Who Killed Lucy Beale?

"Who Killed Lucy Beale?" is a storyline from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It was announced on 21 February 2014 and began on 18 April 2014, when Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) was discovered dead on Walford Common from a deliberately inflicted head injury. The storyline culminated during EastEnders Live Week on 19 February 2015, the show's 30th anniversary episode.

On 19 February 2015, Bobby was revealed as the murderer of his half-sister, Lucy Beale. Jane, Bobby's adoptive mother, covered for him.

Storyline creation and development

The murder story is in the style of a whodunnit mystery. Only four members of the show's production team know who was responsible for Lucy's death. The marketing campaign for the storyline is EastEnders biggest yet; the first specially created trailer aired immediately after the murder. The identity of Lucy's killer will be shown in a special live episode marking the 30th anniversary of EastEnders in February 2015. The story which began on Good Friday is described by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, the executive producer, as being "emotionally right, true and very exciting" and that, after initially deciding on a killer, they came up with an alternative killer early in the planning stages as their initial choice "didn't come from the heart".

In December 2014, it was stated that the list of suspects would be cut down to just 11, however fourteen suspects were later revealed on-screen. On 5 January 2015, it was confirmed that the murderer would be revealed in a live flashback episode to mark the anniversary week. Speaking of the episode, Treadwell-Collins said: "When we first created the Who Killed Lucy Beale storyline, we knew that we had to flash back to the night that she died on screen. So much happened on Good Friday 2014 after viewers saw Lucy leave her home and walk off into the night - and this flashback episode will fill in the pieces for the rest of that night, before she was killed."

Later development

Lucy's younger brother Bobby Beale was revealed to be the killer on 19 February 2015 in a special flashback episode. Treadwell-Collins mentioned that the killer reveal would be different to the show's predecessing whodunnit. “With Archie, it was a one-line reveal, but with this one it’s more complicated: there are a few conversations.” Following the reveal, the executive producer said that the storyline is the "start of a bigger story". He also mentioned that the original killer was Jane Beale and then Cindy Williams, but stated his reason for the change: "There was one other suspect for about a day, but then it didn't feel right. We always said that this story had to come from the heart, and with this, it's the start of a whole big new story for the Beales." Bobby being the culprit was originally suggested by series producer Alex Lamb.

Suspects and motives

For a major part of the storyline, the premise was that everyone could be suspect. Then a list of fourteen suspects was published following the episode on 1 January 2015. These all appeared in a scene when a concussed Emma presumably sent a text message to the murderer whom she had met earlier to be followed by the ringtone in the crowd. Lauren appeared at the end of January to be discounted, in promotional material, as a suspect ahead of the anniversary episode, putting the list of suspects to thirteen.

