The Year Was… 1988

INTRODUCTION

Margaret Thatcher became the longest serving Prime Minister as the pound note was replaced by the pound coin. Section 28 was introduced. Stephen Hawking released ‘A Brief History of Time’, just as Littlefoot searched for a Land Before Time. Eddie Murphy starred in Coming to America, prozac was unleashed on the world and Scrappy-Doo, the annoying pest, was finally written out of Scooby-Doo!

And down in the wilds of Walford, an ill wind was blowing. And it was heading straight for one Kathy Beale…

EVENTS

Donna the Daughter
Kathy’s year started off just fine: she lost her job in the Vic and got a new one at the Dagmar, where she rather enjoyed being the centre of Willmott-Brown’s attention. The only strange thing was Donna, who seemed to go out of her way to ingratiate into Kathy’s life. It didn’t take long for the truth to come tumbling out: Donna was Kathy’s daughter, the product of rape at the age of 14. Kathy had given the child up for adoption and was not thrilled at all to be reunited with her ever so manipulative daughter.

**Kathy** is thrilled to be given a job in the **Dagmar** – with boss **James Willmott-Brown**…

Understandably perhaps, it would explain what happened next: Donna lumbered around the Square, spiralling deeper and deeper. She tried it on with Wicksy, but Simon only had eyes for Cindy off the hat stall. Ian, of all people, looked like he wanted to ask Donna out, and he was obviously stunned when she revealed why they couldn’t. Eventually, Donna pushed away even Michelle and Sharon and ended up living in the squat and becoming addicted to heroin almost immediately. Not even Rod, looking for a new project since Mary left, had any luck.

**Wicksy** was another obsession of **Donna**‘s…

Kathy’s Assault
Reminded of her brutal assault as a teenager by Donna’s arrival, Kathy put on a brave face and tried to front it out. Willmott-Brown’s interest in Kathy had been noticed by husband Pete, but Kathy shrugged it off – he was being ridiculous! And, as a result, she became closer to James. By the summer, she was his closest confidant and he even bought slightly inappropriate gifts. But still Kathy could handle it: until one night, she couldn’t. After another row with Pete ended in late night drinks between Kathy and her boss, Willmott-Brown raped Kathy, leaving her bruised and shocked. Den found her and vowed immediate revenge…

The Dagmar was burned to the ground one night shortly afterwards. Pete and Kathy rowed constantly, with part of him blaming her for the attack. He took her on holiday, and, when that didn’t help Pete turned to the booze. Then Pauline began interfering and, just when it couldn’t get worse, Willmott-Brown turned up again later on in the year and offered Kathy money to drop the rape charges! Would Kathy accept or would she continue to seek justice?

**Kathy** relives her ordeal with the police

Michelle Breaks Lofty
Perhaps Lofty had a lucky escape. No sooner had Michelle discovered she was pregnant with his child, she told the wrong person in mother Pauline, who, as you do, promptly spilled the beans to the expectant dad. However, Michelle weren’t ‘avin that and she terminated the pregnancy, finally proving to Lofty what a sap he’d been for following her around like a puppy in the first place. He wisely decided to cut his losses and run and left for Bedfordshire when nobody was looking. Michelle, emboldened by her decisions, moved out of the family home and into her best mate’s Sharon’s flat – paid for, of course, by Vicki’s dad Den…

Bye, then! **Lofty** gets out of dodge – and only **Den** sees him leave

Who is Wicksy’s Father?
Pat was never one for a straight answer when it came to the men in her life: after all, there had been several. Her past was definitely coming back to bite her though, as Simon persisted in wanting to know who his father was, once and for all. Pete thought he was his, Pat said he was his brother Kenny’s, Lou believed Pat (despite calling her a trollop on a daily basis) and Simon slept his way through the female population of Walford, just to remind himself why he existed in the first place. Eventually, when Pat suggested Den could be his dad, Lou snapped and confronted Pat once and for all, who declared she had deliberately spread the rumour to stay in control and that Simon was actually husband Brian Wicks’ boy. Well. As sure as she could be…

**Lou** confronts **Pat** over her grandson’s father

Have a Butchers!
Pat was down on her luck and isolated from her son. She needed cheering up and, if anyone could put a smile on Pat’s face, it was old teenage sweetheart Frank Butcher. His wife now dead, Frank came looking for Pat and moved to the Square with his children Ricky and Diane. Joined soon afterward by mother Mo, Frank soon installed himself as the new landlord of the Vic (through a considerable amount of bribery) and a new era began. Ricky and Diane would make their own drama and Mo, well, she made Lou look like a pussy cat and promptly began running her son’s life!

There was also some history between **Pat** and **Den**!

The Firm
The local gangsters set up in Strokes’ Wine Bar, opposite the Dagmar, as a front for their shady business and tried to entice Den into some of their dodgy dealings – and by entice, we mean blackmail. You see, it was the Firm who had helped him burn down the Dagmar. Faced with an uncertain future, Den was left deeper than ever when it turned out that rather than let Den take the fall for the crimes, they intended to fit him for concrete slippers.

By this point, Ang had enough, packed her bags and went to live abroad, leaving Den with no option but to sell the Vic to Frank and Pat and take a job at Strokes, right where the Firm could watch him. Rather than wait around to be killed, Den handed himself into the police and spent the rest of the year inside: for Den, it was safer in Dickens Hill prison where, after some leaning, he soon ruled the landing.

Colin’s Woes
No sooner than the Square got used to them, Colin and Barry split up when Barry decided girls were maybe, possibly, more his thing. Colin pined for a while and was attacked by two complete strangers one night. Recovering, Colin suddenly lost the use of his legs and a quick check with Dr. Legg had Colin diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For some reason best known to the doc, he didn’t actually tell Colin this and he ended the year happy with new boyfriend Guido. Alas, it was not to last, and soon Colin was away from the Square to face his rapidly declining health.

**Guido** and **Colin** didn’t last for long

The Other Stuff
Mary becomes addicted to speed. This time she manages to clean herself up and, with a flick of her fingers, leaves Walford as rebellious as she arrived. Sue Osman gives birth to a baby boy, Ali Junior. Charlie Cotton returns, steals from Dot and vanishes again. Pot-man Tom drops dead in the Vic toilets. And Lou Beale gathered her clan together. They sat and listened as she doled out all the advice she could, said her piece with her usual acidic tongue (“nobody interrupts Lou Beale in mid-flow”) and promptly declared that was her lot sorted and she could go to bed. The next morning the Square mourned, as Lou had passed away in her sleep.

**Mary** gives Walford the two-fingered salute as she leaves the Square…

CIVVY STREET

EastEnders received it’s first spin-off episode in 1988, airing Boxing Day that year. Set in Christmas 1942, Civvy Street provided a war-time look at Walford, filling in some of the history of Albert Square. The Square was given a World War II era look and some parts of the episode were shot in monochrome.

The plot revolves around Christmas preparations: Lou Beale is busy looking after her children and trying to provide a lovely Christmas, in a Britain with rationing and the threat of annihilation at any moment. Albert, her husband, grandfather to Mark, Michelle, Ian and Martin, is away at war and Lou fears he won’t return home. A younger Ethel also appears, torn between the admirations of an officer and a scoundrel as Reg Cox tries to sweep her off her feet.

ARRIVALS