The Year Was… 1990

INTRODUCTION

Margaret Thatcher was on her way out, Macaulay Culkin was left Home Alone and Mariah Carey first stormed the charts, as Madonna Vogued.

Behind the scenes at EastEnders, there was chaos abound. The ratings had been falling and the BBC wanted changes. New producer Michael Ferguson came onboard to steer Albert Square into the Nineties, and he wasn’t afraid to stir things up. He changed the way episodes were filmed, allowing for more location work and deeper stories. He wanted to bring in new characters and brand new relationships. As a result, he axed 15 characters and introduced 12 more: the Tavernier family and the Mitchell siblings. By the end of the year, the ratings were higher and Ferguson, having secured the future of the soap thanks to the increasingly popular Mitchell Brothers, left to attempt a similar turnover on The Bill.

EVENTS

Diane: Missing
Poor Diane Butcher. She was always getting the wrong end of the stick whether it be with boys or her family. She shared a room with Janine, which would have tipped any sane person over the edge, and getting older, Diane craved independence. Unfortunately an ill-conceived plan by Ricky to throw her a surprise birthday party had Diane convinced her family didn’t care and she disappeared into the London night.

At King’s Cross, the night she runs away…

What followed was frantic: Frank left the Square on every lead he could catch, tracking Paul down in Bristol thinking she had fled there. No luck. A body matching her description turned up which mercifully was not Diane. Eventually Diane phoned home after two months and met Frank at King’s Cross, where it was clear Diane had been through it.

**Diane** saved **Disa** from an angry punter

In a rare flashback, we took a look back over the two months Diane had spent on the streets. We saw her first encounter with runaway Disa O’Brien as the pair almost got lured into prostitution and posed for nude pictures. Eventually the photographer followed Diane home to the Square. Frank gave him his marching orders, but not before he opened a love of art in Diane, who spent the rest of her year hanging around fancy museums and creating sculptures around the Square that were an acquired taste. She then started dating Mark Fowler, who’s secret would prevent them becoming anything more than confidantes and best friends. And then Disa left a ‘present’ on the doorstep Christmas Day that would have consequences for the whole Square…

Eventually, she agreed to meet **Frank** for an emotional reunion at King’s Cross

Cindy and Simon
Settling into family life with Baby Steven and Ian Beale was not a prospect Cindy Beale was looking forward to, but she was determined to, at least, try. She told Simon, Steven’s actual dad, that she was done and to sling his hook – which of course had the opposite reaction. Simon came over all paternal and soon was constantly suggesting that she leave her husband and be with him for the perfect life. Eventually, even the slightly slow-on-the-uptake residents of Walford starting catching on with Kathy overhearing their plans on a conveniently placed baby monitor.

**Simon** wanted to be a dad to **Steven**

When Simon chucked Sharon and declared his intentions, Cindy finally embraced her destiny as a homewrecker and told Ian about everything, capping it off with the revelation that Steven was a Wicks and not a Beale. Ian drove off and crashed his van in a rage, and, recovering in hospital, ‘forgot’ the events of the short-term past and tried to ignore it all.

Cindy and Simon eventually ran up to her parents’ house in Cornwall, followed by a frantic Ian. The Square reeled with the truth, with the Beales and the Fowlers now firmly locked in battle with Cindy to protect Ian and even boycotted the Vic. Ian threw her clobber out into the street and Wicksy took his ‘family’ to stay in the B and B.

Ian became more deranged as he went on: at one point he even disposed of a gun he stole! He framed Wicksy for theft when takings went missing from the Vic. He was even caught draining the brake fluid to Simon’s van! Simon and Cindy ended the year by leaving the Square for good, on Steven’s first birthday for good measure. Hopefully, at last, they would have their happy ending…

**Simon** takes his family off the Square

The Mitchell Brothers
“You should see this place, Grant. It is ripe, and I have found the ideal spot.” With one sentence, the whole of Walford would change forever and that is no exaggeration. Sat in his white Porsche, Phil Mitchell surveyed his future kingdom and he thought it good.

