The Year Was… 2010

Who Killed Archie Mitchell?
On Christmas Day 2009, Archie Mitchell was bashed in the head with the Queen Vic bust and left for dead. By the time daughter Ronnie found him, he briefly declared his love and died, leaving the Mitchells in a weird place: celebrating, but picking up the pieces at the same time! Before anyone could blink, Archie’s ex-wife and the girls’ estranged mother who had walked out on them years ago, turned up on the Square. Glenda Mitchell was not a nice woman and had no maternal instincts whatsoever. She was bolshy, opinionated and clearly only in it for the money. They even had a brother, Danny, who they hadn’t known existed until now!

Everyone was aghast when Roxy was left everything, including the Vic! Before anyone else could say anything, the police descended on the Mitchells like flies on the unmentionables and questioned every move they made. Eventually, needing a scape goat, they planned to blame the murder on Sam, feeling flighty anyway – but the Mitchell lass had finally had enough of her family and went to the police, handed herself in for her Dirty Den charges of fleeing the course of justice and made a plea deal, landing Peggy of all people right in it!

Stacey was still recovering from Archie’s devastating attack on her, and as DCI Marsden and her police closed in on the clues and needed to talk to her, Stacey and Bradley panicked – he had hit Archie on Christmas Day and his prints would be on the body – even though he had left Archie alive. They fled, which made them look suspicious and, during a live episode on February 19th, it was dramatically revealed that Stacey was the killer. Stacey confessed to Max, explaining that she killed Archie in a moment of rage and desperation after he had raped her.

The revelation led to worse: the tragic death of Bradley Branning, who fell from the Vic rooftop while trying to escape arrest for the murder. Stacey’s confession and the subsequent fallout would make sure viewers remained gripped for the rest of the year…

Syed and Christian
The Masoods were in full wedding fever at the start of the year, preparing for the nuptials of eldest Syed and Amira Shah. Syed had gotten over his love of Christian (rather dramatically) and had moved on – until Christian returned to the Square shortly before the wedding, determined to get his man and stop the ceremony. After more back-and-forth the two men couldn’t help it and Syed confessed that he loved Christian and was indeed gay – but he was still marrying Amira.

Zainab had clued on to Christian’s infatuation with her son and confronted him on the day of the wedding, spouting homophobic insults and telling Christian that he had failed. Christian wiped the grin off her face by admitting that he and Syed were lovers through and through. Zainab confronted her son and convinced him desperately to go ahead with the wedding, partially out of fear for him and of the community shunning the family. Ultimately, he married Amira and they set up shop together. They even recovered when their flat had squatters (see below) and Amira, ever the pretty princess, got the chance to give the place a makeover!

Christian got with a new bloke, Leyton, who was not there for his brains, and Syed struggled with his vows. While Amira started talking about a family, Syed once again fell into Christian’s arms, only this time they were spotted by Masood. That was too much for Mas, and Syed had no choice but to come out to a grief-stricken Amira, who would be shunned by the community. She left, pregnant with Syed’s child, but only told Chelsea who she swore to secrecy as she silently left the Square.

Syed couldn’t accept being with a man though and when Amira’s father turned up at Christian’s looking for Syed to beat him, Christian refused to give up his ex and he suffered the beating himself. Syed tried everything for his family: he tried conversion therapy and had sessions with his religious mentors, but Syed couldn’t do it.

By the end of the year, Christian and Syed were making an honest go of things and had moved in together. Everything looked rosy, at least until New Year’s Eve where Christian got drunk and kissed someone other than Sy at midnight.

The Jacksons Reunited!
With Sam long gone – Ricky had sensibly dumped her after (a) she slept with Jack Branning (what was it with Jack Branning and Mitchell women?) and (b) she had ended up inside – Bianca and Ricky threw themselves into wedding prep and by the end of the year, every original member of the Jackson clan as they appeared in 1993 passed through Albert Square. Some came for the wedding and stayed. Some would, go and one day come back. Some would also return for a funeral… the saddest one of all.

In the February, in the build up to the wedding, Tiff briefly went walkies looking for Carol, still not talking to Bianca after the Dan incident years before. Carol brought her granddaughter home with nothing but a surly look thrown in Bianca’s direction.

On the day of the wedding, with Robbie and Sonia already in attendance, Carol stormed the wedding to stop youngest Billie from attending. The mother and daughter once again had a bitter punch up until, covered in mud, B got up and got married. Carol decided that bygones should be bygones and decided to move back to Walford, where she collided straight into the usual brother versus brother feud that her brothers Max and Jack had fallen into.

Billie fell in with Whitney and the E20 Gang (see below), but ultimately fell in with his old friend Connor Stanley from the old estate. It soon became apparent why Carol had been worried about her son. Not content with holding up the Minute Mart and causing problems around the Square, they also managed to find a gun, which found itself into the club and fired into Jack’s head. He recovered, but it took some time and didn’t help Ronnie and Jack’s wedding plans. This shook Billie out of it, and on his eighteenth birthday, he partied all night at home with his friends, drinking and laughing about.