• Ian Beale, played by Adam Woodyatt. In the days leading up to Lucy's death, Ian was troubled by her behaviour and Cindy, jealous of Ian favouring Lucy over herself, revealed that Lucy had a secret stash of cocaine hidden in her jewellery box. After a heated argument, Ian told Lucy that she was his favourite child as Peter overheard, running off as Lucy chased after him. Ian stated in his alibi that he was at the restaurant the night she died, but Cindy mentioned that she went there to look for him and he was not there. He was in fact with Rainie, a prostitute.
• Jane Beale, played by Laurie Brett. Jane said that she was looking out of Masood's window and that she saw Lauren standing outside the Beale's house, before walking away again.
• Peter Beale, played by Ben Hardy. On the night of Lucy's death, Peter overheard his father Ian tell her that she was his favourite child. He ran out, stating in his alibi that he needed some time alone, but was soon followed by Lucy. Prior to the murder, it was revealed that Lucy had been taking cocaine. Jane reads out the texts on Lucy's phone including an unsent message to Peter of the night of her death asking for drugs. He later confesses to being her drug dealer, making sure he can control her addiction.
• Abi Branning, played by Lorna Fitzgerald. Max received an anonymous email of a picture of him kissing the deceased, which was later revealed to be Abi following the death on Good Friday. She was very unstable during her police interview, and stated in her alibi that she was at home with her father Max all night, but was left alone briefly when Max went out to walk the dog. On Halloween 2014, Abi stalked her sister Lauren whilst wearing a Weeping Angels mask when she became uncomfortable with Lauren dismissing her problems in favour of her own. During a heated confrontation, Abi tries to drown Lauren. She later admits that she wishes she had killed Lucy.
• Max Branning, played by Jake Wood. Prior to Good Friday, it was revealed that Max had been having an affair with the deceased. In a heated confrontation she falls to the ground, hitting her head, and later grabs her abusively, both times of which had been captured on CCTV footage and reviewed by David Wicks. David originally blames Max for the murder, but after the two talk, David decides to keep quiet about the incidents and the laptop containing the evidence is burned. Max stated in his alibi that he was at home all night except for when he walked the dog for five minutes, which was later confirmed by an anxious Abi after Cora calls the police when she notices Max and Abi cleaning up Lucy's blood from the car lot.
• Jay Brown, played by Jamie Borthwick. Although no given motive has presented itself, CCTV footage revealed that Jay was on the same bus as the deceased the night that she was murdered, shown to have followed her off the bus. He burned the hat that he was wearing in the footage, and later buried Lucy's purse and phone.
• Lee Carter, played by Danny-Boy Hatchard. Lee was in a fling with the deceased in the days running up to her death, upsetting love rival Whitney, whom he later endured a relationship with. In his alibi, Lee stated that he was at the housewarming party at the time of the death. Before the party he had seen Billy Mitchell in a heated argument with Lucy.
• Les Coker, played by Roger Sloman. In Les' alibi, he states that he was watching "a Marlon Brando classic". Les runs a funeral business, and was heavily involved in faking the death of Nick Cotton before he was questioned by the police.
• Pam Coker, played by Lin Blakley. On the anniversary of her son's death, she became worried when DC Emma Summerhayes asked her questions surrounding Lucy's death. She later revealed to Billy Mitchell that she had killed someone.
• Whitney Dean, played by Shona McGarty. Whitney developed feelings for Lee, though on the day of Lucy's death Whitney discovered that the two had slept together. Whitney and Lucy were also involved in cyber-bullying conflicts on a social networking site in which Lucy supposedly made remarks about Whitney's weight. At Lucy's funeral, Whitney leaves a message saying "Rot in Hell" which is found by Tamwar. Whitney asked Lauren for the password to Lucy's profile, telling her that she wanted to delete the hate off of Lucy's profile, though deleted all of the messages, including ones that Whitney and Lucy shared. Later, DI Keeble notices suspicious activity which arose on Lauren's laptop in the run-up to Lucy's death, referring to the deletion of a conversation that happened between Whitney and Lucy.
• Denise Fox, played by Diane Parish. On the day of Lucy's death, Denise revealed to Libby that she was planning on leaving Lucy's father, Ian, sick of him favouring his own family over hers. However after learning about Lucy's death, she chose to stay with him. After learning about him and Rainie, she left him. A few months later, she dug up Lucy's purse and phone in Patrick's allotments, initially hesitant on telling Ian, after words with Masood she gave them to Ian.
• Ben Mitchell, played by Harry Reid. Ben is the uncle of the deceased. He returned to the square five months after Lucy's death and thus had not been questioned by the police. Having ordered Jay to bury Lucy's phone and purse for unknown reasons, they're accidentally dug up by Denise months later leaving Ben no choice but to confess to Ian that he found her belongings soon before she died, not realising that they belonged to her.
• Cindy Williams, played by Mimi Keene. In the days running up to the murder, Cindy got increasingly jealous of Ian treating her roughly. Cindy told Ian that Lucy had something hidden in her jewellery box, which was later revealed to be cocaine, given to Lucy by her twin brother, Peter. On Christmas Day, Cindy unwrapped the jewellery box which was under the tree, noted as a present for Beth.

