Bobby Beale (EastEnders)
Bobby Beale | |
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EastEnders character | |
Portrayed by |
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Duration | 2003–2017, 2019–2024 |
First appearance | Episode 2557 24 July 2003 |
Classification | Present; regular (departing) |
Introduced by |
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Morgan Butcher |
Bobby Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who made his first appearance in episode 2557, originally broadcast on 24 July 2003. The character was originally played by Kevin Curran as an infant. Prior to his introduction, Bobby's paternity is at the centre of a storyline and is resolved when Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) is revealed as Bobby's father. His mother, Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman), is killed off in 2004 and Bobby's stepmother, Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), later adopts Bobby. Curran was replaced by Alex Francis in 2007. Following Jane's departure, Bobby finds a mother figure in Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton) and is upset when she leaves.
When Francis decided to concentrate on his schooling, the character was recast again, with Rory Stroud in the role. Producers decided to recast the character again in 2014 and the character did not appear for six months to aid this transition. When he returns, Bobby was portrayed by Eliot Carrington. Bobby was placed at the centre of the "
Storylines
2003–2017
When Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman) gives birth to Bobby, her estranged husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) refuses to acknowledge the possibility of being Bobby's father because he had a vasectomy prior to Bobby's conception; also, Laura had been unfaithful with Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves). When Bobby (Kevin Curran) needs a blood transfusion, Ian is proved to be Bobby's father and Laura names Ian as Bobby's father when she registers his birth. Ian does not find out until Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) finds the birth certificate after Laura's sudden death. Afterwards, Ian brings Bobby to live with him and his half-siblings, Peter Beale (Joseph Shade) and Lucy Beale (Casey Anne Rothery). Ian's girlfriend and later wife Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), joins the household; she becomes Bobby's stepmother and values him as her own child, increasingly so following an emergency hysterectomy.
Ian enters Bobby (now Alex Francis) into a talent contest but cheats by enlisting another child to sing while Bobby mimes. When Ian's deceit is revealed, Bobby is left exposed and upset. Jane leaves temporarily and Bobby becomes troubled. When Ian catches Bobby bullying his cousin
Bobby and Ian visit family in America. Soon after returning, Bobby (now Rory Stroud) takes a romantic interest in Tiffany. When Tiffany's mother, Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer), trashes Ian's new restaurant, Ian agrees not to go to the police in exchange for Bobby and Tiffany not seeing each other anymore. Tiffany and Bobby then start meeting in secret. When Bobby participates in a school spelling competition competing against Tiffany, it is revealed that they have broken up. Bobby is delighted when Jane returns to Walford and plans to buy into Ian's restaurant.
The Beale family are distraught when Lucy is murdered. After Jane breaks down in Ian's arms, they sleep together and Ian hopes they will reconcile. He tells Bobby they are getting back together, but Jane is annoyed and shouts at Ian. When Bobby tries to intervene, an angry Ian tells him he will never be as good as Lucy. Realizing that Ian needs time to grieve, Jane decides to leave Walford with Bobby. They depart abruptly, briefly returning for Lucy's funeral in May. In November, Jane returns to report that Bobby has gone missing. When found in Walford, Bobby (now Eliot Carington) says that he wants to move back to Albert Square. Jane agrees, but later she is concerned when she finds a casefile which Bobby has compiled with the intention of solving Lucy's murder.
On the night of Ian and Jane's remarriage, it is revealed in a flashback episode that Bobby had accidentally killed Lucy ten months before, after attacking her with a jewellery box out of frustration at her actions, Jane tells a heartbroken Ian, Peter and Cindy Williams that she killed Lucy, but Ian realises that she is lying and that Bobby is the culprit. Jane admits that she had moved Lucy's body, and convinced Bobby that he had not caused Lucy's death. The Beales then agree to keep the circumstances of Lucy's death a secret from Bobby, the police, and the residents of Walford. Peter later makes peace with Bobby before emigrating to New Zealand.
