EastEnders has served up one of its biggest twists in years with the return of Walford icon Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) – despite the character having allegedly died 25 years ago.
Wednesday night’s episode saw Cindy make her return, amid the mystery surrounding George Knight (Colin Salmon)’s wife Rose.
Recent episodes have seen Linda (Kellie Bright) asking Phil to get closer to George in a bid to find out what happened to Rose – amid suggestions that he might have killed her – but his efforts drew him to the conclusion that Rose never existed.
As George tried to call her, the action flashed to Cindy, sitting by a pool, leaving the phone unanswered.
While many viewers will remember Cindy – aka Rose – from her previous stint in the Square – notable for her rocky relationship with husband Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and her dramatic attempt to kill him, others may be seeing her for the first time.
So, just who is Cindy, when was she previously in Walford – and what happened to her?
Who is Cindy Beale?
Cindy is the former wife of Ian Beale and mother of Steven Beale, twins Peter and Lucy Beale, and Cindy Williams.
The character was first seen in Albert Square in May 1988, selling hats on her mother’s market stall and showing interest in Queen Vic barman Simon Wicks (Nick Berry).
She quickly became romantically involved with him, becoming caught up in a love triangle with troubled Donna Ludlow (Matilda Ziegler) – but it wasn’t long before she turned her attentions to Ian.
While she initially only began dating him to make Simon jealous, the pair later got engaged – although Cindy and Simon later slept together, resulting in her becoming pregnant with her son Steven.
Cindy married Ian, letting him believe he was Steven’s real dad – but the truth came out, and Cindy left Walford with Simon, leaving Ian heartbroken. She later returned after Simon abandoned her, and Ian agreed to raise Steven as his own son.
The couple welcomed twins Peter and Lucy in 1993 but Cindy strayed again, this time with Ian and Simon’s half-brother David Wicks (Michael French) – their affair being discovered after Ian hired a private detective to follow them.
Ian vowed to fight Cindy for custody of their children, but when her fling with David began cooling off she took the drastic step of hiring a hitman to kill Ian, who was left fighting for his life after he was shot in front of her.
With the police closing in, Cindy fled to Italy with Steven and Peter, leaving Lucy behind – despite Ian and Kathy’s attempts to stop them.
Despite David saying he would try to join her later with her daughter, it never happened – with Ian’s private investigator tracking her down to Italy instead.
Grant (Ross Kemp) and Phil (Steve McFadden) abducted Steven and Peter and brought them home, and Cindy eventually followed with new boyfriend Nick in tow, determined to get custody of her children from Ian.
She won the court battle, but almost immediately was arrested for attempted murder when Ian’s associates persuaded the hitman to confess.
What happened to Cindy?
Cindy was held on remand in prison while pregnant with Nick’s child – but Nick abandoned her there after discovering she was guilty. Ian was later told she had died in childbirth in prison.
Her daughter Cindy Williams appeared in the soap on and off until 2015, with the character last being played by Sex Education star Mimi Keene.
Michelle Collins, meanwhile, went on to star in Coronation Street as Rovers Return landlady Stella Price.
However, as the death happened off-screen it left Cindy’s fate up in the air – with recent hints that her return could tie in with a comeback for Ian Beale, setting the scene for fireworks in the Square.
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Show boss Chris Clenshaw recently teased a return for Ian, telling metro.co.uk amid Dot’s funeral: ‘I called Adam and told him our plans and said Ian had to be there, and he agreed.
‘It was kind of as simple as that.
‘Ian didn’t make it into the church, but he said his own private goodbye to Dot. So that’s how it came about. Adam wanted to be there for June and he knew that Ian should be there for Dot.’
‘He’s on the phone to someone!,’ he continued, addressing the mystery set up at the time.
‘We know who! I think Adam’s a little bit busy at the moment, but Adam is Ian Beale.’.
EastEnders continues on Thursday night on BBC One at 7.30pm.
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