The following were listed as suspects prior to January 2015 and had been questioned by the police:

• Lauren Branning, played by Jacqueline Jossa. Lauren was uncharacteristically happy to dismiss Lucy's emotional state during their final scene. She stated that she went to Ronnie and Roxy's housewarming party then returned straight home, but video evidence surfaced that proved otherwise as she was viewed hanging around outside the Beale's house. Jane backs up her story by revealing that she had saw Lauren walking away, not going in.
• Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright. Linda is the mother of current suspect Lee, and had been slightly unhappy with him sleeping with Lucy Beale on the night before her death.
• Mick Carter, played by Danny Dyer. Mick found out about Lee and Lucy's relationship in the days running up to the murder. At the time of her death, Mick was hosting a pool tournament at The Queen Vic.
• Charlie Cotton, played by Declan Bennett. Upon Charlie's arrival, he had a deal in hand with fellow resident Les Coker concerning the faking of his father's death. He was questioned by the police following the incident.
• Billy Mitchell, played by Perry Fenwick. Billy was originally going into business with Lucy, but it was later revealed that she was playing him. Later in the storyline, Lee Carter revealed that he had seen Billy in a heated confrontation with Lucy hours before her death, but was unsure if Billy had followed her or not.
• Lola Pearce, played by Danielle Harold. Lola became increasingly jealous of her then-boyfriend Peter Beale's infatuation in his sister's life. She and Billy were attending the wedding of Ronnie Mitchell and Charlie Cotton when Emma met with the supposed killer.
• Jake Stone, played by Jamie Lomas. In the days running up to Good Friday, Jake had fallen for Lucy. It become evident following this that Jake was with her on the night of her death - Her blood had also been found in his apartment. He was sent to prison, but was released soon after and left the square.
• Dean Wicks, played by Matt Di Angelo. Dean was questioned by the police following the murder.

Plot

Events leading up to the killing

Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) decides to set up a letting agency—LB Lettings—despite cynicism from her father, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) offers to be her business partner but she turns him down in favour of her friend, Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa). Lucy is revealed to be having a sexual relationship with Lauren's father Max Branning (Jake Wood), but also has sex with Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard). Lucy's behaviour with Lee causes tension between her and Max; during a disagreement in Max's car showroom, Lucy trips and falls, resulting in an minor injury to her head. Lucy ends her relationship with Max, preferring Lee. Later that night, Max receives an anonymous email saying, "What have you been doing?" with a photograph of him and Lucy together embracing. Lucy's half-sister, Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene) becomes jealous of Lucy being Ian's favourite. On Good Friday, 18 April, she tells Ian and Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) to open Lucy's jewellery box. They find a bag of cocaine inside. The revelation prompts Ian to cancel a planned trip with his fiancée Denise Fox (Diane Parish) to Oxford to see her daughter Libby, upsetting Denise. Ian and Jane catch Lee and Lucy having sex in Ian's restaurant. Later Ian confronts Lucy about the cocaine and she runs off. She goes to the Branning's house to work with Lauren and returns to speak to Ian and he tells her that she is the child he is most proud of, but is overheard by Lucy's twin brother Peter Beale (Ben Hardy). Peter storms off and Lucy is furious with Ian. In The Queen Victoria pub, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) is upset when she hears about Lee and Lucy's relationship, as she and Lee kissed previously. In the Square, Lucy sees her friends going to Roxy Mitchell's (Rita Simons) party. Lauren fails to notice Lucy is upset and Whitney shoots angry glares at her. Lucy bumps into Max again rebuffing his advances; he grabs her violently by the wrist. Lucy reads a text and leaves Albert Square for an unknown location.

