Ian Beale
Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is one of four remaining original characters, the others being his mother, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), his long standing best friend and ex-wife, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Queen Vic barmaid, Tracey (Jane Slaughter). The character appeared in his 2,000th episode in the show on 26 March 2007, and his 3,000th on 27 May 2016. Woodyatt took an extended hiatus from EastEnders on 22 January 2021. He made guest appearances on 12 December 2022 and 22 June 2023, prior to a full-time return on 22 August of that year. Ian is the longest-serving regular EastEnders character, and second overall, behind only Tracey.
Ian is the most-married character in EastEnders history, with six marriages to five women: Cindy Williams (Michelle Collins), Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite), Laura Dunn (Hannah Waterman), twice to Jane Collins (Laurie Brett), and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean). He has also had three aborted engagements: to Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton), Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and Cindy respectively. He has fathered three children (Peter, Lucy, and Bobby Beale, raised Cindy's son Steven Beale, who he believed to be his, and was the guardian of Cindy's daughter, Cindy Williams. Ian is the owner of 45 Albert Square, traditionally represented within the series as the family home of the Beale and Fowler family. In 2020, he bought The Queen Victoria public house for Sharon, leaving after she poisoned him in revenge for his involvement in Dennis Rickman Jnr's (Bleu Landau) death on EastEnders' 35th anniversary.
Upon his return in 2023, he returns to 45 Albert Square reunited with his first wife Cindy after reuniting off-screen the year prior, who was going by the pseudonym "Rose Knight", after faking her death 25 years prior in a witness protection scheme due to giving information about her criminal inmate, Jackie Ford. After Cindy's witness protection officer reveals that Jackie has died, Cindy resumes her former life. During the Christmas 2024 special, Cindy's affair with Junior Knight (Micah Balfour) was revealed and Ian became a suspect in the "Who Attacked Cindy?" storyline for the show's 40th anniversary. In 2026, Ian becomes a councillor, defeating Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe), with whom he later begins a secret relationship. Ian's happiness, however, is short-lived when he is arrested for hitting four-year-old Jordan Fox (Jahsaiah Williams) when he is driving over the limit, for which he is sentenced to eight months in prison.