble.

Struggling with her unhappy home environment, Sharon sought solace at the church and met the curate Duncan Boyd. By the end of the year they were engaged.

Carmel Roberts brother Darren arrived in Walford with his two young children, and proceeded to run various dodgy scams.

Kathy's daughter contacted her and requested to be reconciled. Unable to face a daughter born from such horrific circumstances, Kathy refused to see her. Her daughter, 22-year-old Donna Ludlow, moved to the Square anyway, and kept her identity a secret. Ethel Skinner had a fall and Dr. Legg tried to talk her into moving into sheltered accommodation.

Single mum Mary tried to support herself and baby Annie as she veered dangerously towards a life of prostitution. Mary's parents took baby Annie away to live with them after Mary had left the child on her own and a fire broke out. Later in the year her relationship with Rod Norman, the roadie, helped her to get Annie back. At the end of the year Angie and Den had reunited to run the Vic, but only as business partners.

1988

Michelle became pregnant by Lofty, but aborted the baby without telling him. Lofty soon discovered the truth, and left her. Later in the year, he left Walford for good to become a handy man in a children's home.

Pauline confronted Den and he admitted he was Vicki's father. Furious, Pauline threatened to run him out of Walford.

Ashraf Karim took over the First til Last grocery store in Bridge Street and his family moved to the Square.

Angie was hospitalised due to her years of alcohol abuse. She took a holiday with her friends Sonny and Rene to recover, and began an affair with Sonny. She left Den to be with Sonny in May. Den gave up tenancy at the Vic and began working as the new manager for Strokes winebar, which was really a front for The Firm's illegal gambling den.

Pat was reunited with old flame Frank Butcher and he arrived in the Square with his children, Diane and Ricky, leaving his other daughters back in Manchester. Pat and Frank became the owners of the Vic. Frank's mother Mo also moved to the Square and made Pat's life hell.

The big question this year was who fathered Simon Wicks. More than 20 years after her son's birth, Pat could not give a clear answer as she did not know whether the father of Simon was Kenny Beale or Pete Beale; she also did not rule out Den Watts as a contender. However the father was later revealed to be Brian Wicks; the man who had always been portrayed as Simon's father.

Donna Ludlow tried to grow close to Kathy. She eventually confessed her true identity. Kathy rejected her and told her the circumstances of her conception. Donna was unhinged by this and spent the rest of the year in a downward spiral. She developed a heroin addiction and took up prostitution and blackmail to fund her habit.

Tom Clements, the Vic's elderly potman, died of a heart attack in the toilets.

Sue Osman gave birth to another son, Little Ali, and became irrationally obsessed with his welfare.

Kathy took a job at The Dagmar and Wilmott Brown tried to seduce her. When she resisted his advances, he raped her and left her to be found by Den Watts, who then firebombed The Dagmar in revenge. This act eventually led to Den's own downfall. He double-crossed his mafia (known as The Firm) friends and they decided they wanted him dead, so he went on the run. He gave himself up to the police and was remanded in prison at the same time as Nick Cotton.

Lou Beale died in her sleep at the age of 73, and her son Pete broke down at the funeral. Pete's marriage to Kathy also disintergrated after her rape, and Pete began drinking heavily. Cindy Williams arrived in Walford and caught the eye of both Simon Wicks and Ian Beale. After dating Wicksy for a while, she turned her attentions to Ian.

Darren Roberts disappeared abandoning his two children, Junior and Aisha, in Carmel's care.

Ethel Skinner began dating Benny Bloom, much to Dot's disgust.

Mary Smith fled when her father, Chris, moved to Walford.

Colin Russell became ill and Dr. Legg discovered it was multiple scelerosis, but decided to keep it from Colin.

1989

Unable to cope with the events in their lives, Kathy and Pete's marriage crumbled in January. Wilmott Brown tried to convince Kathy to drop the charges, but a trial was held and he was sent to prison for three years.

Den Watts, who had taken the blame for the Dagmar fire, managed to escape from the police on the way to his trial and arranged to meet Michelle at the canal. The Firm, who were involved in the fire, decided to silence Den for good. The hit men followed Michelle to their meeting place and after she left they shot him, with a gun hidden in a bunch of daffodils. He was presumed dead, but no body was found at the time, despite spots of blood being found on the towpath, and underwater divers searching the canal.

Michelle confessed that Vicki was Sharon's half sister, and this turmoil led Sharon to take up with Wicksy again. Cindy found this hard to take and secuded Simon one night, which left her pregnant. Simon refused to take responsibility for his child, so Cindy pretended the baby was Ian's.

Colin Russell discovered the truth about his illness and left Walford.

Sue discovered that her husband, Ali, had slept with prostitute Donna Ludlow. In a bid for revenge she seduced her brother-in-law in front of Ali. Ali was furious and had a huge fight with Mehmet, and Guizin (Mehmet's wife) left for Cyprus with his children in tow. Sue left Walford with her baby, but Ali snatched the baby back at the grave of their first son. Sue became deranged and flipped out and was sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Donna became depressed, took an overdose of heroin and died on the floor of Dot Cotton's house after choking on her own vomit.

Dr. Legg failed to diagnose Vicki's meningitis and she was hospitalised. Dr Legg and his nephew Dr. David Samuels argued over the way the practice was to be run.

Pat and Frank tied the knot in true East End style, with horse, carriage and pearly kings. Frank started up the car lot, and he and Pat also bought the B&B and moved into the house next door. Mo Butcher and Marge Green struggled to curtail the deviance of the wayward Walford brownies. Carmel and Matthew Jackson married, but within weeks he was beating her. Junior tried to protect his auntie and stabbed Matthew.

Dot Cotton discovered Charlie was a bigamist when she met his other wife, Joan Leggett. Hazel, Nick's girlfriend, arrived in Walford and conned Dot into thinking that her baby daughter was her grandchild.

Ethel called off her marriage to Benny Bloom, when he refused to allow her dog Willy to live with him. He later died and left her £2000 in his will. Ian bought Ali's café with underhand tactics. Ali and Ian spent the rest of the year battling with each other. Ali's money worries continued and he turned to gambling to sort the problem. He lost and was evicted from his flat. His family forced him to leave Walford.

Cindy and Ian married, but the wedding ended in tears with Ian arguing with his new wife. Best man Simon "Wicksy" Wicks knew one reason for Cindy's sorrow — she was carrying his baby.

The senior ladies of Walford all went to Clacton for a dancing competition and while away Marge's 93-year-old mother died.

Paul Priestly broke Diane Butcher's heart when he returned to Leeds without saying goodbye. Pauline Fowler spent Christmas in hospital after having a hysterectomy.

1990

During 1990, the Butchers had to cope with the trauma of Frank's daughter, Diane, running away from home.

Sharon spotted a ring on the market that she recognised as her father's. A local boy had found it in the canal, prompting the police to search it. A year earlier, shortly after Den's disappearance, the police had searched the canal but were unable to find his body. This time, a body was found in the canal, and it was identified as Den's. After Den's funeral, Sharon decided to search for her natural parents but they rejected her. She returned to the square devastated.

Nick tried to poison his mother, Dot, after learning that she had won money on the bingo. Dot guessed and managed to escape unharmed.

The love triangle between Wicksy, Cindy and Ian continued during 1990. Cindy confessed to Ian that she loved another man and that Steven was not his son. In an emotional frenzy, Ian crashed his van and ended up in hospital. He later discovered that Wicksy was Steven's real father. Scared of repercussions, Wicksy and Cindy left Walford with Steven and set up home elsewhere.

The Mitchell brothers - Phil and Grant - arrived in the Square and bought the local garage. They were joined in Walford by their 15-year-old sister Sam.

Frank Butcher decided to concentrate on running the car lot and sold the Queen Vic to a new landlord called Eddie Royle.

Another new arrival in Walford was the Afro-Caribbean Tavernier family.

1991

Mark Fowler, who had returned to Walford in 1990 after two years away, revealed a secret to his girlfriend Diane Butcher - he was HIV-positive.

Ian Beale's business went from strength to strength, while his cousin Michelle began a degree course at the local college and started dating new neighbour Clyde Tavernier.

Grant set his sights on Sharon and so attacked a much older Eddie Royle, who also seemed to have taken a fancy to her. He tried to get back into the army, but failed the psychiatric test.

Ricky Butcher eloped to Scotland with 16-year-old sister Samantha Mitchell. Their families found the map of Gretna Green and knew where to find them. They still got married and when back in Walford got a church blessing.

Eddie Royle was stabbed to death in the middle of the Square during September, and this tragedy rocked the residents of Albert Square. Nick Cotton, a notorious racist, claimed that he saw Clyde Tavernier that night standing by the body holding a knife. Clyde Tavernier was an innocent suspect, but the incident paved the way for Sharon Watts to return to the Queen Vic as landlady. Nick was not under suspicion, but he later confessed to the murder whilst Clyde went on the run with Michelle Fowler, Vicki, and his own son Kofi. Grant was also a suspect with a motive, but no alibi. The Vic was shut down until Sharon managed to secure a license. Grant then proposed to Sharon and they married on Boxing Day in a surprise wedding. Frank went into partnership with Kathy and Pauline in the café and Ian started up the Meal Machine with the help of Hattie Tavernier.

1992

The year began with problems for newlyweds Sharon and Grant Mitchell. He wanted to start a family, while she wanted to concentrate on running the Queen Vic. Frank started to lose money and had to sell his Mercedes and the B&B. Pat, however, started up Pat Cabs which was run from the porta cabin. Pat hit local teenager Stephanie Watson on Christmas Eve, and she was found to have been driving while over the drinking limit. Stephanie survived the accident but died a few days later in hospital as a result of her injuries.

In June, Mark Fowler married Gill, the day before she died of AIDS-related cancer, in scenes complimented for their sensitivity. Meanwhile, Arthur's friendship with Mrs. Hewitt continued to develop, and on Christmas Eve they ended up in bed together.

During 1992, the sexual chemistry between Phil and his sister-in-law Sharon developed, and eventually erupted into passion. They slept together and had to deal with the aftermath. Grant, still unaware of this affair set fire to the Vic in an insurance bid, but failed, and Sharon, who nearly died in the fire, told Grant that they were finished. Phil was prepared to risk everything and tell his brother, but when it came to the crunch, Sharon chose Grant.

1993

The year began with the long-awaited trial of Nick Cotton for the murder of Eddie Royle. Although it was clear that Nick was responsible for stabbing Eddie, the jury's verdict was "Not Guilty."

Pat Butcher received a six-month jail sentence in June after a jury found her guilty of causing Stephanie Watson's death, but she was out of prison before the end of the year.

Pat was not the only Albert Square resident to spend some of 1993 behind bars. Grant ended up in prison following a fight in the Queen Vic. It had all started when Sharon came back from a holiday in America to find the Queen Vic in a state. Grant hit Sharon, and Michelle told the police, and when they turned up at the Vic, Grant attacked one of them, which led to him being convicted of assault and having to spend a short stint in prison. While Grant was behind bars, Phil and Sharon rekindled their affair, only for Sharon chose Grant on his release. Phil then married Nadia, an immigrant looking for legal UK residency. Phil then decided Kathy Beale was the woman for him, and his marriage to Nadia was over within months. One of the most famous dogs on EastEnders met his end here. Roly the Poodle, who was owned by Sharon Watts, was knocked down by a lorry.

Ian and Cindy got back together, and at the end of the year Cindy gave birth to twins. Tragically, on the day that they were born, their grandfather Pete Beale was killed in a car crash along with his girlfriend Rose Chapman.