The next morning, Bianca went to wake Billie up and found him dead, from alcohol poisoning seemingly. Carol came home in shock and proceeded to make questionable decisions: banning family members from the funeral, shutting people out, sleeping with Connor, trying it on with ex Alan… Eventually Blossom talked some sense into her and Carol began the long process of grieving her youngest child.

Denise’s Death
Lucas started getting rather concerned when son Jordan’s dog Sugar started sniffing around the Square gardens, specifically where he’d buried Denise’s ex-husband Owen Turner after strangling him with a neck tie. Lucas intended to move the body in the dead of night, but first took the dog for a walk along the canal from which the canine never returned. Then he set his plan in action.

Unfortunately for Lucas, Fatboy and his homies had damaged Trina’s (Lucas’s first victim) Memorial tree in their bid to flee the police (see below) and also decided that the best thing to do would plant a new one before Jordan noticed. As they dug, Zsa Zsa Carter’s screams woke the Square up as she screamed for her aunt Shirley: Owen had been found.

Liz had been concerned for quite some time about her son and had returned to enlist granddaughter Libby’s aid in helping find her father. When Lucas sent the wrong flowers on her birthday, Liz was convinced he’d been murdered. When it was revealed she was devastated, but Lucas avoided detection, especially when, once again, suspicions fell on Denise. While Dee faced Walford’s finest, Lucas killed another prostitute in his religious teachings. In the end, he drove Denise to the canal and confessed the truth. He promptly straggled her afterwards and the family were devastated when a body was found and was identified by Lucas as Denise.

The Trueman-Fox clan gathered for Denise’s funeral and mourned their loss. Then on Libby’s birthday, still reeling from it all, Denise, covered in dirt, walked into the front room!

In a three-part special, entitled ‘The Cellar‘ we saw that Denise hadn’t been dead: the prostitute had been the body and Lucas had lied. He had locked her in a cellar somewhere, preaching to her, justifying his actions and trying to sway her to his side. Eventually, after 18 days of imprisonment, Denise discovered she was next door to the family home on the Square!

Lucas held the family hostage, attempting to explain his actions. It didn’t stop the police though, who swooped in, and that was the last we would see of Lucas Johnson for a long while.

This also led to the departures of Liz, Chelsea and Libby to Spain, with Libby heading to Oxford straight afterward. While Denise was upset by the departures of her children, Jordan soon went as well and Denise looked forward to some quiet time. But then sister Kim decided she liked the ambiance, and the Foxy drama queen came to settle on the Square. The quiet time would never come, ever again!

Stacey vs. Janine
Stacey’s life took a dramatic turn when she ran away from Walford, unable to cope with Bradley’s death. Max tracked her down and brought her back home, where she realized Ryan Malloy was the father of her baby but decided to keep it a secret. Ryan’s romantic interest in her, a callous bet between Ryan and girlfriend Janine Butcher, upset Stacey deeply. Amidst this turmoil, Stacey’s water broke, and Ryan stayed with her as she gave birth to her daughter, Lily Branning.

Ryan’s heroics came to the fore when he rescued Stacey and Lily from the fire at the Queen Vic. It was then that Stacey admitted Ryan was Lily’s father. Initially reluctant to take on the parental role, Ryan eventually bonded with Lily. However, Janine’s jealousy grew, leading her to kidnap Lily, though Ryan managed to get her back. Stacey and Ryan’s relationship deepened, and they shared a kiss, marking a new chapter in their complicated lives.

The plot thickened when Lauren discovered Stacey had murdered Archie and, as was her modus operandi, recorded her confession. Stacey’s attempt to flee was thwarted by Ryan, who confessed his feelings for her. Their affair began, but Janine, ever the schemer, found out and poisoned Ryan in revenge. After his hospitalization, Ryan convinced Janine he loved her, only to later publicly declare his love for Stacey in The Vic.

Janine’s defeat seemed imminent until Lauren, still suspicious of Max’s involvement with Stacey, handed Janine the recorded confession. Janine’s attempt to expose Stacey in The Vic failed when the recording was found to be overwritten, thanks to Lauren’s warning to Max. Despite Janine’s accusations, no one believed her, leaving Stacey in tears and confessing the truth to Ryan.

On Christmas Day, Stacey’s confession to Jean about killing Archie led to Jean taking Lily away. Ryan persuaded Stacey to leave with him as Janine threatened to call the police. In a desperate move, Janine tried to frame Stacey by stabbing herself and placing the knife in Stacey’s hand.