The night of the murder

Lucy begins to walk towards the bus stop, texting Peter to ask for cocaine (he later buys some cocaine, but keeps it for himself). On her journey, she passes by her father's chip shop, where she sees Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) stealing fish during his shift. She confronts him about it, before walking out, telling him that she's going to tell Ian. He follows her, grabs her by the wrist and begs her not to tell Ian, before suggesting that he fancies her. Disgusted at this, Lucy heads off towards the bus stop, but is stopped by Lee, who has seen her argument with Billy. He insists that she joins him at Ronnie and Roxy's house-warming party. She says that she will join him later, but must go to show a buyer some flats.

She goes onto a Number 30 bus, and is joined by Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), who later meets with Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid), who has just been released from prison following the death of Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison). They follow her to the flat, and ask her why she has betrayed them but not giving them money, as they could've been on their way to Miami. An intoxicated Jake Stone (Jamie Lomas) then arrives as the mysterious buyer of the house, however, he had hoped Lauren would be the one trying to make the sale, as he hoped they could rekindle their love. Lucy and Jake take a taxi back to Walford, where she struggles to carry him back to his flat. Max, who is walking his dog at the time, watches on, and then helps her carry him back into the flat. Abi watches on, believing they're about to continue their sexual relationship. Once in the flat, Max questions Jake on what his daughter ever saw in him, which leads to him attempting to punch him: in the process, he hits Lucy, causing her nose to bleed and her earring to fall out. Lucy goes into the bathroom to clean herself up, and Max tells her that their relationship doesn't have to end. Lucy leaves the flat, and, having been followed by Ben and Jay, is mugged by Ben who then runs off with Jay. Lucy is left alone in the middle of the road, and begins to walk home. On her way, she meets Abi, who expresses her disgust at her relationship with her dad, and proceeds to slap her and have a fight, which results in her blouse being ripped. Lucy goes home, and Jane, who has been taking the bins out for Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), sees her, and rushes over to talk to her. Lucy then tells Jane that she has had a terrible night, and begs her to return home. Jane reminds Lucy about her father's engagement to Denise, but Lucy doesn't believe that they are happy in love, and asks Jane to be a mother-figure to her once again.

Lucy returns home, and overhears Denise talking to her daughter Chelsea Fox on the phone, and she tells her that she will leave Ian tomorrow. Lucy furiously confronts her, and they engage in a bitter fight, which ends with Lucy being pinned down on the floor. Cindy, who has been left home alone by Ian to look after Bobby Beale (Eliot Carrington) as he slept with prostitute Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks), then leaves a voicemail message for Lucy, asking if she's coming home tonight, before tucking into bed with Bobby, who's still awake and aware of the fight between Lucy and Denise. Lucy sits outside on the street distraught that her life has crumbled around her, as a jealous Whitney looks on with Liam Butcher (James Forde). Lucy goes back into the house, having seemingly given up on fighting with everyone in her life. Max then leaves his house and heads to the Beale household, straight after Ian had returned from his night with Rainie. Lee leaves the party momentarily to leave a voicemail message to Lucy to tell her to come back to the party, whilst Ian leaves a message telling her that he's sorry. Jane then receives a panicked phone call, and rushes over to the Beale house, where she sees the door is open. She walks in to see Lucy lying in the living room with no pulse, distressing her. She then turns around to see Bobby, who tells her that "whatever she [Lucy] says, she started it. She made everyone unhappy", thus revealing himself to Jane as the murderer.