Pauline found out about Arthur's affair with Mrs. Hewitt, and in the ensuing row she hit him over the head with a frying pan and threw him out. It seemed as if the Fowlers' marriage was over after 28 years. Michelle's seven-year-old daughter Vicky was kidnapped; only the kidnapper made the mistake of visiting a toy shop and the sales assistant had seen the appeals on TV and contacted the police.

1993 also saw the arrival of Nick's secret wife and son. Dot didn't belive him at first as he had pretended he had a wife before to con her out of money. But eventually she bonded with her new family, and when asked to go and live in Gravesend with Nick, Zoe and Ashley, she said yes. Dot left the square and wasn't seen for 4 years.

Just before his death, Pete Beale got involved with old schoolfriend called Rose Chapman. Rose was married, but when her husband Alfie died, the two decided to start a new life together. But a few months later the couple died in a pre-arranged car crash. Rose's husband's family had not been pleased to hear that Alfie's widow had married another woman, and were determined to gain revenge.

Mandy Salter appeared in Walford, as Pat's friend's daughter, and was left in her care. Mandy went off the rails and whilst being in a relationship with Aidan Brosnan, led him to contemplate suicide. She managed to stop him.

The year ended with young lovers Mandy and Aidan homeless and in despair.

1993 saw the arrival in Walford of Sanjay and Gita Kapoor, as well as Alan Jackson, his wife Carol, son Billy, stepson Robbie, and stepdaughters Bianca and Sonia.

1994

In the year that EastEnders gained its third weekly episode, one of the happiest events was the marriage of Nigel Bates to Debbie Tyler, which coincided with the 1,000th episode of the show. Both events were celebrated in style with a street party in the Square. Debbie had a young daughter called Clare who came to live with them. Clare's father Liam started menacing Nigel, however it was not long before Grant and Phil put that right, and Liam finally gave up his bid for custody of Claire.

Mark met Ruth, a Scottish nanny, while visiting a friend at an AIDS clinic. They decided to marry and moved into Michelle's house. Sanjay Kapoor started an affair with his wife Gita's sister Meena. Sanjay was eventually forgiven, but then found out his sperm count was too low to have another baby.

Pat Butcher's son David Wicks arrived in Walford. Bianca Jackson, part of the newly arrived Jackson family took a shine to him, but soon found out that he was her father. Her mother Carol had slept with him at the age of fourteen, and become pregnant. David had actually given Carol the money to pay for an abortion, but she kept the baby without telling him, and this was the first time in 17 years that their paths had crossed.

Frank Butcher's financial woes were getting worse and he sold his share of the café to Phil. In return, Phil had to torch the car lot for him in an insurance bid. A homeless boy sleeping in one of the cars was found dead and the police suspected arson. Frank left the Square heavily depressed and left no trace. Pat had to pick up the pieces.

Sharon had agreed to help Michelle with a university project. This involved 'Sharongate' a story which had a taped confession of Sharon's affair, which Grant found and used to publicly humiliate his wife and brother at Phil and Kathy's engagement party. The following episode attracted the highest ratings in seven years, as Grant put Phil in hospital, and they were soon joined in Walford by their widowed mother Peggy].

Earlier in this year, Grant had a visit from his army colleague Dougie Briggs. Dougie took the workers of the vic hostage, and among the hostages were Sharon and Michelle. Dougie then opened fire and shot Michelle, but she survived.

1995

It was a new year and love was in the air. Pat reluctantly started dating car dealer Roy Evans - eventually he moved in with her. Mark Fowler and girlfriend Ruth married. Cindy cheated on Ian with David Wicks (brother of Simon "Wicksy" Wicks, and father of her son Steven). Ricky Butcher was caught between two women - and ultimately chose Bianca over her best friend Natalie. David finally revealed himself as Bianca's father, after Bianca tried to seduce him.

Sharon was met with hostility from the Mitchells and had difficulty trying to make up with old friend Kathy after the affair. After Peggy became landlady of the Vic Sharon left Walford to live with her mother Angie in the States after she tried paying Grant back by pretending she still loved him and vowed to make a fool of him in the Vic in front of everyone like he did to her but she couldn't go through with it.

Phil Mitchell married Kathy Beale, and within months 45-year-old Kathy was expecting a baby. Phil's mother, Peggy, was overjoyed but Ian, Kathy's 26-year-old son, had difficulty coming to terms with his mother having a child so late in life - two years after the birth of his own children!

Ian resented Kathy's marriage to Phil and often went out of his way to prove to her that she was making a mistake would spark up a long term feud between him and Phil. Once while the family was out in the restaurant Phil flushed Ian's head down the toilet after he got drunk and wound Phil up at the table.

Michelle began to pull her life together with a new job - later she was offered a position at an American university. Tragedy struck Nigel as his new wife Debbie was killed crossing the road. Her death set in motion a heartbreaking custody battle between Nigel and her ex-husband Liam over Debs' daughter, Clare. The car which struck Debbie failed to stop and the driver was never traced.

Local public money went missing and all the signs again pointed toward Arthur Fowler. The evidence continued to mount and Arthur was sent to prison.

Frank Butcher returned to the Square on Christmas Day after recovering from his nervous breakdown. He found that Pat had re-opened the car lot with David and Ricky in charge. Pat's new man Roy was also there.

1996

Arthur Fowler was freed after his corruption conviction was quashed, but he suffered a head injury during a riot just before his release and died shortly after his release. Following his father's death, 11-year-old Martin began to rebel at school.

During the year, Tiffany found an unexpected shoulder to cry on in Grant Mitchell, and she was soon pregnant with the child of a man who was 14 years older than her.

Residents had a new place to socialize as the Cobra Club opened for business.

In arguably moving scenes, Peggy Mitchell faced her toughest challenge yet as she battled against breast cancer. Ian was shot by a professional hitman while walking in the Square, after wife Cindy had hired one for the job. He survived the injury and returned home before long.

Carol's life began to unravel as she and Alan broke up.

1997

1997 saw many new beginnings in Albert Square. Tiffany gave birth to Courtney and Grant found out that he was, in fact, the father. After a brief period of wedded bliss, the tempestuous twosome were again in trouble. Amid accusations of infidelity, punches were thrown as Grant attacked Tiffany, causing her to move in with Bianca.

Martin Fowler was still reeling from the trauma of his father's death a year earlier, and at the age of 12 was already on the wrong side of the law. He broke into Carol Jackson's house and was later arrested for burglary.

Tiffany's ex-boyfriend, Tony, was attacked in a gay-bashing incident.

Dot arrived back at Walford in 1997 after living in Gravesend for four years. Zoe had grown tired of Nick's criminal ways and had taken Ashley to live in France. Nick had also been arrested again so Dot decided to move back. She later said that moving was the worst thing she ever did and that Nick could never change.

Romance blossomed as Bianca and Ricky married, while Alan and Carol were reconciled. But all was not perfect - Kathy dumped Phil after learning of his affair with Lorna, as well as being on the receiving end of several of his alcohol-fuelled violent outbursts.

Barry Evans thought he had found the "real thing" with businesswoman Vanessa Carlton, only to discover she was conning him out of most of the family money.

Cindy snatched two of her children, Peter and Steven. Ian went after her, and with help from Grant and Phil, snatched the kids back. Cindy returned to Walford and was charged with kidnapping, but it was still unknown to police that she had hired a hitman in an unsuccessful bid to kill Ian the previous year.

1998

Cindy was found guilty of kidnapping, but did not receive a prison sentence. Later in the year she fought Ian for custody of the children and won. Her plans to leave Walford with the children and her new boyfriend, Nick, went awry when she was charged with Ian's attempted murder. She was found guilty and received a ten year prison sentence, but died in prison on Bonfire Night while giving birth to her and Nick's child.

The Italian di Marco family arrived in Walford and moved into George Street.

In April Nick Cotton returned to the square to tell Dot he had Aids and that he needed £2000 to go and visit Ashley and Zoe in France or else he was going to do "a job" on a bank. Dot begged him not to and told Nick she would find the money. But when she mentioned the medication Nick was taking to Mark, Mark told her they were nothing more than Sleeping tablets. She also found out Nick was on the run and only wanted the money for drugs. She then phoned the police and nothing was heard of Nick for two years.

The Square welcomed baby Liam to proud parents Bianca and Ricky, a year after Bianca had been forced to abort an unborn baby girl called Natasha; who was suffering from Spina bifida.

Peggy Mitchell and Frank Butcher got engaged, much to the annoyance of Frank's ex-wife, Pat.

Terry, Tiffany's father, won a fortune betting at the bookies and soon announced his engagement to Irene, Tony's mother, but their wedding day was marred by a surprise guest - Terry's wife.

Kathy, who had left Phil Mitchell, headed for a new life in South Africa with her son Ben.

This was also a rocky on-again, off-again year for Grant and Tiffany. While Tiffany was learning how to be a masseuse, Grant slept with Tiffany's mother, Louise. Tiffany returned, found out about the affair, and turned to Beppe di Marco for comfort. Following Grant pushing Tiffany down the stairs, he was ordered to stay away from Tiffany and was arrested on Christmas Day for attempted murder, only to be released when Tiffany confessed that she had fallen down the stairs during an argument, and had not been pushed. The year ended as Tiffany, attempting to leave Walford for good with daughter Courtney, she ran after Grant who grabbed Courtney, Tiffany ran out into the road and was accidentally run over and killed by Frank, just seconds into 1999.

1999

Walford began the new year still in shock over Tiffany's death.

Kathy Mitchell came back from South Africa to learn that her son Ian was to marry Melanie. A grieving Grant slept with Kathy. Phil, who was hoping for reconciliation with his ex-wife, could not forgive his brother. The Mitchell brothers did a "job" to recover money needed to pay off loan sharks, but the scheme went awry. In a fast and furious car chase through London's Docklands, the Mitchell brothers' getaway car landed in the River Thames. Phil was quickly rescued, but Grant was nowhere to be seen and it was feared that he had been killed.

Matthew was found guilty of manslaughter after being framed by nightclub owner Steve Owen for the death of a crazed ex-girlfriend, Saskia.

Frank married Peggy during April, and they announced their intention to sell the Queen Vic and retire. Frank had his hands full with his 15-year-old Janine - catching her in bed with Peggy's 17-year-old Jamie, who had only moved to Walford the previous year. She soon ran away claiming she was pregnant.

Terry and Irene were also married during 1999.

Carol Jackson arrived back in Walford, but her happiness with new boyfriend Dan was short-lived. Carol was pregnant with her fifth child, but aborted the baby when she discovered that Dan slept with her daughter Bianca, prompting Carol to have an abortion and Bianca, with son Liam in tow, to leave Walford and a devastated Ricky.

A very-much alive Grant re-appeared in Walford to collect his daughter Courtney, and they left for a new life in Brazil.

Grant's brother Phil was now the owner of the Queen Vic and warring with Frank and Peggy, sold his share to Dan for a paltry sum to spite them.

In a special Millennium episode, Melanie Healy married Ian Beale in a double wedding with Barry Evans and Natalie Price. She was emotionally blackmailed into marriage by Ian, who had claimed his daughter Lucy had cancer after a health scare. During the New Year's Eve and wedding celebrations, Melanie discovered Lucy had received the all clear and did not have cancer after all. As the new millennium dawned, she walked out on him and their marriage was over almost before it had started.

2000

Matthew Rose was back in Walford during January 2000, determined to get revenge on Steve Owen for being framed for the murder of Saskia Duncan, even though he was now free from prison after his manslaughter conviction was quashed. He daubed 'DEAD MAN WALKING' around Steve's door, blocked his toilet, strewed his path with broken glass and then captured him - tying him to a chair in the e20.