Afterwards, Bobby continuously walks in between Ian and Jane's conversations about him killing Lucy, where they nervously shake it off and tell him they were discussing something else. When Ian's half-brother Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid), who is Phil's son, is arrested for Lucy's murder, Jane reveals to Ian that she kept the phone and purse that Ben stole from her. Bobby soon finds them and takes them to the police station, but is stopped by Phil who sees the objects and takes Bobby back home. Phil demands of Jane where she got the objects, and as he threatens her, Bobby brandishes a golf club and threatens Phil, but is stopped by Ian. Ben is soon released when Lucy's former lover Max Branning (Jake Wood) is arrested for the killing. Now convinced that Max killed Lucy, Bobby tries to smash his car with a brick, but is stopped by Cindy and taken home where she berates him as nothing more than a "stupid little boy", which makes Bobby angry and pushes her. Bobby loses his temper and pushes Cindy as Jane walks in, causing Cindy to graze her head and land where Lucy died. Cindy snaps at Ian when Bobby leaves the room and her words convince Jane to confess to Carol the truth of Lucy's death. Left alone, Cindy then tells her boyfriend Liam Butcher (James Forde), who is Tiffany's brother and Carol's grandson, that Bobby had killed Lucy. Bobby is increasingly confused by Jane's behaviour but the revealing video message Cindy sends him is opened by Phil's wife Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) and deleted by Ian, who begs Sharon not to reveal what she heard.
Bobby is furious when his grandmother
Sharon tells Kathy that Bobby is evil and needs help, and Kathy tells Sharon that Bobby pushed Jane down the stairs, so Sharon decides to report Bobby to the police about Lucy's killing but agrees to wait until after Christmas. Dennis tells Bobby that he killed Lucy, having overheard it from Sharon and Phil. Ian and Jane soon realise that Bobby knows the truth, and Ian makes a deal with Phil to stop Sharon going to the police. Bobby then tells Ian what he knows and Ian confirms it is true. Jane then decides they should go to the police, as they are no longer protecting Bobby from the truth, but Ian comes up with another plan to help Bobby's anger issues and the family agree to send him to boarding school. He leaves late in January 2016 after Ian bribes the school to take him early.
In May 2016, Bobby returns home from school for the holidays, happy having won a hockey award. Ian decides against selling the family restaurant when he comes under pressure from the market traders which means they cannot afford to continue paying Bobby's school fees. Bobby overhears Jane talking about this and lashes out, smashing her car wing mirror with his hockey stick. The next day, Jane catches Bobby packing a bag and he says he is returning to school, and when Jane picks up the phone to call Ian and tell him this, Bobby attacks her; hitting her on the head and striking her legs with his hockey stick. He then leaves her unconscious in their home, goes into the Queen Vic and confesses in front of everyone there that he has killed Jane and he killed Lucy too. Ian attempts to get Bobby away from the scene but Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) stops him, and instead Ian, Sharon and Kathy go to the house and find Jane critically injured. Ian accompanies Jane in the ambulance but denies Bobby access. He is later arrested after confessing to attacking Jane. Bobby then also confesses that he killed Lucy and reveals to DI Keeble that he has the murder weapon in his school locker. He is released pending charge for Lucy's murder.
Ian and his stepson
Months later, Ian visits Bobby off-screen to inform him of Steven's death and Jane being injured in a fire. When Ian returns from the visit, he informs Kathy that he is disappointed that Bobby did not seem to respond to the news the way he expected and he walked out the visiting room without saying a word. The following month, Max threatens Jane into leaving Walford. However, Kathy's rapist James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde) forces Max to ensure that Jane leaves without Ian. Therefore, Max shows Jane a video of Bobby being harassed by someone he does not recognise in his cell, and threatens to harm Bobby if Jane does not leave Walford alone.
2019–present
Sixteen months later, Ian receives a letter saying that Bobby will be released in a matter of months, but he believes that Bobby will be better off with Jane. However, Kathy encourages Ian to tell Peter that Bobby is returning home and to be a father to Bobby and bring him back to Walford. Bobby is later released from prison in June 2019 and is greeted by Kathy at home. However, upon returning to Walford, he is not given a warm welcome back by the residents, especially Max, who never forgave him for watching him being wrongly sent to prison for Bobby's crime of killing Lucy, which led to ruining his relationship with his daughters
Bobby's former nemesis Dennis begins to taunt him and after Bobby attacks him, Dennis starts posting Islamophobic abuse online about Bobby, which is spotted by Bex. Bobby is attacked on the way to mosque with Habiba and Iqra, and is strangled. He ends up going to hospital with a bleed on his brain, needing emergency surgery. Peter (now played by Dayle Hudson) returns after being contacted by Kathy, but he struggles to forgive Bobby for murdering Lucy. These events lead to Bobby developing
Bobby and Dana’s relationship develops and he worries about sleeping with her as he is a virgin and sex outside marriage is frowned upon in the Islamic faith. However, they later consummate their relationship shortly before Bobby’s 18th birthday. Dana's father
Bobby and Freddie compete for the attention of sisters
Creation and development
Bobby has overcome a complicated start in life — Garry thought he was his father until a blood test proved it was Ian. Not to mention enduring the revolving door of his father's love life...Bobby's biological mum, Laura, died in dubious circumstances. Jane was the closest thing to a mum he had, but she left, unable to endure another minute as Mrs Beale. Mandy took over the unlikely role of 'mum' for a while until she too left The Square.