After the murder

The next morning, Lucy's body is discovered by a young girl walking with her grandfather on Walford Common. DC Emma Summerhayes (Anna Acton) and DS Cameron Bryant (Glen Wallace) visit Ian to inform him they have found Lucy's body. Ian is inconsolable as he identifies her body and breaks the news to Jane, Denise, Cindy, Bobby and, later, Peter. It is revealed Lucy died because of a deliberate head injury. The police question the family and search Lucy's bedroom. Cindy tells Ian that Lucy was an habitual user of cocaine. Ian says that he was at his restaurant the previous evening, but Cindy says she went there and did not see him. Ian laments that he did not know his daughter at all and furiously throws Cindy out, forcing her to return to Devon. The police take a DNA sample from Lee before he returns to Afghanistan. Summerhayes returns to say that there has been a leak at the police station and the press have got hold of some vital information. It is explained that there was very little blood found at the common, meaning that Lucy was not killed in a mugging, but was murdered elsewhere, then dumped on the Common. Her purse and phone are also missing. David Wicks (Michael French) discovers Max's sexual relationship with Lucy and accuses him of killing her. Max denies it but David later finds CCTV footage of Max and Lucy arguing on the night of her death. David does not tell the police because he is worried that if Max is questioned it will affect the health of his cancer-stricken fiancee Carol Jackson (Lindsay Coulson), who is Max's sister. He says that he does not believe Max killed her and together they burn all computer evidence of the footage.

When Lauren reopens LB Lettings for business, she discovers the email intended for her but read by Lucy on the night of her death. The sender is asking that they meet and Lauren suspects it was sent by Lucy's killer. She takes the information to the police but they tell her they are already looking into the matter. Lauren arranges to meet the person herself at a cafe on Walford Common and is stunned to discover it is her former lover Jake Stone (Jamie Lomas). Jake says that he sent Lauren the email, hoping to reconcile with Lauren and used a false name, guessing she would not reply if she knew it was from him. He arranged to meet her at the cafe, but instead found Lucy there. Jake explains he was very drunk and Lucy accompanied him back to Walford in an unlicensed taxi. He cannot remember any more details. Lauren does not believe him and suspects he made a pass at Lucy, was rejected, he lashed out and killed her. Lauren visits the police again. The police arrest Jake after finding Lucy's blood and one of her earrings in his flat. He is later charged with her murder.

On the day of Lucy's funeral, Max's younger daughter Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) tells Max that she knew about his sexual relationship with Lucy and that it was she who sent the email and photograph. The relationship is made public and he is ostracised by the residents of Walford. Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean) is also concerned when she overhears Cindy talking to Ian about his false alibi. After the funeral, Tamwar (Himesh Patel) finds a note in the church to Lucy, "ROT IN HELL". He recognises the handwriting and confronts the writer who is Whitney, who declares that Lucy had been relentlessly cyber-bullying her about her weight and appearance, and that she hated Lucy. Tamwar agrees not to say anything. Curious about Ian's false alibi, Sharon and her boyfriend Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) decide to visit Jake in prison and begin to believe that he might be innocent. When they question Ian, he assures them that he is not involved with Lucy's death in any way. Peter discovers that Sharon and Phil are doubting Jake's guilt, so asks Lauren to visit Jake in prison. He tries to find the taxi driver who brought Jake and Lucy to Walford on the night. Lauren starts to reassess Jake's guilt and joins Peter in the search for the taxi driver, believing that Jake was too drunk to have committed the murder. Max tells Lauren that he saw Jake and Lucy together on Good Friday, and Jake was sober but he has not informed the police. Max also tells Abi about the altercation he had with Lucy in the car showroom and a worried Abi cleans Lucy's blood from the car showroom floor, worried it will implicate Max. Abi claims that Max was at home with her on the night of the killing. When Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell) sees this, she informs the police that Max has new information.

DC Emma Summerhayes returns to clarify Max and Abi's new statements and Max flirts with her and they have sex. Lauren tracks down the taxi driver, who tells her that Jake was too drunk to stand on the night of Lucy's death, but he refuses to make a statement to the police. Lauren realises that Max lied about seeing Jake and Lucy. Peter becomes more obsessed than ever about finding Lucy's killer. Ian starts receiving several phone calls and texts from a mysterious "R". Becoming more irate, Ian tells the contact not to contact him again. It is later revealed that "R" is Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks), a drug addicted prostitute who is blackmailing Ian because he was having sex on the night of Lucy's murder, thus confirming that Cindy was telling the truth about Ian having a false alibi.