Covered in blood, Stacey fled, and Janine convinced Jean to call the police. Contemplating suicide, Stacey was stopped by Max, who promised to help her escape. Stacey convinced Jean of Janine’s deceit, and Ryan planned to run away with her. However, Stacey, unsure of her feelings, told Ryan not to come. Confronted by Ronnie and Roxy over Archie’s murder, Stacey confessed and was told to leave town. Max drove her to the airport as the police arrived, and despite Max’s offer to leave with her, Stacey admitted she only ever loved Bradley. She and Lily boarded a flight to Mexico, leaving their tumultuous past behind. For now at least…

The Mitchells: Losing the Battle
The Mitchells did not have time to celebrate Archie’s murder. With everything else going on, nobody seemed to notice that the Mitchells were disintegrating from within. Louise was on the verge of coming home to live with Phil, who had to sober up and moved the rest of the family in to convince the social he was on the up. This seemed to work and Louise came home to Walford.

Ben, suffering from PTSD from Stella, took his confusion and anger out on his little sister by burning her with spoons and Phil lost it, belting Ben. This caused Ben to toughen up to try and impress his father, but he went too far when he battered Jordan Johnson and he fell into the Arches’ Pit. Jordan would survive, but Ben would face youth detention and would, literally, become a different person inside.

With Bradley now the officially listed murderer of Archie Mitchell, that crime was off their shoulders, but Sam was still in the nick. When Peggy went to see her, she found her daughter unrepentant for landing her family in it and heavily pregnant. She wanted nothing to do with her family, until her waters broke, and then she screamed for Ma Mitchell like her life depended on it! She gave birth to baby Ricky, apparently named after his dad, but Bianca weren’t having that and arranged a DNA test that proved Jack “super sperm” Branning had once again fathered a Mitchell! Ronnie, who was also pregnant by Jack at the time, paid Sam to take baby Ricky and leave, and she did – back to Portugal to make Grant’s life miserable until she’d bungie her way home again…

Roxy seemed the most stable of the family (yes, really!) although she partied hard and soon went through the money, especially when Phil and Shirley stole most of it from under her. Soon the Mitchells were all behind the bar again where they belonged, greedy mum Glenda (after sleeping with both Ian and Phil!) was hounded out of the Square by Shirley, a mini-Peggy in the making and Billy was searching for his son. Ronnie and Jack also seemed remarkably stable, getting married, pregnant and ready for the birth in the New Year.

But this was Ronnie we’re talking about; she was simply never due to be happy. On New Year’s Eve she found baby James, shortly after being born, dead in his cot. In stunned silence she walked across the Square for help, into the Vic where she saw Kat’s new-born Tommy crying. She put James down, picked Tommy up and walked home, not really knowing what she was doing. But it was too late. And the most controversial story in EastEnders history was about to begin.

As for Phil, well…

The Destruction of the Queen Vic
Phil was in critical mode, living purely for self-destruction. First Ben went down, then Peggy, seeing no other option with Phil in the state he was in, tracked down Lisa Fowler. After slapping her for old times, Peggy left Louise with her mum, sending Phil spiralling out of control. Peggy gave up at that point, as did Shirley, especially when he started getting drunk with heroin addict Rainie Cross and eventually slipped into full blown junkie. The family pulled together and locked him upstairs in the Vic, hoping cold turkey was the way to go.

On the night of Janine and Ryan’s wedding (one in which the groom did not, thankfully, die this time), Phil broke loose and taunted Peggy about her precious boozer. He poured an accelerant through the hallway and lit a match – and the Vic erupted in a fireball. Peggy raised the alarm as people headed for the exits. Stacey was saved from upstairs by Ryan, and Peggy bravely went back into the inferno and dragged Phil to safety. The pub was gutted and Peggy just whimpered “Let it burn” as she watched her life go up in smoke.

The next day, she walked through the Square about her business, making arrangements. She gave best friend Pat her regards and told her family she was leaving and that she was making Phil worse. She walked out onto the Square, head held high, spent a few moments hearing old ghosts in the Vic and walked out of Walford. But just because Peggy Mitchell had left Albert Square behind, she would still keep her ear to the ground – and to our eternal delight, Dame Barbara Windsor would reprise the role here and there for the next six years.

The Misadventures of Alfie & Kat
With the Mitchells gone and the Queen Vic in ruins, the residents of Walford could use some cheering up. Well, they’d get something when Kat Moon returned to Walford in disguise, running from someone or something, and heavily pregnant. When Alfie followed a few days later it transpired that he had been inside for a while due to some dodgy deal in Spain and Kat had been on-again off again with another fella! Worse still, it was his cousin Michael, who was as slippery as an eel and just as nasty when provoked.

Still Alfie and Kat were made for each other and soon they were hired by Phil to once again manage the Vic. Delighted to be running the place where they fell in love, with a new born baby Alfie took as his own, baby Tommy, they wasted no time moving the Slaters in and being welcomed back to Walford. But when Ronnie visited New Year’s Eve, it would be the start of Kat and Alfie’s worse nightmare…

The Other Stuff
Billy discovers that he’s a father when ex Julie Perkins turns up… Tanya returns, all loved up with Greg Jessop. Michael Moon, Alfie’s mysterious cousin turns up on the Square – as the father of Kat’s baby! Afia’s dad, Doctor Yusef Khan arrives, and is revealed to be Zainab’s first husband…