It wasn't happiness ever after for newly weds Peggy and Frank, as he realised that it was Pat he loved and not Peggy. Frank left Walford again leaving both Pat and Peggy behind.

Sonia Jackson and Jamie Mitchell were just good friends at the start of the year, but over the summer they fell in love. During October, 15-year-old Sonia was giving birth in the living room - surprised by what was happening, as she did not know that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a girl with the help of Big Mo, and named the girl 'Chloe' but decided to put her up for adoption. The baby was soon revealed to be the product of a one-night stand between Sonia and Martin Fowler at the start of the year.

In July, Ethel Skinner turned up unexpectedly on Pauline's doorstep. She revealed that she was dying from cancer, and could not bear to turn into a "thing in a chair" and pleaded with Dot Cotton (now Branning) to ease her pain, when it came, by giving her morphine tablets. Dot was torn between her strong Christian principles and her love for her friend, who shamelessly played on their long friendship, and, eventually, got her way as Dot committed euthanasia. This left Dot devastated with grief and guilt - she demanded to be punished but the police would not press charges. Around this time, her son Nick and grandson Ashley joined her in the Square. She was then arrested from shoplifting and finally got her desired punishment when she was jailed for 14 days on a shoplifting charge. Dot was freed on Christmas Eve and returned to a packed Vic on Christmas Day.

The Slater family arrived in September and quickly began to dominate storylines. The new family consisted of widower Charlie, his adult daughters Lynne, Kat, Little Mo and 16-year-old Zoe, as well as Charlie's mother-in-law Mo Harris and Lynne's fiance Garry Hobbs.

Towards the end of the year it was very quickly established that Little Mo was being domestically abused by her husband Trevor Morgan. The family also quickly established this and persuaded her to leave him. But by December she came running back to him after he claimed that he was sorry for all that he had done. However as soon as she had gone back to him he locked her in his car and told her that this time she would keep her mouth shut.

The main storyline of Christmas was Phil Mitchell and Melanie Owen's affair on Christmas Day. After continuously clashing with Steve Owen it was obvious that they were very big enemies. After their passionate Christmas Day, Mel threatened Phil that she would tell Lisa what happened but then decided not to after her and Lisa made friends after a big argument on Christmas Day.

2001

In August 2001 EastEnders began airing four times a week. Monday & Friday at 8 pm. Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm.

The biggest storyline of 2001 was Who Shot Phil?. There were many people that wanted him dead at the time, including: Steve Owen, Mel Owen, Ian Beale, Lisa Fowler and Dan Sullivan. But as Phil lay wounded in the Square he saw the culprit running away, and when he got out of hospital we discovered that it was Lisa. Phil however made a truce and set up Dan instead. However, Dan was found not guilty and upon his release took revenge by kidnapping Mel, demanding £100,000 from Phil and Steve for her return.

Little Mo Slater was the victim of domestic abuse by husband Trevor, who subjected her to cruel mental torment, and at one point attacked her in the bathroom and raped her. Trevor wanted a child but she didn't, and when he found her birth control pills he kicked her violently in the stomach. While Mo was babysitting Louise at the Fowler's household, Trevor cornered her and attempted to attack her. Mo looked for the nearest object - an iron, and ripped it from its socket and struck Trevor with it repeatedly. Little Mo, however, wasn't the only Slater sister with trouble. Zoë was planning to leave London to work with her Uncle Harry in Spain. But Kat was dead against the idea much to Zoë's disgust. It was then revealed that Kat was Zoë's mother and Uncle Harry was the father who had regularly been having sex with a teenage Kat. Viv, Kat's mother knew the whole truth, but Charlie was kept in the dark about who Zoe's real father was - they raised Zoë as their own. The woman Zoë had called her mum was really her nan, her sister was her mum and her uncle was her great uncle and her father! Zoë fled the Square and Kat overdosed on alcohol and pills.

The Who Shot Phil? storyline and the abuse suffered by Little Mo were not the only audience-grabbing storylines during 2001. Early in the year, it was revealed that Kat Slater was actually the mother of her "younger sister" Zoe, but at first even Zoe did not know the truth about her parentage. It was only in October of that year, during an argument with Kat, that she found out who her mother was. Kat then revealed the full story - at the age of 13 she had been raped by her uncle Harry and this had left her pregnant with Zoe, who was then brought up as Charlie and Viv's child. Harry fled the Square for Spain when the truth was revealed, while Zoe ran away from home and ended up living with a woman who ran a brothel. Kat and Anthony rescued Zoe on Christmas Day, just as the prostitute was trying to force Zoe into a client's car. Zoe returned to Walford and sorted her differences with the family.

Just before the end of 2000, Mark Fowler had found his 15-year-old brother Martin on the kitchen floor having convulsions. Martin revealed that he had taken some drugs given to him by Nick Cotton, and Mark gained revenge on Nick by placing an ecstasy tablet in his drink in The Queen Vic. He then lured Nick onto the arches and he fell to the ground, suffering a serious spinal injury which left him in hospital. Nick tried to claim that he had been pushed from the viaduct by Mark, but the police decided that there was not enough evidence to make an arrest, and Mick McFarlane had lied to them by stating that Nick had been alone when he fell. Nick left hospital in a wheelchair just two weeks after the accident, and was determined to gain revenge on Mark. He asked his son Ashley to set Mark's house on fire, but Ashley refused and went back to live with his mother. Nick then went to recover in a spinal units and returned to Albert Square three months later on crutches, determined to continue his feud with Mark Fowler. Two weeks after his return, Nick had an argument with Mark's girlfriend Lisa, only for Mark to spot them and come close to running over Nick, who then threatened to kill Mark. The next day, Nick cut the brakes on Mark's motorbike and was determined that he would crash the bike and die. On the evening of 14 June, Ashley and Mark had an argument in The Queen Vic and Ashley then stormed out of the pub. Pauline Fowler spotted Ashley in the process of stealing Mark's motorbike, and several of the Square's residents (including Nick and Dot) watched Ashley speeding along the street in a rage. He suddenly came face to face with a pedestrian, and swerved to avoid them. But the bike ploughed into the kerb and Ashley was thrown head-first into the front of the laundrette. Anthony, Nick, Dot and Pauline were all the scene within seconds, but it was too late - Ashley was already dead. A few days later, Dot overheard Nick confessing to sabotaging the bike during an argument with Mark, and after Ashley's funeral she made him leave the house and told him she never wanted to see him again.

2002

After Little Mo hit Trevor, it later turned out he was not dead as first expected, he had in fact gotten up and left when she returned to the house with her sisters. Trevor went to the police claiming Little Mo attempted to murder him. Little Mo kept quiet about the rape and Trevor gave a good account of what had happened on that night. Little Mo took the stand and told the court about the hell she had gone through with her abusive husband. However, the jury was unmoved and Little Mo was sent down for eight years after being convicted of attempted murder.

Kat later managed to track down Donna (Trevor's other woman) and persuaded her to testify against Trevor. Little Mo was soon released after Trevor was caught red handed trying to get to Donna by the police. But Trevor remained in Walford, and on 31 October he kidnapped Little Mo and baby Sean and daubed the Slater house in petrol - Little Mo ended up dropping the match which set the house on fire. Fireman Tom saved Little Mo from the house, and then went back for Trevor - only for the house to go up flames, killing them both instantly.

Phil, Mel, Steve, Lisa and Mark were all beginning to strain. Phil had slept with Mel - Steve's wife - in December 2000. Lisa gave birth to baby Louise in October 2001, and initially pretended that Mark Fowler (her new husband) was the father. But two months later, Lisa revealed that Phil was Louise's father. Lisa was determined to escape from Phil, and when Steve and Mel planned to leave Walford forever, Steve wanted Lisa to come, to get back at Phil who would lose his daughter. But it was all delayed when Mark couldn't go because of his HIV. Steve had baby Louise in his car as he was furiously chased by Phil Mitchell, which resulted in Steve crashing the car. Phil saved baby Louise, but Steve was stuck in the burning wreck of the car which blew up before Phil had time to go back. Steve was already dead when the emergency services arrived; the fierce inferno had given him no chance of survival.

Lisa married Mark during April, but then decided to begin an affair with Phil again. Mel discovered she didn't own the e20 since Steve had sold it to Beppe before he died, and was then arrested for drug dealing. Mel discovered she was carrying Steve's baby. Lisa confessed to her best friend Mel that she actually shot Phil - not her deceased husband Steve as Mel had thought. This resulted in Mel leaving the Square and moving to Portugal. She gave birth to a baby daughter in September.

Sonia and Jamie had an on and off relationship. Ethel had told them before she died that she could feel they were meant to be together and even gave them her wedding ring. They came together again when Jamie was beaten up by Phil, and they decided they would marry. He had pawned the ring Ethel had given them to start up a business, much to the annoyance of Sonia. Just as he got the ring back, he was run over by Martin Fowler and died in hospital on Christmas Day.

2003

Janine began a plot to con Barry, which Paul later was brought in on.

Vicki Fowler returned from America, as did Sharon Watts. They tracked down their long-lost half brother Dennis Rickman, who was a past employee of Jack Dalton.

Vicki became pregnant with Spencer Moon's baby but later aborted it, Dennis set about bedding nearly every women on the square and earned himself a reputation as a love rat. He soon set his sights on his (adopted) 'sister' Sharon, who rebuffed his advances.

Martin was released from jail and came out completely changed, he and Vicki robbed the minute mart, Gus was arrested but Dennis helped him clear his name.

Alfie developed a crush on Kat Slater but she was oblivious.

Laura began to run the cafe. She was pregnant with her first child. She thought Garry Hobbs was the father but in reality Ian was.

Billy stole money from the club and was fired when he confessed.

Phil fell in love with undercover copper Kate and later saved her life when Jack Dalton put out a hit on her. The happy couple became engaged but he now owed Jack a favour.

Phil's nanny Joanne had a crush on him and tried to seduce him much to his horror. Kate later fired the love struck nanny.

Grant was involved in a car crash out in Rio and Peggy and Sam flew out to look after him while he recovered from his injuries.

Jack soon called in that favour. He wanted Phil to kill Dennis Rickman who was trying to extract money from the gangster and had pushed Jack too far. Phil struggled to carry out the task as he couldn't stand to hurt Sharon, but eventually he realised he had no choice and attacked Dennis at Angie's Den. Dennis managed to talk Phil round and convinced Phil to give him the gun so he could kill Dalton instead and end both their troubles with the gangster.

Dennis shot gangster Dalton that same night. Dennis was an emotional wreck as he led Dalton to his death. Dalton took advantage of this; planting doubts in Dennis about Phil and talking about the good times they had shared in the past. It looked like he had won Dennis round but made a mistake when he began to insult Sharon and the Watts Family. Dennis declared that Den Watts was his old man as well as Sharon's. Dalton pleaded for his life and offered some information which he believed would stop Dennis from killing him - Dalton had ordered the death of Den Watts. Dalton admitted that Den actually survived and fled abroad, but this didn't stop Dennis killing him. Dennis began to secretly investigate what had happened to his father and found an address in Spain. He later visited it off screen but didn't have the courage to knock on the door. He returned to Walford and told Sharon that Den was alive. She refused to believe him but Vicki overheard their conversation and disappeared from Walford the following day.

Dennis visited Jan, Den's old mistress. It turned out she had helped Den flee the UK all those years ago. He wanted her to visit Sharon and convince her that Den was alive and living in Spain. Jan doubted that Sharon could handle the truth. She thought that Sharon was still a little girl at heart but agreed to meet with her. She commented that Sharon was lucky to have a brother like Dennis looking after her. Dennis declared that he was not Sharon's brother. When Jan asked him what he was to Sharon, he left unable to answer her.