— A reporter from the EastEnders website on Bobby (2013)[1]
In December 2003, Neil Wilkes of Digital Spy revealed a forthcoming "baby bombshell" storyline involving Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) torn between Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman) and Lynne Hobbs (Elaine Lordan).[2] Garry mistakenly believes that Laura's unborn child is his but it is in fact Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) who is oblivious to this information.[2] It was then confirmed that Laura was to be killed in an "explosive exit" after she comes clean with both Garry and Ian.[3] An EastEnders insider said in May 2004 "Garry's grown to love Bobby despite all the trouble caused by his night of passion with Ian's wife Laura".[4] In July 2007, Laurie Brett who plays Jane Collins said that Bobby will start becoming "a bit of a handful".[5] In December 2009. a writer for the Sunday Mail said that when Bobby went missing, it made viewers feel sorry for Ian for a change.[6] In February 2010, Woodyatt said that Bobby's character was a fail-safe option if the live episode of EastEnders went wrong saying "We've all got our little strategies in case it goes wrong. I'm going upstairs to check on Bobby. Steve Mac is going to say, 'I've had enough of this' and just walk out."[7] When Nicola Stapleton reprises her role as Mandy Salter, she said that there a part of Mandy that wants to be maternal as she gets on well with Bobby, who becomes her "little mate".[8] In January 2013, after leaving EastEnders, Laurie Brett said "I would never say never to going back, as I loved playing Jane. She's Bobby's mum and it will always be that way."[9]
Digital Spy revealed on 31 January 2013 that Alex Francis departed from EastEnders to "concentrate more on school commitments".[10] The executive producer of EastEnders, Lorraine Newman, said of Francis' departure "Alex has been a highly valued member of the EastEnders cast and we wish him the best for the future."[10] The role of Bobby was recast to Rory Stroud and started appearing as Bobby from 1 March 2013.[10] In April 2013, when Ben Hardy is recast as Bobby's brother Peter Beale, he said "Ian's wonderful relationship with Denise and the inclusion of Lucy, Peter and Bobby in the household will reinvigorate the clan with vibrancy and energy. I am really looking forward to seeing them all together on screen."[11] Additionally, in June 2013, upon the announcement that Bobby's adoptive sister, Cindy Williams, would return to the programme, new actress Mimi Keene said "with Peter, Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater), Bobby and Cindy to contend with, it'll be a lively household".[12]
Third recast, Lucy's murder and departure
Producers decided to recast the character again in 2014 from Stroud to child actor Eliot Carrington.[13] Carrington was chosen to play Bobby because producers wanted an actor with "emotional depth".[14] Bobby departs the series with Jane in May 2014, marking Stroud's final appearance in the role. Six months later, the character returned with Carrington now in the role.[13] At the time, the Beale family were at the centre of the "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" storyline, a whodunit plot following the murder of Bobby's half-sister Lucy, which leads to the show's thirtieth anniversary episodes.[13] A flashback episode, which features the reveal of Lucy's killer, was commissioned as part of the anniversary episodes.[15] Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins wanted the reveal to be different from previous whodunit reveals which revealed the character in one line. He told Mark Wilson of The Guardian that the reveal of Lucy's killer would be "more complicated" and would involve multiple conversations.[16] Minimal people knew about the identity of Lucy's killer to avoid any leaks with more members of the cast and crew being informed over the course of the storyline.[17][18]
In the flashback episode, Bobby is revealed as the murderer with Jane hiding his secret. The character had not been part of the official list of suspects, but Treadwell-Collins warned that any character could be the killer.
