The Year Was… 2015

The Carters: Picking Up the Pieces
Sides were drawn within the Carter ranks and things were getting serious. With Dean’s assault on Linda, Mick lashed out, kicking his ‘brother’ out, and Shirley for good measure. In fact, Shirley and Mick spent most of the year ignoring each other, until Stan revealed he had terminal cancer and had simply wanted to die surrounded by family. With Dean inside for suspicion of assault, Shirley and partner Buster, Dean and Mick’s father who had arrived at Christmas, set up in the B and B and made tentative steps in her son’s direction.

Of course, there is such a thing as too much family: Stan’s ex-wife Sylvie (and Shirley and Tina’s mum) was back on the scene, living with sister Babe, suffering from Alzheimer’s and not in the best of ways. This threw the Carters for a loop, especially when Stan started seeing Cora Cross, which put Sylvie’s stuck-in-the-past nose out of joint. Eventually, Shirley would make amends with Mick while scattering Stan’s ashes and they would start to bond, but there was a long way to go.

Tina at least had a decent year – free from Tosh, she discovered a new thirst for life and threw herself into everything she did with enthusiasm. Especially her love life. She fell for Sonia, who separated from Martin by now returned the feelings.

There was some happiness this year though as Mick proposed to Linda. By Christmas, they were getting ready for the January do, but Dean was lurking in the shadows, waiting for his moment.

The ‘Resurrection’ of Kathy Beale!
Now where were we? Oh yes! Phil, in the meantime had gone to a wasteland in London where we had a shock when a cab pulled up…

…and out emerged the long-dead Kathy Beale! It’s turns out that her death had been faked, the plan of husband Gavin Sullivan, who had owed some dangerous people money. Kathy had objected to the plan, but Gavin was a manipulative, abusive bully who made Kathy shake in fear. She had reached out to Phil for help, cash and wanted to come home to her sons.

Phil was adamant that she should stay away, and tried to keep Kathy’s survival a secret from everyone else. But unfortunately Sharon, convinced Phil was having an affair, found Kath hidden in the Arches waiting one day for yet more cash from Phil. Sharon was fuming, but there was more to the situation than she knew.

Ian, who had suffered enough by now, contemplated suicide and genuinely thought he had succeeded when he woke to find his mum at his side! Ben took it even worse, rejecting the mum he barely remembered and blaming her for leaving him with Phil. It took him a while, but when Gavin started threatening the Mitchells by extension, he calmed down. Even the police let it go due to Gavin’s psychotic behaviour.

Phil got a bit too boorish in his dealings with Gavin and was kidnapped for his trouble. When he did return home, he was in full blown alcohol mode and couldn’t help anyone, let alone himself. There was worse to come when Gavin came back for Kathy and threatened not just her but Ben if she didn’t flee with him. Sharon caught them unexpectedly and was floored, as were we, when Gavin asked after Sharon’s parents Den and Angie – and revealed he was her natural father and he had arranged for Den to adopt her! Sharon was stunned into complete silence as he whispered the immortal words ‘Hello Princess’ at her!

Gavin was caught out in the end (after nearly blowing the Mitchells to smithereens on Bonfire Night) and Sharon ejected him from her and Denny’s life. Or so she said… Gavin wouldn’t go far. He had connections to other Square newcomers…

Vincent Hubbard
Vincent Hubbard’s entrance in the Square was one of discovery – he was looking for old flame Ronnie Mitchell. He found his estranged wife – none other than Kim Fox, who had returned to the Square scared of the man she had married and heavily pregnant. Vincent turned up in time for the birth of baby Pearl, and, while he may have been dodgier than a politician on Question Time, he was not a threat to Kim and his daughter, who he tiredly tried to make amends with. He succeeded, even making friends with Patrick Trueman, Kim’s surrogate Pops.

But with her husband came a mother-in-law from Hell. Claudette Hubbard, known in the area as a) a decent foster carer and b) a bit of a gangster’s moll, was a dragon from the old days of Walford and what she wanted she got. When it was her vs Kim, she always won. Nothing Kim did was good enough for this mum. But Claudette also had a dodgy past – Vincent’s father Henry had been a lowly thug in a feud with Eric Mitchell, Phil’s dad. She had lied and told Vincent that his father had died at Mitchell’s hands and he took up against Phil and Ronnie in a feud that would have deadly consequences.

At Christmas Ronnie arranged for Vincent to be driving a car that would be stopped. He would be placed in the boot and the car would be crushed – Ronnie’s new hobby. Claudette caught on though, and although Ronnie would never know who died, Vincent’s place was taken by Fatboy, who Vincent found in the crushed car afterwards. He lied to Dot, saying Arthur had gone away, and drew a line under the feud with the Mitchells. Vincent would learn he had bigger fish to fry – and the cause of his rage was much, much closer to home…

Stacey and Martin, Shabnam and Kush
Who would have thought that Martin Fowler, cool and dependable, would grow into a man who more resembled his brother Mark than father Arthur? He came back to the Square to aid wife Sonia and daughter Rebecca, aka Bex, but he and Sonia’s marriage had had issues for a long time and the pair separated, much to Bex’s annoyance. Sonia entered into a relationship with Tina, while Martin ended up dating Stacey Slater. They got on surprisingly well, and even though they had their up and downs, they actually worked as a couple. By the end of the year, Stacey was pregnant.