Dennis returned home to Sharon intent on making her meet Jan, but after another heated argument Dennis saw that Jan had been right about Sharon's state of mind and he declared that there was no truth in what he was saying. Sharon embraced him gratefully and as far as they were both concerned Den was dead and would remain dead.

On the night of 29 September 2003, Sharon was avoiding Dennis, Vicki was still missing and Billy was fired from the club. Dennis sat drinking alone in the flat after suffering abuse from both Sam and Phil. Pauline and Sharon had an argument in the Vic over Den and Sharon stormed over to the flat. Dennis and Sharon were soon both arguing over Phil. As the argument reached fever pitch Dennis admitted how much he desired Sharon. Shocked, she tried to flee. He wouldn't let her and soon drew her into a passionate embrace. Later on in bed he told her he was in love with her. He now assumed they were a couple but it was obvious Sharon was already regretting sleeping with him. Panicking, Sharon fled. Dennis chased her to the club where they were greeted by Vicki who declared she had a 'surprise' for Sharon. Den Watts stepped out of the shadows and said: "Hello princess".

Den discovered Dennis was his son and it was apparent that the two men did not like each other at all but put an act of solidarity on 'for the girls'. Sharon broke Dennis's heart when she made it clear that he had no chance with her. 'Dirty' Den Watts was back in Walford after 14 years, very much alive after everyone had believed him to be dead.

Phil and Den clashed straight away but Den was sly and pretended to respect Phil and his status in the square. In reality he and Dennis eventually set up Phil Mitchell in an armed robbery scam. Phil was arrested but escaped from prison and went on the run while Den and Dennis finally felt a bond.

Alfie Moon fell in love with Kat Slater, and eventually Kat started to reciprocate his feelings and the two got together one night and intended to sleep together. However Alfie did not have a condom and the Vic machine was out of them. What followed was a comic search throughout Walford as Alfie kept on almost getting a condom then losing it. In the end he got a condom off a guy who he had met right at the beginning of the search. Alfie excitedly returned to the Vic only to find Kat had fallen asleep while waiting for him. The next morning, Kat thought Alfie had done a runner the night before, but the misunderstanding was soon sorted and they decided to take the relationship slowly. However the relationship only lasted a couple of days before Alfie's inability to trust Kat caused her to break up with him. With Alfie out of the picture local gangster Andy Hunter began to woo Kat and eventually she agreed to marry him however it was clear she really loved Alfie, and the two grew closer when Nana Moon's life was endangered by water on the brain. Nana recovered and Alfie, in the true style of The Graduate, rushed to interrupt the wedding and declared his love for Kat. Kat left Andy at the alter and the two walked away together. Alfie quickly proposed to Kat and she accepted and the two prepared to wed on Christmas Day. However Alfie decided to check he had divorced his first wife. Visiting her mother, Alfie was told that the two were divorced, however they weren't and when Alfie found out he quickly attempted to get his divorce finalised before the wedding however Christmas Day arrived and his decree absolute still hadn't arrived in the post. Unwilling to tell Kat they couldn't get married, Alfie called a dodgy mate asking him to officiate the wedding, reasoning he could tell Kat after the divorce had arrived, but Spencer recognised the mate and confronted his brother and demanded he tell Kat the truth. Alfie told Kat the full story, and she was furious and ready to call the engagement off, but at the last second Alfie's solicitor turned up with the divorce certificate. Alfie persuaded the registrar to leave his Christmas Dinner to officiate the wedding, and the two were married and Alfie sprung a final surprise on Kat... he had arranged a snow machine to beb brought into the Square covering it with snow.

On New Year's Eve, Mickey crashed the mini van that was taking the Walford teens to Scotland and almost killed Zoe.

Meanwhile, Barry asked Janine to marry him but later Dr. Leroy told him he had an enlarged heart. Deciding to look this up on the internet, Barry bungled the search and read a page on the wrong heart condition and thought he only had weeks to live. Barry told Janine then fled to Scotland, unwilling to marry her and leave her a widow. Janine however was delighted to think that Barry only had weeks to live and went to Scotland with Paul to persuade him to marry her immediately. Paul was able to convince him that Janine really wanted to marry him, and the two had a shotgun wedding. However Paul was beginning to have doubts about the plan as not only did he feel bad about conning Barry after seeing he was a genuinely nice man, but he had fallen in love with Janine, however his declaration was ignored by her. That night, Barry called Dr. Leroy to make sure his heart to stand up to the vigors of a wedding night and Dr. Leroy, who had himself been trying to contact Barry to tell him his condition wasn't serious, informed Barry that an enlarged heart wasn't a serious problem and that he would probably live a normal life. Barry was ecstatic about this and told Janine, who was horrified her plan had backfired.

2004

2004 began with a murder. Barry Evans felt at one with the world, and felt at peace after learning he would lead a normal life. Janine and Paul were desperate to find a way out of the marriage, and saw a chance when a woman in the hotel bar confessed to Paul she fancied Barry. Realizing Barry sleeping with another woman could lead to a quickie divorce, Paul desperately tried to get Barry to sleep with the woman but to no avail. During a walk through the countryside, Barry showed Janine a love heart he ad carved into a tree with their initials, and Janine, sick of her new husband's overpowering love confessed to him that she loathed rather than loved him, as well as her affair with Paul and the fact she'd done it for the money. A devastated Barry begged her to stay with him anyway and as he attempted to hug her she pushed him over a cliff and she approached him and despite his pleas for help happily watched him die. While she initially feigned ignorance, she confessed the truth to Paul, and had the body cremated before returning to Walford. A disgusted and horrified Paul finished with Janine, but was forced to keep her dastardly deed a secret, for fear he would implicate himself as an accomplice. Back in Walford Barry's ex-wife, Natalie Evans, suspected that Janine had something to do with his death. She began to investigate, which led to her growing close to Paul, the only other person who knew the truth about Barry's death. The truth finally came out, but with no evidence, Janine was in the clear and appeared to have got away with it. Later in the year Janine reignited a feud with her old nemesis Laura Beale and shopped her to the DSS for benefit fraud. Laura subsequently tripped on the stairs and fell to her death and everyone assumed Janine had pushed her. Pat Evans was the only one who could give her an alibi, but she wanted payback for Barry, and so Janine was sent down for murder.

After being raped by Graham Foster, Little Mo Mitchell was shocked to learn that she was pregnant with his child. She decided to keep the baby, but her husband Billy couldn't handle it and they decided to go their separate ways, leaving them both devastated. Mo's father, Charlie Slater couldn't handle it either and he viciously attacked Graham, putting him in hospital with severe injuries. Graham threatened to sue and so it was left to Kat Moon to pay him off and she had to borrow the money from her malicious ex-fiance, Andy Hunter, to do it. Kat struggled to meet the loan repayments, so she agreed to sleep with Andy in order to absolve her debt and save her husband, Alfie Moon, from Andy's heavies. Andy taped their sordid romp and then gave it to Alfie. Alfie's world fell apart and he was unable to forgive Kat. After much arguing and yet more infidelity, Kat packed her bags and left Walford.

Tariq Larousi admitted to Mickey Miller that he was, in fact, the Ferreira siblings’ half brother! Later on, Ronny Ferreira and Tariq got caught in a fight. Ronny was stabbed and rushed to hospital where the staff quickly discovered he needed a kidney transplant or he would die. Tariq turned out to be the one whose kidney matched, forcing him to divulge to the family that he was their brother all along. Everyone was in shock and disbelief, but after much drama, Tariq agreed to be the donor and prepared for surgery.

February 2004 saw the revival of the controversial storyline "Shannis". Dennis Rickman and his adoptive sister Sharon Watts reignited their romance on Valentine's Day. However their relationship was promptly nipped in the bud when their father, Den, found out they were sleeping together. After threatening to disown his son, Dennis had no choice but to end things with Sharon. He then started dating Zoe Slater. Later on Den's wife Chrissie arrived in the Square and agreed to stay in Walford with her newfound family. However Den was far from faithful, and after Chrissie discovered he was having an affair with Kate Mitchell, she found a suitable way to get her revenge.

Despite being in a relationship with Zoe Slater Dennis continued to pursue Sharon. Sharon no longer trusted him and refused to take him back.

Mark Fowler died off-screen of an AIDS related illness, a year after leaving Walford. His family gave him the biggest send-off Walford had ever seen. Happier times for the Fowlers came just weeks later when Martin married Sonia Jackson in a secret wedding in Southend. Later in the year Martin became the target of a psychopathic stalker, Sarah Cairns. She became obsessed with him and hell bent on splitting his marriage up. After a violent showdown she was sectioned and Sonia and Martin's marriage remained intact.

Sam Mitchell waged war against the Watts and instructed Billy Mitchell to blow up Angie's Den. Vicki was trapped inside but was rescued from the fire by Billy.

Nana Moon returned from a holiday with a new man on her arm. She was really taken with Wilfred Atkins and revealed to her shocked family that they were engaged to be married. Alfie was stunned and tried to get Nana to change her mind. Eventually, after he ran off with Nana's medals and Pat Evans's money, the family realized he was a fraud. Nana was heart-broken.

Garry Hobbs had a bad year. Firstly the son he thought was his, turned out to be Ian Beale's. Secondly his pregnant wife, Lynne, was involved in an accident when a fairground ride collapsed on top of her. Garry was forced to consent to an emergency cesarean. Unfortunately the baby died and as a result Lynne was never able to have children again. The marriage collapsed and Lynne left.

Dot Cotton discovered she had cancer. The strong willed woman decided to go against surgery, reasoning that it was God's decision. Eventually, Jim Branning persuaded his companion that surgery was the answer and Dot had the operation.

Sam Mitchell and Andy Hunter married in 2004 and so did Patrick Trueman and Yolande. The Millers all moved into the Square and Demi Miller, who was only 13, gave birth to a little girl. Vicki Fowler also upset her family after getting involved with a man who was old enough to be her father. The Watts were not impressed and set about trying to split them up. Stacey Slater also arrived in Walford and began causing trouble straight away.

Little Mo returned to Walford for the trial against Graham. She brought her new baby Freddie with her. She and Billy were finding it hard to talk and get along, but they both decided that they wanted to make a go of their marriage. Despite revealing that Graham was Freddie’s father, the jury found Graham guilty and he was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. Little Mo returned to work at the Queen Vic and, as she and Alfie grew closer by the day, Billy couldn't accept Freddie as his own and so he and Mo split again.

Sharon Watts fell for a man called James at her club and began a relationship with him. Dennis was consumed with jealousy and attacked James. Sharon was furious - why was Dennis allowed to have a relationship with Zoe whilst any man that showed an interest in Sharon was scared off by Dennis?

Dennis forced Sharon to confront her feelings. He told her he was still in love with her and asked her if she felt the same. She told him she loved him too but she would never allow herself to be with him as she knew she couldn't give him the family she knew he craved. Dennis was shocked to discover that Sharon was infertile, but at the same time he refused to let the issue come between them. He insisted that they should be together and that it didn't matter if they couldn't have any children. Sharon knew he was blinded by his love and unable to see the whole picture. She told him to think seriously about it and Dennis left the square in turmoil.