Him and brother Grant were mechanics by trade, dodgy geezers by nature and it wasn’t long before they were ruffling feathers around the Square, stealing council documents and proving themselves handy for a bit of ‘heavy’ work. They ruled the roost from their new garage, the Arches, and made life wildly uncomfortable for employee Ricky Butcher, who’s luck began looking up when their sister Sam turned up. Oh yes, love’s young dream, Sam and Ricky began stealing moments together, but found it increasingly difficult to get away from her overbearing and protective brothers. Grant wasn’t that fussed though – he was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Sharon…

Here’s trouble! Early days for **Phil** and **Grant**…

The Poisoned Pie
Turning up at the start of the year claiming to have reformed and found religion, Nick Cotton told everyone who would listen that he was no longer a criminal and that he was done with his favourite hobbies of murder, blackmail and drug dealing. Dot fell for this straight away, poor love. She just wanted her son home and he was finally keen to look after her. Almost too keen.

Ethel tried to tell her, but Dot Cotton had a stubborn streak. Dot started getting ill and Ethel, jumping to conclusions (quite correctly for once), decided that Nick was poisoning his mum with his ‘healthy’ meals he was cooking for his ma.

Dot swore blind that not even Nick would stoop that low and decided to put all her bingo winnings into her will, and left it all to Alastair the vicar, who handled Nick’s church. Alarm bells by now surely ringing, Dot still continued, even though when she wasn’t looking, Nick was practising her signature ready for an apparent suicide note.

Eventually, he hatched his plan, put enough poison in a shepherd’s pie to finish Dot off and watched as she sat down to eat. Nick, unable to stomach watching his ma kill herself, removed the plate and sloped off into the night, leaving Dot horrified that her own son would have murdered her for her bingo winnings.

**Nick** serves his mother his poisoned shepherd’s pie

Searching for Answers
Sharon was a lost soul at the start of the decade. She had seemingly lost it all: her mum was in love abroad, the Vic was in new hands and Den was swimming with the fishes? Or was he?

Probably fed up with fans continuously asking if Den had survived his, admittedly slightly off-screen, watery fate, the writers had Sharon find a signet ring on the market stall that bore a remarkable resemblance to one that Den owned. She pleaded with the police to dredge the canal and after much ear-ache they did so, retrieving a body that could, at least, possibly be Den. This was enough for Sharon who promptly buried the body and finally grieved. After a brief reunion with her birth mum Carol, Sharon ended the year lonely, but placed her neediness on the broadest shoulders she could find: Grant Mitchell’s.

**Sharon** spots **Den**‘s ring on a stall…

Mo’s Sad Goodbye
Taps left running, flooding the place. Birthday cards sent to long-dead relatives. Lit cigarettes in the laundry basket… Yes, Mo Butcher was showing signs that all was not right. She was showing all the symptoms of dementia and was losing the battle quickly. In a moment of calm she asked Frank to end her life, but he couldn’t and painfully sent his mum off, likely to die, to his sister Joan’s in Colchester…

The Taverniers
If Celestine and Etta thought bringing their three children to Walford for a fresh start would calm them down, they were in for a rude awakening. Clyde, their eldest boy, was okay, but he was missing his son Kofi who lived with his grandparents in Bristol. When they threatened to take Kofi abroad with them, Clyde could take it no more, high tailed it to the airport and brought little Kofi home for Christmas. Aw. As for Lloyd and Hattie, their time would soon come…

The Taverniers on arrival: (L-R) **Celestine**, **Etta**, **Hattie**, **Lloyd**, **Clyde** & **Jules**

The Other Stuff
Michelle finally gets rid of married man Danny and she throws herself into campaigning for the market’s survival. Mark returns, now played by Grange Hill star Todd Carty. He has a secret and he doesn’t want to tell anyone. Kathy moves on from Laurie to Eddie Royle, who becomes the new landlord of the Queen Vic. Arthur is caught working while claiming dole!