The Year Was… 1986

INTRODUCTION

Football fans developed the Mexican Wave, Little Shop of Horrors hungered at cinemas, Andy Warhol paid tribute to Aretha and Tom Cruise felt the need for Speed for the first time. Sean Connery declared that ‘there can only be one’. The space-shuttle Challenger exploded in front of the world and Sally Webster made her debut up Manchester way.

In Walford, the general life and bustle of Albert Square started garnering more attention than ever. The soap was making house-hold stars out of it’s overnight success and the BBC could not be happier. By the Christmas episodes, EastEnders would garner over 30 million in viewing figures! And looking at the developments with the family in question it’s easy to see why!

EVENTS

Den and Angie: Almost-Murder on the Orient Express?
At the start of the year, Den and Ang were as settled as much as they could be, if only for the presence of Sharon, who threatened to have a breakdown if their constant rowing carried on. But despite the smiles painted on for the punters, it was all business as usual. Den continued his affair with missus Jan, while Ang, starved of attention, threw her attentions at anyone in a pair of trousers. In March, she took a load of sleeping pills, washed down with gin, in a bid to get Den’s attention. He was late, but any later and Angie’s ploy would have really turned into a trip to the morgue. Sharon was mortified and Den whisked Angie to Ibiza for a second honeymoon. Half way through, he left her there and returned to Jan in London.

**Jan** and **Den** are like teenagers in Venice…

Things got worse from there: unaware of Den’s secret love child with Michelle, Angie had a breakdown and Jan ultimately told him it was her or his wife. Angie saw her coming and countered with a plan of her own: she told Den she had six months to live! Den, showing a rare sign of chivalry, decided he couldn’t leave a dying woman, ditched Jan and took Angie on a trip of a life time to Venice. Except Jan was also in Venice. On the way home, on the Orient Express, a tipsy Angie told a barman that she had lied to her husband by pretending to be dying – unaware that Den had heard every word. He bided his time until Christmas, when he finally revealed that he’d known her deception: and promptly offered her divorce papers as a Christmas present.

Playing Happy Families
While Den dreamed of happy families with Michelle, she was thinking no such thing with Lofty, who, while lovely, was a bit of a no-hoper: but he loved her – Michelle was clever enough to have a back-up plan in case Den never loved her back. In fact, when he proposed, she accepted, even if it only meant security for her and new-born Vicki, who came along in May. The morning of the wedding, Michelle had a change of heart and jilted poor Lofty at the altar. She changed her mind after Den knocked her back and, for a while at least, Michelle Fowler was Michelle Holloway. It wouldn’t last.

The blushing, and rather unhappy, bride…

The Banned
The fact that Sharon would throw herself at men after seeing her mother do it is no shocker to most, but she didn’t get where she is today by being a wallflower. Sharon prided herself on being the centre of the teenage circle and, keen to show herself off, she and Kelvin organised a band, literally called ‘The Banned’. They had one night in the Vic, with Sharon as lead of course, but they didn’t get far. She did however date Ian briefly – much to his (and our) amazement! Of course, this is Ian and he went too far, making something outta nothing and proving that not every loser wins…

Arthur’s Breakdown
Arthur Fowler was dependable. Everyone knew that. And when it came to his family, he tried his best, bless him, despite nagging Pauline and dragon Lou. So he decided, naturally, to throw his only daughter the wedding ceremony she deserved. To do this, there was one slight problem: capital. Eventually, Arthur started helping himself to the Christmas Club fund money and, when people became suspicious, he faked a burglary at the Fowler house. Of course, it didn’t take long for them to figure it out and Arthur spent the rest of the year descending into madness and eventually having a complete nervous breakdown on Christmas Day. Yep, nobody had a happy Christmas in 1986!

**Arthur** was getting more and more depressed…

Debs’ Flirty Ways, Andy the Hero
For someone who loved Andy, Debs was not easy to please. Andy was a nurse, a decent guy and easy on the eye, but she gave him short shrift and grew closer to local copper Roy Quick. When Andy was noticed by maneater Angie, Debs changed her mind and decided that Andy was the one for her.

She began excitedly planning their wedding, but tragedy struck when Andy, saving a child in the process, was hit by a truck and died. A saint to the end, he even donated his organs. Debs spent months eyeing up others, including new club owner James Willmott-Brown, but in the end she failed to elicit much in the way of sympathy, and Debs Wilkins would say goodbye to the Square shortly after.

The Woman’s Name is Patricia
Pat first shimmied across the Square like she owned it, but this is not the Pat of later years that was beloved by all in Walford. In fact, when she first arrived, everyone, including son Simon Wicks, hoped she would disappear again! She played women off against each other, tried it on with any man she fancied and quite a few she didn’t, was dragged into Mehmet’s prostitution circle and had at least four answers for Simon when he asked who his dad was. There were some obvious answers: it wasn’t Pete’s brother Kenny or a fling with Den, but it could have been either Pete or her current husband (number 2), abusive Brian. We would never find out the answer for definite. Even other son David couldn’t explain it all! But this Pat was fearless, giving just as much as she got…

**Pat Wicks** arrives – and causes mayhem where she goes!

The Other Stuff
Mark turns up living with a married woman and her children in Southend! The ‘Firm’ move into Albert Square… Colin doesn’t want boyfriend Barry living with him… Lofty briefly becomes a kissogram!