Dennis returned to the square a few weeks later claiming that he had decided to make a go of things with Zoe so they moved in together. Heartbroken at being rejected, Sharon began a shameless campaign to win back Dennis and she and Zoe fought when Sharon told her that they all knew it was her Dennis really wanted. In the club, Zoe, Dennis and Sharon were alone. Zoe told Dennis to tell Sharon that he didn't love her anymore. Dennis turned to Sharon but was unable to say the words. Furious, Zoe fled and asked Dennis why he didn't think of her at all. A look of dawning crossed his face and he left Zoe with no answer.

Sharon refused to give up her quest and told a shocked Dennis it would only be a matter of time before they were back together. Again, Dennis couldn't handle the situation and took off. They later had a heated argument in which Sharon admitted she wanted Dennis. A stunned Dennis tried to flee once again but when Sharon attempted to confront him by blocking his path, he pushed her against a wall and unable to resist Sharon, embraced her passionately. Sharon was pleased she has provoked Dennis into showing his true colors for her, but Dennis took off yet again - unable to handle the situation. When Sharon returned to her house late that night, Dennis stepped out of from the shadows and embraced her tearfully. Sharon was ecstatic to believe that Dennis had finally chosen her.

Dennis still desperately loved Sharon and they started a passionate affair behind Zoe's back. Dennis wanted to go public as soon as possible but Sharon was reluctant as she was scared of what Den would do to Dennis. Stacey Slater discovered the affair as she saw the pair kissing and informed Zoe, who refused to believe her. Den was growing more suspicious of the pair and Dennis convinced Sharon to elope with him to America. They planned to leave on Boxing Day.

Den Watts was up to his dirty tricks again and managed to con Sam Mitchell into selling him the Vic and he was reinstated as landlord (16 years after selling it to Frank Butcher) and made his first act to immediately sack Alfie and throw the Moon family onto the streets.

Dennis was upset as he believed Sharon would be tempted to stay with Den and run the Vic rather than leave with him. Sharon told Den that she couldn't have children and he should stop hinting at her giving him any grandchildren.

On Christmas Eve Den caught Dennis and Sharon kissing behind the bar of Angies Den. They didn't notice him and he didn't confront them. On Christmas Day, Sharon and Dennis revealed that they were in love and leaving for New York the following day.

Den told Zoe Slater to fake a pregnancy with Dennis's child to stop him leaving with his adoptive daughter. Dennis refused to leave Sharon but later suggested that they stay in Walford as a couple and that way he could see the child and still be with her. Zoe was unable to convince Dennis to give up Sharon, so she talked to Sharon making her feel guilty for stealing her baby's dad. She lied and told Sharon that Dennis had told her about Sharon being infertile. Sharon was unable to cope with this and she called off her relationship with a stunned Dennis and decided to leave Walford without him. Den couldn't believe his plan had backfired so badly. He told Sharon to stay and let Dennis leave, but she had made up her mind. Desperate To keep her, Den admitted that he couldn't cope without her and that he didn't love his real daughter, Vicki, nearly as much as he loved Sharon. Vicki heard him and began to pack her bags, she was going with Sharon, both of his daughters left to go to America.

Dennis was left heartbroken in the street. He gave Sharon a ring and told her he would love her forever. Zoe watched and attempted to tell the truth, but Den silenced her. Den was left without his precious daughters and with the son he didn't want. He quietly swore under his breath that Dennis would pay for what he'd done.

As for the Moon's, Alfie was left devastated by his sudden reversal in circumstances, and while they arranged for Nana to stay with the Slaters, Alfie and Spencer were forced to spend Christmas Eve night sleeping in Ian's fish van. Alfie decided to leave the Square immediately. However when confronted by the angry residents of Albert Square (who had all turned up at the Vic expecting their Christmas Lunches only to be turned away by Den), he agreed to help out. Alfie's taxi had arrived and the driver waited impatiently throughout the festivities, and eventually threatened to take Alfie's belongings as the meter had been running throughout the party. All the residents helped Alfie pay off the debt, and he was persuaded to stay. The evening ended with an unexpected kiss between him and Little Mo, kicking off the unpopular Molfie storyline.

2005

Dennis didn't want anyone to know about the baby and Zoe agreed to keep quiet. Zoe needed to get pregnant and Dennis couldn't bring himself to sleep with her, he was focused on the baby and was struggling without Sharon.

Andy Hunter encouraged Dennis to fly out to America and get Sharon but he knew he couldn't abandon his child. Andy also was very vocal in raising doubts over Zoe's convenient timing with her pregnancy, he confronted Zoe. Zoe began to panic and threw herself at the men around the square in a bid to get pregnant. Dennis wondered about baby scans and why Zoe was leaving it so late to have one. Den offered to make her pregnant, repulsed she turned him down flat.

Zoe failed to find anyone to sleep with and after sleeping with Den (37 years her senior) she became pregnant to keep up with the pretense of their child. Dennis caught them in bed, Den tried to make Dennis stay for the sake of the 'baby'. Dennis refused and Den compared Dennis's actions to his own. Dennis stated that he was nothing like his father, Den disagreed - spitefully he spat out that the only reason Sharon had been interested in Dennis was because he reminded her of Den.

Zoe confessed to Dot that she loved Dennis and would do anything to keep him. Dot pointed out that it isn't really love if the person you love doesn't love you back, Dot told Zoe that until Dennis met Sharon and Vicki his life was empty of love, and felt sorry for Dennis, now that Sharon and Vicki are gone, his life was missing the loved ones he finally found. Zoe realized her selfishness, Den tried to stop her but she refused to be bullied by him anymore. She confessed to Dennis that she was not and has never been pregnant, confessing that she had played along with Den's scam. Dennis remained expressionless as she told him the truth and why she did it. Dennis was devastated and got up to leave, but Zoe still believed that they could be together. She insults Sharon and Dennis hits her.

Dennis stormed out of the square, saw Den and told him some home truths. Den remained smug and unrepentant. Dennis runs into Chrissie, sensing something is wrong she asks him if he's OK. He stares at her suddenly and with a sardonic smile informs her of everything. She kept the information to herself. Dennis leaves to track down Sharon.

Den had conspired with Marcus Christie conned Sam out of the Mitchell fortune, and Johnny Allen killed Sam's husband, Andy Hunter.

Phil Mitchell foolishly returned to Walford in search of money and was promptly caught by the police.

Zoe aborted Den's child, and she, Chrissie and Sam Hunter all confronted Den in The Vic. Den confessed to everything, only for Sharon to appear from the shadows. Chrissie had summoned her from America by saying that Den was ill, only for her to hear her father confessing to his scam to buy the Vic and leave Sam with nothing, as well as his plan to split her from Dennis. Sharon fled the Square and told Den that she was an orphan; her father had died a long time ago. Den walked back into the pub and turned violent towards Chrissie, knowing that she had organized his humiliation. Zoe hit Den over the head with an iron doorstop to protect Chrissie. They were all convinced that Den was dead. She and Sam left the room and Den grabbed Chrissie's leg. She picked up the doorstop and delivered a fatal blow (secretly watched by Sam), but allowed Zoe to believe that she killed him. Sam wanted The Vic back or she would blow Chrissie's cover, and after a few months, she told Zoe that Chrissie murdered Den.

Zoe decided to start a new life with Kelly in Spain. At Zoe's farewell party in the Vic, Sharon and Dennis turned up from America looking for Den. Zoe's family and all of the other residents who were unaware of Den's scam were convinced that Dennis had abandoned Zoe and the baby for Sharon and the couple were made very unwelcome in the square. Sharon pressured Zoe to tell the truth about the baby and Dennis, and in a crowded Vic she revealed that Den and not Dennis had been the father of her baby.

The Slaters were in turmoil and Kat demanded the truth from Zoe, eventually Zoe revealed what had really happened to Den, Kat was stunned and Zoe left for Spain leaving Kat to deal with Chrissie. Dennis proposed to Sharon and she accepted, they both began to search for Den, Chrissie did all she could to stop Sharon finding out the truth about her father, it looked like Chrissie had succeeded when Sharon gave up looking. and decided that Dennis was more important to her, Chrissie planned to sell the vic to a mystery buyer (who later turned out to be Ian Beale) and flee the country with her new boyfriend Jake Moon, Dennis and Sharon's wedding day was to be the date of Chrissies departure but her plans changed when Sam found out that Chrissie had lied to her about owning all of the Vic (she had in fact forged Den's signature on the deeds and didn't really own it all).

Sam was hell bent on revenge and on the day that Sharon and Dennis got married Sam got drunk smashed up the Vic, destroyed chrissies aeroplane tickets and passport and smashed the concrete cellar floor, with the intention of bringing Chrissie to justice. The police soon arrived and found a body beneath the cellar, quickly identifying it as Den's. Sam's plan backfired, and Chrissie framed Sam, who ended up being remanded in prison on a murder charge. Grant returned from Rio to help his brother and sister out of prison. Phil was released after the witness withdrew their statement after Grant pulled some strings. Johnny Allen taped Chrissie in his club admitting to murder, the Mitchell brothers took the tape by force and showed it to the police. Sharon discovered that Chrissie had killed Den and the Rickmans and the Mitchells teamed up to bring down Chrissie. Chrissie was caught by Sharon at the airport fleeing and Sam was released on bail, escaping to Rio to avoid being sent to prison for being an accessory. Dennis and Sharon now owned the Vic and decided to sell it to Phil (much to Ian's disgust), while Phil Mitchell started paying Juley Smith to date Ruby Allen (and eventually move in with Ruby), to make Johnny angry.

Demi Miller and the father of her baby, Leo Taylor ran away together, but after Demi took heroin to numb her pain of being homeless, Leo discovered her lifeless body and committed suicide. Demi later woke up and survived. Danny Moon also burnt Johnny's house down, and Johnny nearly murdered him, letting him leave the country on the condition that he wouldn't return. Nana Moon died of an aortic aneurysm just before Christmas and Alfie decided to leave the Square and fulfill his dream of traveling the USA on a motorbike. Alfie left on Christmas Day, with Kat watching his car disappearing into the distance. He later came back and told Kat he had "forgotten the most important thing in his life", and the two drove off together. Sharon believed that she had food poisoning, Dennis took her to the hospital and accused her of being a drama queen — until she collapsed in hospital. The worried couple were later amazed to discover that she was pregnant, despite the fact that a doctor had declared her infertile several years before.

Sharon and Dennis had "interfered" too much with Ruby's life, and Johnny threatened Sharon that if they weren't gone by midnight on New Year's Eve, he would kill Dennis. Sharon confided in Phil, who told Dennis about it, in the hope that Dennis would attack Johnny. Phil got what he wanted - Dennis headed straight to the nightclub and battered Johnny in his office. Phil went to see Johnny in hospital the next day, and took the CCTV tape from Johnny's camera. Dennis was walking in the Square as the clock struck midnight, but as he was walking towards Sharon, a hooded man brushed into him and stabbed him. He fell to the ground and died seconds into 2006, while Sharon lay screaming next to him.

2006

The year began with Sharon in a depressed silence, mourning the loss of her husband. While Dennis Rickman lay in a mortuary, Johnny was in a critical condition in hospital, but survived. While Johnny was in hospital Phil (who was guilt-stricken over the fact he had been involved in Dennis's death) manipulated Juley into dumping Ruby. Johnny discharged himself and went to talk to Juley. Gus and Juley told Johnny about Phil's bribery.

Sharon and Phil headed off to America to see Michelle and Vicki, but Phil saved Ruby from death by alcohol poisoning before leaving. Johnny took Ruby on holiday when she was given the all clear, and put his house on the market.

Mickey and Dawn's real dad, Mike Swann, appeared in Walford. He was in London visiting his sick mother, Nora, and stayed with the Millers. He and Rosie enjoyed a brief kiss and decided to run away together. Rosie changed her mind at the last minute, and Mike left without her. Dawn and Mickey knew about it and Dawn accidentally told Keith Miller, who moved out of the family home.

