How long has ian been in eastenders

Ian decides to open a restaurant, though Lucy is worried it will fail because of his mental illness. He runs out of money for construction but then finds a box of cash that used to belong to Derek Branning. He also gets Janine to invest in the restaurant, and eventually tricks Lucy into signing over all of the businesses to him. Peter returns to live with the family and is soon followed by Cindy Williams, the daughter of Ian's dead ex-wife of the same name.

Ian lets Cindy stay, and Denise also moves in with the family. Carl claims the money was his, and so extorts large sums of cash from Ian as payback. Carl is violent and burns Ian's hand when he tries to refuse to pay him before promising that the debt will be paid if Ian lies in court, and says that he saw Max tampering with the brakes of Carl's car. Ian reluctantly agrees, but on the day of the court case, he is kidnapped by Phil, and Max is found not guilty.

It is then revealed that Max was in on the kidnapping, but it was just to lure Carl into a trap. Ian then has to face the consequences of his actions, and Denise is angry when she finds out the truth.

Denise thinks that Ian is planning to propose to her as a Christmas present, but he denies it even though he has bought an engagement ring. Peter reveals that he is in a relationship with Lola Pearce, the mother of Phil's granddaughter and Ian's niece, Lexi Pearce. Phil threatens Ian and forces him to end the relationship.

They return the money, and Phil blames Ian, believing that he put Cindy up to steal it. In January , just as Ian is about to propose to Denise, Jane arrives unannounced. Jane later buys into Ian's restaurant, and they begin running it together, leading Ian to harbour feelings for Jane.

Ian is pessimistic when Lucy decides to set up her own property business and later becomes concerned about her when he discovers she is sleeping with Lee Carter and is taking cocaine. He confronts her and admits she is the child he is most proud of, but this is overheard by Peter, resulting in Lucy storming out. He identifies her body and then shares his devastating news with Jane, Denise, Cindy, Bobby and finally Peter.

Struggling with their grief, Ian and Jane share a passionate encounter, giving Ian hope that they might reunite. When Jane dashes his hopes, Ian takes his anger out on Bobby, and Jane decides it would be best if she takes Bobby away for a while.

Cindy also leaves the Square to return to Devon with her aunt, Gina Williams. Increasingly alone, Ian leans on Phil for support and questions how he can move on from his daughter's death. With Peter's help, he stages an opening for the new and improved restaurant, but during opening night, Summerhayes reveals that Lucy's body has been released for burial.

Ian leaves early with Peter to see her but is unable due to his grief. He wants to organise the funeral for as soon as possible but discovers that Max and Lucy were together; Ian angrily attacks Max as he carries Lucy's coffin down the aisle of the church and it is clear that Ian is not coping. Worried, Sharon believes that he is relying on pills to numb the pain of his grief, and she and Carol Jackson comfort him.

Ian receives texts from Rainie Cross that he hides them from Denise. It is later discovered that he paid Rainie for sex on the night Lucy died, and, knowing that he has given a false alibi to the police, Rainie demands money to fund her drug addiction.

Patrick confronts Ian and decides to tell Denise, so Ian arranges a surprise trip to see Denise's daughter Libby Fox in Oxford, and they leave before Patrick can tell Denise. Patrick suffers a stroke, and he is unable to communicate what happened to Denise. Ian meets Rainie at her request, but Mick Carter sees them together. When Ian drives away, Rainie approaches Mick, who is then arrested and charged for soliciting.

Ian tries to convince Denise to put Patrick in a care home, fearful of his secret. However, he eventually agrees that Patrick can live with them. Rainie tells Denise the truth, but before Ian can explain to Denise, Cindy makes a sudden return, already several hours into her labour.

Ian delivers her baby daughter and agrees that she can live with him. Denise moves out, refusing to forgive Ian for his actions when she discovers that Patrick knew and that Ian was willing to put Patrick in a care home to keep his secret. Ian returns on Sharon's wedding day to try to stop her marrying Phil. Jane returns with the news that Bobby is missing—he is found on Walford Common—he wants to return to Walford and Jane agrees.

She falls for Ian again and proposes to him at the Christmas Eve carol concert. They plan their wedding for next February. Ian and Jane get married in their restaurant with their friends and family as witnesses. After Lauren tells Peter that she believes a member of the family murdered Lucy, he accuses them of killing Lucy. Jane admits that Bobby accidentally killed Lucy by hitting her over the head with a jewellery box.

Though Bobby believed that Lucy was still alive, Jane realized she was dead and covered up her murder by faking a mugging. Ian, Jane and Cindy decide to cover up Lucy's murder; however, Peter does not agree to do this.

A few weeks later, Ian and the rest of the Beales return to Walford and reunite Beth with Cindy, but Cindy believes that she is not a capable mother and abandons Beth at the park, but she is picked up by Ian's great-nephew Liam Butcher. Ian and Jane agree to adopt Beth, but Cindy decides she does not want to be in the same house as her baby, so says that if she is not adopted into a different household, she will tell everyone Bobby killed Lucy.

After Beth is taken in by her paternal relatives, Ian tells Cindy to leave and not come back. But when his plan didn't work, Sharon took it upon herself to poison her husband as revenge for his role in her son Denny's death in the Thames boat disaster in February What to Watch.

Categories TV Shows. Whattowatch Newsletter. Get the latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands. Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors.

Thank you for signing up to Whattowatch. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. Sign up. Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter Share this article via messenger Share this with Share this article via email Share this article via flipboard Copy link. Share this article via comment Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter.

More Stories. After he appeared in The Baker Street Boys, Adam briefly put his acting career on hiatus and worked as a butcher in Wales before he returned to the screen for EastEnders. In , his longevity was honoured at the British Soap Awards, where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his portrayal of infamous character Ian Beale. In August , it was announced Woodyatt would be taking an "extended break" from appearing in EastEnders in news that shocked fans.