When Lee returns to Walford, he tells his family that he saw Billy arguing with Lucy on the night she was murdered. Lee confronts Billy who confesses to stealing fish from Ian's fish and chip shop, and using a key to enter Jake's flat to steal electricity. He claims that Lucy caught him stealing the fish and threatened to tell Ian. Phil encourages Billy to go to the police and frame Peter, but Billy cannot go through with this. After Billy makes a statement, Jake is released from prison without charge. Billy faces hostility from the Beales and is also confronted by Pam Coker (Lin Blakley) who finds photographs of Lucy underneath his fridge. Billy tells her the photographs are Peter's. He then bins the photographs. The police say that they are still looking for Lucy's purse and mobile phone. The police ask Ian to do a press appeal after the investigation stalls and televise new CCTV footage from the night of Lucy's death, showing her on a bus. It is discovered that on the night of her death, Lucy went to some flats to see a client who has now been eliminated from the police inquiry. Ian struggles to cope when he is hounded by the press and the police do not intervene. Phil believes that the police suspect Ian is hiding something and demands that he tell him what it is. Ian admits to Phil that he was with Rainie. The CCTV footage shows a man wearing a beanie hat getting off the bus at the same stop as Lucy. Police say they are looking for this person. Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) has the hat and burns it. Jay is questioned by the police but not charged. He and Ian's half-brother, Phil's son Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid) were robbing a shop near Walford Common on the night of Lucy's death. It is revealed that Jay buried Lucy's missing purse and phone at the allotments on Ben's instructions.

Emma is removed from the case when her sexual relationship with Max is exposed. Lauren is repeatedly followed by DS Bryant acting under the orders of the head of the investigation DI Samantha Keeble (Alison Newman). Max says, "Whatever happened on Good Friday stays between us" to Abi. Denise finds Lucy's phone and purse buried in Patrick's allotment. She takes them to Ian. Ben pleads with him, admitting that they found a bag containing a phone and purse abandoned on Good Friday. Ben convinces Ian that he had not seen Lucy that night, although he admits to Jay he has not told Ian everything. Having already called the police, Ian decides to not report this development and Jane keeps hold of the items. Ian scrolls through the messages on Lucy's phone and finds a pending text to Peter asking for cocaine, who admits that he supplied Lucy to protect her from dangerous drug dealers. He told Ian that Lucy had been addicted since they lived in Devon in 2010, with the addiction becoming worse when Ian had a breakdown in 2012. Lee views a video of Fatboy (Ricky Norwood) taken on the night of the murder and realises Lauren's alibi is not entirely true when he spots her outside Ian's house. Emma views the clip after Lee posts an anonymous envelope containing a memory stick through Max's letterbox, and later questions Lauren. She says that she was worried about Lucy but did not knock on the door.

Although no longer a policewoman, over Christmas Emma reviews her case notes and, believing that she has solved the case, makes a phone call to whom she believes killed Lucy. On New Years Day, she arranges to meet the person and tries to convince whoever it is to go to the police. Receiving no response, Emma decides to go to the police station to divulge her suspicion, but is hit by a car. Initially appearing to be just shaken, Emma, standing near the cafe, sends a text message that she cannot keep the secret. Emma collapses and bleeds from her ear and dies in hospital without having divulged her theory. Carol finds a grief-stricken Max tearing up Emma's file on Lucy. Lauren retrieves it from the bin and sets about restoring the torn-up pieces. Lauren, having found all but one piece, eventually finds the crucial missing piece and tells Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) that she believes she knows what happened. Stacey calls the police but Lauren keeps silent about her theory, only handing over Emma's file, but retaining that final sheet. Stacey shows Lauren the positive pregnancy test, leading her to terminate her engagement to Peter. Lauren writes in her card for Ian and Jane's wedding, "I know what happened to Lucy."