Joe Macer proposed to Pauline Fowler, only to be turned down. Pat Evans' ex-great nephew, Deano Wicks arrived in the Square, as did Jim Branning's grandson Bradley. Deano spiked Stacey's drink to cheer her up, and Bradley got arrested for it, but Deano eventually owned up to the crime and got away with a caution. Billy Mitchell's girlfriend, Honey Edwards, also revealed that she was pregnant and Billy proposed, later in the show Honey gave birth to Janet but Billy and Honey soon discover that baby Janet had Downs Syndrome. Joe was offered a job in Dubai, and asked Pauline to marry him before leaving. She said yes, and he stayed. They were then married but at the wedding reception Stacey told Yolande in the Queen Vic that her husband Patrick had been having an affair with Pat. Yolande slapped both of them but Pat then slapped Yolande back which then led to them having a massive fight in the reception.

Deano's dad and sister, Kevin and Carly, arrived in Walford in February. Carly had marriage problems with her husband Nico, and after a series of meetings with his father Yanis, they reconciled, only to break up again because Nico wanted to move back to Cyprus.

Mike Swann reappeared in Walford when his mother died, and used Dawn to steal money that Rosie had inherited from Nora. Rosie, Mickey and Dawn discovered his plan and Rosie gave him the money on the condition that he wouldn't return. Keith proposed to Rosie and she accepted.

News reached Ian Beale that his mother, Kathy, had died in a car crash. Ian went to South Africa for her funeral and brought back his 10-year-old half brother Ben. Joe's old friend Bert Atkinson arrived in Walford, and blackmailed Joe to let him stay, or he'd tell Pauline Joe's secret; that he was convicted of a crime in the past.

Honey's dad Jack also arrived in Walford and took an instant dislike to Billy. Upon learning that his daughter was pregnant he told her "You can't have this baby!" Honey went for a scan, and found out that she did not have the same heart condition as her mother, and would not be endangered during labor. Jack and Peggy showed an interest in each other, and went out on a date, but Jack had to leave Walford to do a job in the north. Dot discovered that Joe and Bert were ex-convicts, and threatened to tell Pauline. When Pauline found out she threw Joe out when he refused to choose between her and Bert.

Danny Moon returned to the square and told his brother Jake that he was working for Johnny Allen. Phil Mitchell returned to Walford to learn that Ben had been living there for two weeks. Phil's brother Grant and niece Courtney also returned to the Square, and Phil and Grant went on a golfing trip to Essex. While in Essex, Phil and Grant caught up with Johnny Allen, who had suffered a relapse in his battle against alcoholism, having gone years without consuming any alcohol. Grant talked to Ruby while Phil spoke to Johnny, but Johnny, aided by Danny Moon, captured the brothers and took them to some woodland. Just as Danny was about to shoot Grant, Jake arrived and shot his brother. Jake, Phil and Grant buried Danny's corpse in the woods and left, as Ruby persuaded to Johnny to give himself over to the police for the murders of Dennis and Andy. Jake was distraught when he returned to Walford, so the Mitchell brothers drove their car at him to test if he wanted to die.

A new family, the Foxes, arrived. First, 19-year-old Chelsea who started working at the video shop and going out with Grant. Then Chelsea's mum Denise and little sister Squiggle (Libby).

Little Mo was terrified when Freddie was taken to hospital and everyone blamed her. Ben Mitchell admitted to hitting him, but Little Mo left the Square and moved to Barnstapleand ex boyfriend Oliver went to Leeds.

Grant and Jane slept together but it wasn't until her birthday that Jane realized that she loved Ian the most. Phil told Ian four months later, leaving him devastated but he stayed with jane and they got engaged. After finding out that his wife Carla was scamming him, Grant and Courtney left to go to Portugal.

Martin got sole guardianship of Rebecca after Margaret found out that Sonia was in a same-sex relationship. In October they shared a night of Passion.

Denise Fox's ex-husband Owen Turner turned up in the Square and caused lots of trouble. He took Denise hostage and ended up getting arrested. In September, Owen kidnapped Libby and tried to drown her in a stream, but luckily denise rescued her just in time.

Rosie and Keith Miller got engaged, and despite Keith's hope for a long engagement, the two made it up the aisle. However when the time came to say 'I Do', Rosie realized that she can't be with Keith and went for a job in the Cotswolds, taking Demi and Aleesha with her.

The Branning clan doubled its numbers when Bradley's dad Max turned up with his wife, Tanya and two daughters, Lauren and Abi. Ian joined the WCCT pretending that Dawn was his wife. Jane discovered when she decided to join him at a hotel and was furious.

Whilst returning money to the club, Ruby was mugged by Juley, who then left Walford. Following that Stacey and Ruby went on holiday, on their return Stacey discovered she was pregnant, and bumped into her older brother, Sean Slater. She later terminated her baby, but claimed she'd had a miscarriage. Sean started dating Ruby in order to get her money.

Honey got food poisoning two days before her wedding. She was determined to go ahead but she collapsed on the way to the church and the wedding was canceled. Her second wedding was equally as bad when Billy woke up in a furniture warehouse and didn't make it the church on time. Their third wedding was a surprise wedding, Honey went into labor and gave birth to a girl named Janet (later re-named Petal) who had Down's syndrome. Honey refused to accept Petal and decided to get her adopted.

Jake was worried about Ruby so he slipped a note to Johnny. Jake tricked Sean into going to see Johnny. Sean angered Johnny, and when Sean left Johnny went into his cell and suffered a fatal heart attack. Sean proposed to Ruby, but was annoyed when they were told that she couldn't get her money until she was 21. Sean then dumped Ruby who took revenge by telling Jean that Sean was back, leading to a fight and Ruby leaving for good.

Dawn dated WCCT member Rob Minter, but was devastated when she discovered that he was married to Dr. May Wright.

Ian's plan to ruin his wedding to Jane backfired when Phil found out and told Jane. Ian and Jane ended up fighting in the mud and got back together, angering Pauline.

Pauline wanted to keep Sonia and Martin apart so she lied that she had a brain tumor, but when her family found out they were furious. Pauline decided to leave and go to live with daughter Michelle on Christmas Day. However, a confrontation with former daughter-in-law Sonia took place on Christmas night. A fierce argument broke out, culminating in Sonia giving Pauline a slap across the face. Sonia apologized and desperately pleaded for Pauline to stay. This led to Pauline changing her mind and deciding to stay in Walford to mend her broken relationship with Martin and to be a grandmother to little Rebecca. She tried to find him to make amends for ruining his and Sonia's relationship, but in a heartbreaking conclusion to the storyline, Pauline died beside the bench of her beloved Arthur before she could apologize and rebuild her relationship with her son.

2007

The year started with Pauline Fowler's funeral and the second appearance of Shirley Carter. Carly Wicks saw her dad and the women whom she met in Dorset having a fight, and realised that she must be her mum.

Rebecca Miller told Dot Branning that it was Sonia Fowler who killed Pauline. Dot called the police who interrupted the funeral. Martin Fowler accused Joe Macer of murder until Sonia revealed that it was her. Sonia and Martin had an argument and Sonia was arrested on suspicion of murder. Sonia was later released due to lack of evidence but, when the post mortem results came back, the police wanted to arrest her so she went on the run with her daughter. However, when Joe Macer turned out to be Pauline's killer after all, Sonia's name was cleared. She subsequently left Walford with Martin and Rebecca to start a new life in Manchester.

After Deano Wicks went to visit his mum Shirley Carter, he became crazed and depressed. Chelsea Fox was worried when she spotted him getting angry in a car, so she got in as well. Deano wasn't concentrating and knocked over Abi Branning whose father Max had forgotten to pick her up because he was too busy flirting with Stacey Slater. Their affair continued but Tanya became suspicious. However, her suspicions were curbed in an emotional showdown which saw Max confess to having been abused as a child.

Another major storyline of 2007 was Dot and Jim Branning's attempts to look after Tomas Covalenco, the baby of illegal immigrant Anya Covalenco, under the pretense that the child was Dot's grandson.

In May 2007, a storyline about a missing baby in EastEnders was scrapped because of similarities with the Madeleine McCann case in Portugal. The plot was due to revolve around pregnant character Dawn Swann and GP May Wright. Dawn had promised to sell baby Summer to May and her husband Rob but broke off the deal. Dawn was abducted by May and Rob, who had promised her a weekend in the country. May then handcuffed Dawn to the bed, and wanted to perform a caesarean section on Dawn. Dawn managed to break free of the handcuffs, break a vase over Rob's head, stab May, and escape in Rob's car. She did not tell the police, as she wanted to take care of Rob and May herself. Dawn went into labor whilst on the London Underground, during a train delay. She was on her way to stay with her mother and sister. Dawn gave birth to Summer, and decided to stay in Walford after May tried to kidnap Summer from the hospital. May left Rob and went on the run. She turned up days later at the Millers' house, wanting to give Summer all the toys and clothes she had bought her. May asked to see Summer, and Dawn cunningly phoned the police when she went to get her. The police arrested May for kidnap. This was the last time she was seen. Also in May in order to resolve their differences Ian Beale and Phill Mitchell decided to take their sons Peter and Ben camping (with Billy Mitchell accompanying them). However on the way back Phill crashed the car, as Ian and Phill tried to get Ben and an unconscious Peter out of the car the car rolled down a hill and into a lake. Phill managed to get Ben out but Peter nearly drowned.

Stacey Slater and Max Branning's affair continued throughout 2007 until Max's wife Tanya discovered she was pregnant. Max and Tanya left for Spain and returned several weeks later, to discover Stacey was back in a relationship with Max's son Bradley, and they were engaged to be married.

Phil Mitchell met lawyer Stella Crawford and after some time, the pair became engaged. Stella psychologically bullied Phil's son, Ben, and after months of bullying going on behind Phil's back, Ben spoke out on their wedding day. Ben refused to walk down the aisle with Stella, and Stella grabbed him and threatened to kill him. He was then forced to walk down the aisle, but then he stood up asking for help, showing Phil and the guests at the wedding what Stella had done. Phil quizzed Stella, who blamed it all on Ian Beale, saying he had been hurting Ben. Phil knew that Ian wouldn't hurt Ben and saw past her act, and followed her out of the church. Stella got away, but she phoned Phil to try and reason with him. He said he wouldn't hurt her, but tried to run her over when he found her. It all ended with a showdown on a roof, with Stella jumping to her death. While the rest of the family attempted to recover from the revelation, Phil became depressed at his failure to protect his son, and turned to his alcoholism.

The wedding also saw two newcomers to the Square in the shape of Ronnie Mitchell and her sister Roxy, who were cousins of Phil. Having arrived from their bar in Ibiza in time for the reception, the two stayed for longer than expected as they attempted to help the family recover from the news that Stella had been abusing Ben. When the others left for Brazil to visit Grant, the two were placed in charge of the Vic, putting barmaid Shirley Carter's nose out of joint. Also, the two reignited the Mitchell/Beale feud when Ian, while upstairs, accidentally saw Ronnie in her bra. This led to further events such as a bag of rubbish getting dumped outside Ian's, Ian stealing the Queen Vic bust and Ronnie and Roxy also starting to serve food in the Vic, causing a loss of business in the cafe.