Treadwell-Collins sought permission from Carrington's father before agreeing to make Bobby the murderer and told Mark Jefferies of the Daily Mirror that if he had objected to the story, he planned to recast the character again.[14] He informed Carrington of the twist on the evening of 16 February 2015, three days before the live reveal, to gauge a response.[13][17] Carrington was pleased with the twist and thought it made sense for Jane to hide Bobby's secret.[17] Treadwell-Collins praised Carrington, calling him "a very intelligent little boy and very emotionally mature".[13] Bywater, who portrays Lucy, was surprised by the twist, having discovered during rehearsals on the morning of the episode.[20]
Producers then placed the character at the centre of a subsequent story for the Beale family as they try to maintain the secret.
Jane was written out of the series in October 2017.[24] As part of Brett's exit from the serial, Carrington filmed a cameo appearance as Bobby and he appears in episode 5582, originally broadcast on 17 October. In the scene, Bobby is featured on footage, filmed by a fellow prisoner, and shown to Jane by Max Branning (Jake Wood) as a threat.[25]
Reintroduction and Islam
The character was referenced in scenes first broadcast in February 2019 as Ian receives a letter about Bobby's release date, sparking speculation that he could return.[26] In April 2019, Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap confirmed that Bobby would be reintroduced to EastEnders during that year for "an explosive story". She did not rule out Carrington reprising the role.[27]
On 3 June 2019, it was confirmed that the role had been recast, with actor Clay Milner Russell now in the role.[28] Hollyoaks actor Billy Price revealed in 2021 that he auditioned for the role, and made it "quite far" into the audition process. He explained that excluding him, there were three other actors in the running for the role.[29] Bobby returns in episode 5937, originally broadcast on 13 June 2019, after being released from prison and is greeted by his grandmother, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).[28] The show's executive producer, Jon Sen, expressed his excitement at the casting, commenting, "Clay's an exciting new talent with a charisma and an intensity that injects a new energy into the fascinating character of Bobby Beale".[28] He added that Bobby's return would have repercussions for other characters.[28]
Following his return, producers placed Bobby in a new story exploring
Reception
Rory Stroud was nominated as "Best Young Actor" at the 2013 Inside Soap Awards.[31] A reporter from the EastEnders website said "We feel for cute-as-a-button Bobby Beale, whose home life is about as stable as Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) in stilettoes after ladies' night at R&R."[1] Meanwhile, Eliot Carrington was nominated for 'Best Bad Boy' and 'Best Young Actor' at the 2015 Inside Soap Awards.[32] In September 2013, Stuart Heritage of The Guardian newspaper said that the character should be axed because Stroud "can actually act. He can speak in full sentences and walk around and stuff. That's not who Bobby Beale is. Bobby Beale should be mute and confused by everything, just like he was when Alex Francis played him."[33]
In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Bobby 100th on their ranked list of the Best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him a "baby-faced killer in the electric guitar PJs" who "shocked the world" when he was revealed to be Lucy's killer.[34]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Bobby Beale (Rory Stroud)". EastEnders. BBC Online. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Trinity Mirror. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Kent Online. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Jefferies, Mark (21 February 2015). "Bobby Beale actor Eliot Carrington's 'brilliant' reaction to hearing he was Lucy's killer in EastEnders". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Mark (16 February 2015). "EastEnders audience will be upset if nothing goes wrong". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hello. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Lindsay, Duncan (23 October 2017). "EastEnders spoilers: Laurie Brett confirms exit as Jane Beale". Metro. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Lindsay, Duncan (17 October 2017). "EastEnders spoilers: Bobby Beale returns as Max Branning takes cruel action against Jane". Metro. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Tyler, Laura-Jayne (13–19 April 2019). "Here comes Bobby!". Inside Soap. 2019 (15): 11.
- ^ Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Hughes, Johnathon (12 July 2019). "Bobby Beale converts to Islam as EastEnders aims to "challenge preconceptions and prejudices" of Muslim faith". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ "Inside Soap Awards 2015 longlist revealed". Digital Spy. 14 July 2015.
- ^ Heritage, Stuart (26 September 2013). "Which character should be next for the EastEnders axe?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ Sara Wallis; Ian Hyland (12 June 2020). "100 Best EastEnders characters ever". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 October 2023.