What is Wrong with Ian Beale? CINDY!


By Nancy Teel

This article is a tribute to Adam Woodyatt, the devoted actor who has portrayed Ian Beale since day one of EastEnders.

If someone just started viewing the show, he or she would think of Ian as the following: loser, schemer, tightwad, maniac, victim, bankrupt businessman, and failed husband. However, twenty-five years ago, Ian was no such person, and it is the remarkable work of Adam Woodyatt that has taken Ian through a messy life.

Ian, son of Pete and Kathy Beale, was an original in the cast of EastEnders. Spunky and charismatic, Ian was a bright, articulate teenager with ambition and devotion to his parents. He was Mr. Charm in comparison to his snarling, deviant, and moody cousins Mark and Michelle Fowler. He was the “good boy”, who aimed to please. He helped his father on the stall, teased his Auntie Pauline, joked with his Uncle Arthur, and ran the other way whenever he saw Nick Cotton.

As soon as Ian was interested in girls, he aimed too high (or rather, out of his league). He flirted with sassy, buxom Sharon Watts, then he spotted a newcomer to the square, Cindy Williams (played by Michelle Collins).

Cindy was tough, cool, and indifferent, but Ian pursued her despite the obstacles. Originally Cindy, pregnant with Simon Wicks’ child, was desperate for a husband and when Cindy showed the slight bit of interest in Ian, he fell in love. Their eventual marriage provided safety for Cindy and her unborn child, plus she was not very far from the real father, whom she loved. On the wedding day, Ian had no idea that the father was Simon, his childhood friend and the son of Pat Evans. Even when Ian eventually found out who the father was, he forgave Cindy and fought to keep her as his wife.

For viewers who never knew Cindy and Ian as a couple, imagine Robbie Jackson and Kat Slater being an item. Not very likely!!

Cindy was blonde, attractive, and rarely smiled. She had a look of disdain which drove most men in the square insane. She was Ian’s curse, and the years of wooing, pursuing, and conniving Cindy into loving him would leave Ian untrusting and shell-shocked and affect his relations with women forever.

In current episodes, Ian refers to his kids and their needs, but decades ago young Ian was obsessed with Cindy. They were mismatched but Ian was blind to this. Cindy could barely tolerate Ian’s enthusiasm for love and life. Her forced smiles and indifferent responses were lost on Ian. He would talk on and on about their future while Cindy tried in vain to not show her boredom. Eventually Cindy, desperate for an escape, found love and sex with various Walford residents, causing Ian excruciating heartache. Cindy even left the square to live with Simon, but Simon ended the relationship forcing Cindy to live with her baby Steven in a woman’s refuge far from the EastEnd.

The years passed. Ian attempted to get on with his life and attended and graduated from catering school. This led to creating his own catering business and making excellent money. With his perpetual determination and clout, Ian found out where Cindy and baby Steven were living. It took many episodes for Ian to convince a still reluctant Cindy to return to Walford, where she knew Ian’s family and friends did not trust her. However, she was destitute and worried for her son’s welfare, so she acquiesced.

The threesome arrived in the square late at night and hid in Ian’s posh flat, but they were observed by Ian’s mother Kathy, who hated Cindy for all the pain she had caused her loving son. When Cindy eventually slithered outside the flat, Kathy was immediately confrontational and threatening, but Cindy did as she always did - rolled her eyes and got on with her new life.

Cindy stayed with Ian for several years, giving birth to their twins, Lucy and Peter, then, as per usual, Cindy got bored, had more affairs, hired someone to kill Ian by a speeding car, kidnapped two of her three children, and then left for France. This abduction was aided by David Wicks (Pat Evans’ other heartthrob son) and newcomer Barry Evans, who from the start would do anything for a pretty face. In all the confusion of Ian’s accident, little Lucy was left in Walford, much to Cindy’s upset and relief to the critically injured Ian.

Ian, finally convinced that Cindy did not love him, attempted to get on with his life, taking care of Little Lucy who desperately missed her mummy and brothers. Thus started Ian’s newfound talent for revenge.

News through a private detective, Ros Thorne, reached Ian that Cindy was living in Lake Como, Italy, with a very wealthy Italian named Nick. Ian asked the Mitchell brothers, Grant and Phil, to plan a kidnapping of his sons. Through Ros, Ian set up a surreptitious meet with Cindy at the Pergola Hotel to discuss the children and their care.

Cindy was suspicious and did not want to meet, but Ros surprised Cindy with the news that her precious Lucy was waiting for her in a hotel room. Cindy fell for this, went to the room, and was horrified to see Ian. Immediately she realized that she had been trapped; however, Ian delayed her intentionally, talking about how he missed her, forgave her, and wanted to begin again. Ian approached her romantically and offered her his bed, but Cindy said that it didn’t feel right.

Slowly a huge Chesire grin emerged on Ian’s face. He told Cindy to get out and added that he took great pleasure in tricking her. Cindy called him a bastard and departed in a rage.

While Ian and Cindy met at the hotel, Grant and Phil visited Steven and Peter, who were being babysat by Cindy‘s friend Sophia. The boys knew Grant and Phil immediately and ran into their arms. The Mitchells told the boys that they were going to see their daddy and then drove them to the Milan Airport.

Cindy, unaware of Phil and Grant‘s involvement, called Sophia but her line was engaged. Guessing the ruse, Cindy drove recklessly to the airport. As Grant, Phil, Ian, Steven, and Peter boarded the plane on the tarmac, they could see Cindy screaming and crying behind the security glass.

So, why is Ian so bizarre today? CINDY.

Why does Ian react so strangely when women upset him? CINDY.

Why does Ian never act like the once sweet boy concerned with others? CINDY.

Why has Cindy never returned to the square?

Cindy died in prison while giving birth to Nick’s child. Cindy eventually came back to the UK with her wealthy Italian and attempted to get custody of her three children, but instead was found guilty of attempted murder, thus sentenced to prison. Although there has been much mention in this article of Cindy, Ian’s life was forever altered by her. He is raising her children, he recently lost Steven to Simon in Australia, and most of the citizens in the square remember how destructive Cindy was to the earnest, once clueless Ian.

What other actor, in a TV drama, has developed from child, to teen, to adult, to middle age in one series? It is none other than the brave, honorable, and devoted Adam Woodyatt!! May Adam portray Ian until he receives a pension, gets a free bus pass, and attends Over Sixties functions, unless Cindy is sadly resurrected or one of his other wives (Melanie, Laura, or Jane) hires a car to run him over.……………..then, for sure, his days are numbered.




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