Another case was the attacking of Patrick Trueman in the Minute Mart. One suspect was thought to be Sean Slater after Chelsea Fox and Deano Wicks turned him in after they saw Sean having a violent row with Patrick. They knew Sean did not attack Patrick but did it as an act of revenge. Carly later found Sean's blood stained shirt which is a vital piece of evidence. Deano was attacked out the Vic and Sean admitted to Carly he was the reason he was attacked, ending their relationship. Deano's father Kevin found the CCTV tape from the shop that Deano and Chelsea had taken and discovered that Craig Dixon had attacked Patrick. Craig was arrested for attempted murder (but not before leaving a gun in Lucy's belongings), Sean was released and Chelsea and Deano were arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice. Sean was enraged with the two, and planned revenge by beating up Deano and cutting Chelsea's hair. They were later sentenced to six months imprisonment.

Another major storyline started in September with Ian Beale getting messages, supposedly from his ex-wife, the late Cindy Beale. It all started when Lucy announced to her brother Peter that she was off to visit their mother in the park. Ian's prime suspect at the beginning was Cindy's sister Gina. While Ian was at Gina's, Jane received an envelope with a picture Cindy looking older than when she died, standing in the Square, holding a recent newspaper. Ian's nightmare continued when he saw a coffin in the back yard and received text messages on his phone. When he rang the number, he was horrified when he found the phone ringing in Jane's jacket pocket. Ian was eventually led to a block of flats where the tormentor revealed himself as Cindy's son Steven Beale.

Ian was held hostage by Steven, who returned to Walford. Lucy asked Steven to hand in Craig's gun to the police but he couldn't do it. After weeks of Ian being missing, Steven took Lucy to the flat where Ian was held. Ian and Steven talked in private and Lucy escaped to let Jane know where they were. When Jane arrived, Ian tried to call the police, but Steven pointed the gun at him to stop him. Steven then realized how depressed he was and pointed the gun at himself. Ian, Lucy and Jane tried to stop him shooting himself, and they scuffled, the gun went off and Jane took the bullet in her stomach. She was then taken to hospital, where she and Ian had a brief reconciliation before the doctors announced they had been forced to perform a hysterectomy to save Jane's life, ruining the plans the two had just made to have a child together. Ian confronted Steven outside and Steven admitted that he thought he was unwell. Ian took Steven to stay in a psychiatric hospital.

Jim Branning was written out of the show after John Bardon suffered a stroke. His extended absence from the Square has been explained as Jim suffering a stroke while visiting his daughter Carol . Dot, after visiting him, became lonely and withdrawn as she was desperately missing her husband.

In October, a storyline about Peggy Mitchell being in debt formed. Ronnie and Roxy asked her to lend them money so they could buy the nightclub, Scarlet. Peggy agreed to lend them the money, but later, she broke down and admitted she was £40,000 in debt. Bailiffs turned up to take some of Peggy's assets, but Roxy demanded they leave. They informed the Mitchell girls that it's not over, and left. Peggy got Sean Slater to trash the pub and steal from the bar (which he later sold the alcohol and gave Roxy and Ronnie the money), but she didn't want to go to the police so the insurance company refused to pay out.

In November, Bradley and Stacey finally got married and Max's brother Jack Branning turned up. Whilst Stacey was having her hair styled by Tanya, they were unaware that Lauren's video camera was in the room as well. The camera remained there throughout the wedding and Max and Stacey were caught on film ending their affair. Bradley and Stacey left with the camera to film footage of their honeymoon, returning a few weeks later. However the two had returned with the wrong suitcase, preventing the two from watching the wedding (and the incriminating footage) that night. The suitcase was returned two weeks later, but the footage went unwatched for the short term.

Ronnie challenged Jack to a poker game to win some extra money to pay off Peggy's debts, which she won. Jack then bought the night club Scarlet which Ronnie was planning to buy. Jack asked Ronnie to go into partnership with him which she agreed to without Roxy knowing.

Jase Dyer got into trouble when his old gang, including Terry Bates, turned up and trashed the Vic and also sent Honey Mitchell into labor. She gave birth to Will Mitchell who at first wasn't breathing but was revived. Phil, who had returned to Albert Square after spending time with Grant getting past his drink problem, blamed Jase for the pub being trashed and forced him to work for him. Also Phil got Kevin Wicks to sell stolen cars for him.

Peggy started a charity collection for children with Down's syndrome, which angered Billy as his daughter has the disorder. Phil, who was attempting to cash in some of his assets, sold Billy's flat, and his new landlady Manju Patel didn't want a couple with children living in her flat, and gave them notice to vacate. Billy worked extra hard to make more money and started giving away free holly with the fruit and veg on Ian's stall. However the holly was stolen and other market traders were unable to sell any, so Billy was forced to give the extra money he made to charity, meaning he was unable to pay another week's rent. Billy was unable to find a new home, and visited the council to arrange housing. While he was waiting, Ian fired him from his job on the market because he hadn't turned up for work. Billy was told he would have to wait 28 days for an answer, even though he was due to leave the flat the next week. Desperate for money, Billy stole the charity collection box from outside the pub. The next day, Peggy was helping Honey put some Christmas presents away, and found the broken collection box in Billy's wardrobe. On 17 December, Peggy exposed Billy's theft at a birthday party for her sister Sal Martin. Billy later tried to return the money but it ended up spilling over the pub floor, and Billy's theft was exposed to all the residents of the Square. Three days later, Billy and Honey were physically evicted from their home by Mrs Patel and her two nephews. Peggy allowed them to stay at the Queen Vic.

Jack and Phil became enemies when it was revealed the Jack owned half of the nightclub R&R with Ronnie. Jack later told Phil he could find the whereabouts of his daughter Louise, so Phil asked for his help. Jack also revealed that the cars Kevin was selling for Phil were cut-and-shuts, so Phil told Kevin to get rid of them as soon as possible. While Kevin was out, his wife Denise sold a car to Yolande Trueman.

Tanya gave birth to Oscar, so as a present, Lauren decided to transfer Bradley and Stacey's wedding video to DVD. Max gave Lauren money to spend on Christmas presents, but she spent it on herself. When Max discovered this, he told Lauren to return what she had bought, and demanded that she edit the wedding video for Bradley and Stacey. In her room, she watched the video alone, and was upset to see Max kissing Stacey. She transferred the video to DVD and decided whether to expose the affair, she wrapped up the DVD for a Christmas present for Bradley. However, Lauren changed her mind, deciding to throw the DVD away. Tanya discovered the DVD in the bin and put it under the tree. On Christmas Day, Bradley received the gift and the Branning and Slater families gathered to watch the video. Chaos and heartbreak ensued as the incriminating scene with Max and Stacey was viewed, with Tanya slapping Stacey and Bradley punching Max. Christmas ended with both marriages in turmoil and Tanya chucking Max out of the house.

On New Year's Eve Kevin tried to steal Yolande's car so he could have it crushed. He used a spare key to get into the car, but Yolande caught him and asked him to give her the keys. The bonnet of the car was slightly open so Kevin disconnected something so the car would not run. Later, he saw Carly fixing it and he then tried to stop Yolande driving the car with Carly inside. Kevin was relieved when they returned later. Kevin later smashed the car's window to break in, but was seen by Phil who told him to get rid of the car, and Ian. Kevin told Ian the car had been vandalized and he had called the police. In the pub, Ian told Yolande the window was smashed. Kevin offered to take the car for repair, so Yolande gave him the keys. As Kevin was getting into the car, he was seen by Shirley, who knew the car was illegal. She threatened to call the police, but Kevin smashed her phone and dragged her into the car, quickly driving off. On the way to their destination, the car ran out of petrol, so they tried pushing it but it ran away from them and ended up crashing. They came up with a plan to remove the number plates, siphon patrol from another car, drive the car around to make it seem like joyriders had stolen it, and then burn it with the remaining petrol. In the car, Kevin was driving dangerously, but then decided it was time to go. Shirley encouraged him to do it again, so Kevin drive off at speed, but the car bonnet opened, blocking their view. The car rolled over and landed on its wheels, seemingly OK.

2008

2008 began with the revelation that Kevin's accident had left him with a metal pole through his stomach. Shirley phoned an ambulance, but before it arrived, Kevin told Shirley that he knew he would be dead before they got there. Shirley arrived back in the Square and informed Denise that Kevin had died. Denise told the rest of the family, who all went to the hospital to view the body. Denise spoke to Kevin, telling him to wake up, and then saying how much she loved him, kissing him at the stroke of midnight and wishing him a happy new year.

In January, Jay Brown became involved with a gang of youths who tormented Dot Branning. When Jay refused to throw a brick through Dot's window, the gang rejected him. However, the leader of the gang, Tegs, later met Jay in a park where they played football together. A fight broke out between them and Jay brandished a knife but they soon laughed it off and said they were still friends. However the rest of the gang then arrived and forced Tegs to choose between them or Jay. Tegs chose the gang and as he walked off, he stabbed Jay. This episode prompted 191 complaints from viewers. On the 31st January, Eastenders screened the first ever single handed episode to be shown in Soap history. This episode featured only Dot Branning a she recorded a personal message for her husband Jim, who was in hospital after a stroke. The episode included Dot talking about how she loved Jim, her dramatic past and what she should do in the future. At the end of the episode, Dot told Jim in the message that she will send him to a Hospice as she believed that being on her own was how it was meant to be.

In February, Clare Bates returned to the square after being thrown out of a car. It was quickly established that all she wanted was money when we saw her palming money off Ian. She then decided to live with Dot. Hazel Hobbs became very ill at the beginning of February and told her dearest friend, Heather, that he thought she was pregnant. After telling her fiance Minty, she then discovered that she wasn't pregnant at all but going through the menopause. When Minty heard this he became deeply upset and after hearing a conversation between Garry and Minty stating that Minty wanted kids so badly and now he can't, Hazel decided to flee Walford. Clare started an ongoing feud between herself and Chelsea Fox when they both applied for a job in Booty, Tanya's Beauty Salon. This feud is still ongoing. Deano returned to Walford after being let out of prison, but he had changed for the worse. First, he made his mum, Shirley, pay for a prostitute for him, he then attacked Sean Slater, and warned Shirley to stay away from him and stole money from her before leaving Walford for good. In a special week of episodes which centered around the Slaters and the Brannings. Tanya and Max went through their divorce hearing, Charlie and Mo reminisce the good times of the past and Bradley and Stacey had a promising reunion on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, Bradley turned down an offer from Stacey, stsing a move from Walford together, and Bradley left her. Behind Jane's back, Clare seduced Ian, but Ian told jane of Clare's seductiveness and Jane showed Clare up in front of the whole pub.

In March, we saw Tanya and Sean getting prepared to take their revenge on Max. Their first plan was to trick him into signing over all of his money to Tanya, but when that didn't work, Tanya wanted rid of him for good. She was going to kill him. So on Good Friday, Tanya and Sean took out their deadly revenge and drugged Max and buried him alive! But Tanya couldn't hack it and later that night she drove back to the grave and dug Max back up. Luckily Max was still alive, just. After lots of talking Max decided it was best if he left her and if she needed him he told her to text him and he would be straight back. So Max left on Easter Monday and whether he will be back is unknown. Also over the Easter period Lucy Beale decided to throw a massive party while Jane and Ian were out, but when they came home the house was trashed, literally. Ian became very angry and Lucy lashed out at him hitting him in the face. Ian retaliated by hitting her back, but quickly regretted it. The next morning Lucy could not be found and it was quickly established that she had run away. On Good Friday Ian was asked to identify the body of a girl that the police had found but luckily, it wasn't Lucy.

In early April the big storyline was the return of Ricky Butcher and Bianca Jackson. Ricky returned to the square with his new girlfriend, gold digger Melinda, and his sister Diane to announce the death of their father, Frank Butcher and to arrange his funeral in Walford. The funeral ended up being a right East End send off with Peggy and Pat fighting over who he loved the most and Frank's evil daughter Janine Butcher returning for the funeral week only. Suspicions soon arose as to whether Janine was in it for Frank's money only but everyone was soon put in their place after Janine confronted everyone in The Vic. Meanwhile Ricky was desperately trying to get hold of his ex-wife Bianca, so that their son, Liam, could go to the funeral. But Bianca had her own problems. We saw her being thrown out of a B & B after not being able to pay the rent and her and her 3 children and step daughter were left homeless. This was the first time we had seen Bianca on Eastenders in 9 years. During the funeral week we also saw Chelsea desperately trying to discover the true identity of her father and with the help of her little sister Libby and her new friend, ex foe Clare, they found him but Chelsea was upset when she discovered that he used to be in and out of prison but was now a reformed criminal working for his local Church of England as a priest.

Meanwhile, the wedding between Minty Peterson and "Hazel Hobbs" was full steam ahead. But when the real Hazel Hobbs threatened Heathers happiness, Minty ended up proposing to Heather instead. The couple got married and set of on honeymoon.

June saw the anticipated return of May Wright, who moved back to London, after dismissing herself from a Mental health hospital, and tracking down Dawn. She employed Jase Dyer, Dawns fiancee as her decorator, in order to get to see Summer again. She returned to the Square, seeing her old Surgery, and home. She saw Summer, and gave her a present and a card, and said Goodbye Little One, I love You, Goodbye!, but she changed her mind once she had seen the state of the Miller House, thinking it was a bad place to bring up a child. Later on in the month she returned intent on snatching baby summer but ended up killing herself in the process when she accidentally blew up the house.

Jack was still seeing Tanya and Max was distraught to learn the truth when he returned and was soon plotting revenge on his brother. He was quick to reveal their affair to everyone in the Queen Vic believing he had gotten the upper hand. But this only set him further back when he learned their relationship was still continuing. When Ruby Allen offered him the house he was overjoyed and believed this was the first step to getting his family back. But Jack was having none of it and outbidded him. Max then moaned to Bradley that Jack was stealing everything from him.

Bradley meanwhile was growing closer to Stacey again and when they were locked in Dots House together he confessed that he still loved her. When Sean returned covered in blood that wasn't his the young couple were quick to investigate and their search led them to a block of flats.

Bianca was being showered in gifts and suspected Ricky was her guardian angel. When he denied it she suspected Pat but to no avail. Vinnie had spent the tippings from the vic leaving Shirley furious but it wasn't long before she had turned to Horse Racing herself and success. Jeans romance with Ted from the singles night continued but will it last?

Peggy and the Mitchell clan returned from visiting Grant but it wasnn't long before Peggy and Phil had a bust up. Another Mitchell returned : Ronnie determined to find Roxy. Sean meanwhile was pursuing her determined to know Roxys whereabouts and he even confronted Jack over his romance with Tanya. Peggy finds out where Roxie is living she is living with her dad Archie, but Peggy doesn't tell Ronnie that Roxie is with her dad she just tells her the name of the place they both go to Dorset and sean realises his responsibilities to be a father to his child so he asks Billy he puts Billy in an awkward position Billy tells Sean so Sean goes to the same place as Peggy and Ronnie When Peggy and Ronnie arrive at the door Archie opens it Ronnie gets a shock and wants to take Roxy home Roxy does not want to go home Ronnie has a chat with her dad about her daughter he starts going mad at her and tells her the truth about her daughter he says she died 13 years ago in a bath tub she was playing with a duck and banged her head he says its true and he breaks her locket of her Ronnie eventually gets it back meanwhile Roxy and Sean decide to give it a try so Ronnie, Roxy and Sean head back to London but Peggy decides to stay with Archie for a while.

Jase has been doing some work for Terry and has secretly been stealing money off the gangster. He along with Billy agrees to one last job since he is getting married to Dawn the next day. He discovers Jay has been kidnapped by Terry and tries to save his son to no avail. Dawn receives the heartbreaking news on her wedding day. Jase dies in his enemies arms.

In August 2008,Jim Branning returned and had a reunion with his family and Dot promised to bring him home. Suzy Branning formed a relationship with Phil when he saves her from some thugs. She is very protective of her pink bag which has a gold bar inside. Honey leaves when she discovers the truth about Jase's death.

When Archie and Peggy returned they announced their engagement, despite Ronies pleas. They are due to be married in November. Newboy Callum made a play for Stacey and dated Danielle to get her attention and locked lips. Since then Stacey has denied any feelings. Bradley has since found out and is not pleased. Max gives Callum a cheque to leave Walford.

When the fridge was turned off at the minute mart, a dodgy prawn sandwich was eaten by Dot who was given food poisoning. Patrick and Yolande pleaded with her not to reveal anything but she called the health inspector who offered Yolande a job in the head office. Patrick was not ready to move to Birmingham and Yolande left Walford alone.

Stacey has been on the pill despite apparently trying for a baby. When Bradley finds them he is devastated and ends it with her. Max tries to stitch Jack up with a gun but his plan fails. When he learns that Jack is plotting to move to France with Tanya and the kids he tries to prevent them from leaving by trying to set Jack up for attempted murder, his plan fails.

On Halloween Max Branning was ran over in a hit and run incident in which there are several suspects: Jack Branning, Tanya Branning and Bradley Branning. Tanya Branning later confessed to the crime but is in fact covering for Lauren. In late November Roxy went into premature labour but when Sean failed to arrive due to the fact he was not informed he was told he was no longer needed. Roxy later forgave him.

On Christmas Day Suzy arrived at The Vic already half-cut, telling Archie she didn't know where she had put the DNA results. Ronnie and Jack shared a kiss back at Jack's place, leading an excited Ronnie to call Roxy. Suzy told Roxy she knew that Amy wasn't Sean's and in fact Jack's however Roxy knew that Suzy wasn't really pregnant, and told Phill who then broke up with her much to Ben's delight.

After The Mitchells had pulled Christmas crackers Sean discovered a piece of paper stating that he wasn't the father of Amy. Sean stormed out of the vic and Jack realized he was the father. Sean begged Roxy to tell him the real father and if it was anyone he knew, but Roxy said it wasn't. Jack then admitted to being the father

Dot was thrilled when Jim came round, he forgot his hat and Dot heard the door bell ring; thinking it was Jim, she rushed to the door only to discover it was her wayward son Nick Cotton. Nick said he was a changed man and introduced Dot to her granddaughter Dotty Cotton, who won the heart of Dot.

Sean took Amy on Boxing Day forcing The Mitchells and The Slaters to work together to bring Amy back. Only Sean's mother Jean knew where he was, but she eventually told Stacey. Sean gave Amy to Stacey who then gave her back to The Mitchells.

Whitney Deans abuse

perhaps the most controversial and famous storyline of EastEnders 2008 was the sexual relationship between 16-year-old Whitney Dean by her stepfather Tony King

Tony King was introduced as the long term boyfriend Bianca Jackson who had been in jail for a year for the assault of a teenage whom he felt was getting close to Bianca's stepdaughter Whitney.

Tony arrived in September 2008 and resumed he secret affair with Whitney. Whitney was persuaded by Libby Fox to audition for Walford High School's production of Romeo & Juliet. Whitney's school mate Peter Beale was cast as Romeo. Tony felt threatened by Peter and punched him in the face during a rehearsal. Peter's twin sister Lucy Beale found out and threatened to report Tony to the police but was persuaded by Whitney not to

Tony was given a job by Lucas Johnson at the local community centre and grew close to Lauren Branning whose parents Max and Tanya were going threw a messy divorce. Tony dumped Whitney as he fell for Lauren and offered a shoulder to cry on when Max tried to throttle Peter

Whitney and Tony resumed their relationship on 30 October 2008, later that night Bianca accused Ronnie Mitchell of coming on to Tony, forcing Bianca to seek comfort in Pat Butcher.

On 27 November Whitney put on too much makeup for Tony's liking and violently tried to get it off however was caught by Ricky Butcher who Tony then explained that Whitney was acting up. Whitney grew tired of lying to Bianca and hoped that Bianca would understand and told Bianca on her 16th birthday. Bianca called the police and Tony was arrested, but released due to Whitney not speaking to the police, Tony however came back to Walford but was thrown out by Bianca

Tony left behind massive shockwaves as Lauren broke down in Jane Beale's arms, Lucas Johnson received severe words from Ian Beale and Phil Mitchell and was consequently beaten up. Whitney grew into depression, Morgan and Tiffany confused and Bianca, Ricky and Pat to pick up the pieces. It has been revealed that Tony has pleaded not guilty and therefore will be a trial

2009

Sean reappeared on New Year's Day and took Roxy and Amy to a frozen-over lake and said he wanted them all to die. Roxy led Sean to the ice just as Jack and Ronnie arrived, the ice cracked and Roxy and Sean fell through. Ronnie dived in to save her sister, but Sean had gone. Later Roxy saw Sean and told him to go, which he did and the last we saw of him was going into the dark alone.

Archie Mitchell found out that Danielle Jones was his long lost granddaughter. The same sort of events happened when Ricky accidentally revealed to Janine that Tiffany was his daughter.

Archie and Peggy Mitchell married but Danielle disturbed the reception when she announced that she was Ronnie's daughter. Ronnie rejected her daughter and did not believe her until she found the locket Danielle had been given as a baby. Ronnie ran after her daughter to say how sorry she was, however Danielle was then ran over by Janine Butcher and died in Ronnie's arms. This happened only seconds after Ronnie finally accepted that she was Danielle's mum.

Lauren Branning was put on trial in April 2009. It looked like she was going to prison for a while despite Tanya, Peter, Max and Stacey's best efforts, however she was given a 2-year supervision order and returned home and got her relationship with Peter back on track.

After the events of the wedding Peggy orderd Phil to kill Archie. However Phill just intimidated and scared him and forced him out of Walford. When Peggy found this out she kicked him out of The Vic.

In May 2009 Jean Slater began to notice her daughter Stacey was beginning to act oddly. Stacey paraded around the square in a desperate manner and her actions began to become odder these included waiting for ex-lover Max Branning in his bed; telling Tanya Branning she and Max were back on and angering Ian Beale by not returning the money she owed him. Stacey then disappeared for about a month, she returned to Walford with bleached blonde hair and bloody legs.

Syed Masood kissed Christian Clarke on 19 June 2009 after a row about Christian's sexuality. When Syed ignores him, Christian tells his girlfriend Amira Shah about the kiss, but not mentioning Syed's name.

Terry Bates' wife Viv arrived in Walford in May 2009 to threaten Billy Mitchell and Jay Brown that if they told the judge her husband was responsible for the death of Jay's father Jase she would harm Jay in some way.

Jack Branning and Ronnie Mitchell reunited in May. Ronnie began obsessing over having a baby with Jack who tells her he isn't keen right now. Ronnie drops the subject. Peggy finds an engagement ring in Jack's apartment and Jack proposes to Ronnie, there happiness is short lived when Jack catches Ronnie stabbing holes in a condom. Jack tells Ronnie she is as bad as her father Archie, at this Ronnie leaves Walford.

In August, Dot Branning was reunited with her husband Jim Branning as he returned to Albert Square following suffering a stroke.

Also in August through into September, Bianca finally realized she still loved Ricky. But Phil had sent Ricky on a job, leaving Bianca waiting for him to return. She has a huge shock as Ricky returns to Walford with Sam Mitchell, who had been in Brazil on the run since 2005.