Lauren's behaviour becomes more erratic on the day of Ian and Jane's wedding, and she leaves the card in their house before their wedding, but addressed solely to Jane. Peter then finds her, and confronts her about their break-up, but Lauren refuses to speak to him, and leaves when Ben arrives, she quickly leaves. After getting ready for the wedding at Blade's, Jane returns to her home to collect the bouquet, which has been left on top of Lauren's card. She then reads the card, which says "I know what happened to Lucy. She was killed at home." Jane is visually shaken by the card, and she struggles to recite her vows to Ian during the wedding. Meanwhile, Stacey has told Max that Lauren believes she's found out who killed Lucy, which leads Max into a frantic search across Walford to find her. Lauren returns home and begins to pack a bag indicating that she's leaving Walford, however, as she is about to leave, Max returns home and stops her, telling her that she's not going anywhere. Abi interrupts their conversation, which allows Lauren the opportunity to escape, and she is seen driving out of Albert Square. Abi then tells her father that she believes Lauren is just seeking attention by leaving, but Max informs her that Lauren knows who killed Lucy, and he then accuses Abi of killing Lucy. Abi reveals that on Good Friday, she had slapped and got into a fight with Lucy. Max then finds out on Lauren's phone which she left behind that she's gone to the abortion clinic. He races to the abortion clinic to talk to her about Lucy and her baby, and disapproves of her abortion, as well as understanding that Lauren doesn't believe that Abi killed Lucy. He returns home, to discover that his ex-wife Tanya Cross (Jo Joyner) has returned for the wedding, and is at home with Abi. Abi explains to her mother that Max believes she killed Lucy, however, she says that she didn't kill her, despite hating her, but she wishes she had been the perpetrator.

At the wedding, Peter becomes worried about Lauren, and asks Abi where she is. Abi informs him that she's at the abortion clinic, and following a confrontation about their future, Lauren reveals to Peter that Lucy was killed at home. At the wedding reception, following Ian's speech, Jane rushes out of The Queen Victoria and returns home. She then phones Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) to bring Bobby to the house, where she later instructs Bobby to pack his toothbrush and asks Masood for him to stay overnight at his house. After they leave, Ian returns home to search for Jane, to be directly followed by Peter and Cindy, and Peter reveals to the family what Lauren has discovered, and questions Ian about his knowledge of what happened that night. Cindy questions Peter on Lauren's knowledge of what happened, before they remember that Denise lived in the house at the time. Ian goes to search for her, but after a conversation with Martin Fowler (James Bye), discovers that Dot Branning (June Brown) believes she has killed her son, Nick Cotton (John Altman). After talking to Dot, and believing that someone may have killed Lucy not out of hate, but out of love, Ian believes that he has worked out who killed Lucy, and informs Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) that he's putting the final pieces of the puzzle together. He then phones the house, and makes an ambiguous call, informing that whoever is on the other end of line killed Lucy, and he wants to meet with them alone at home. He returns home, and Jane comes down the stairs. He then demands to know what happened on Good Friday.

Reception

Kevin O'Sullivan described the storyline as a "clapped-out whodunit" but other critics were more positive. Kerry Barrett from All About Soap praised the start of the storyline, calling it "Emotional, heart-wrenching, devastatingly sad and – at times – a little bit uncomfortable to watch." Grace Dent argued that the storyline marked the beginning of a "golden era" for the show, stating that "EastEnders does death with grand aplomb". Katy Brent described the scene in which Phil Mitchell comforts a grief-stricken Ian Beale as "absolutely heartbreaking" and described Woodyatt as "one of the best [actors] in soap"

EastEnders also achieved 8.18 million (34.6%) viewers on Easter Monday 2014 in overnight figures. which increased to 8.4 million (overnight) the following evening, when the entire Beale clan learnt of Lucy's death. When full viewing figures were released, EastEnders was watched by 9.09 million viewers on Easter Monday followed by 9.06 million tuning in on the Tuesday.

The episode in which the Beale family discover that Lucy is dead was nominated for the "Best Single Episode" award at The British Soap Awards 2014 under the title, "Lucy's death: The Aftermath", but lost the award to rival soap Coronation Street's "Hayley's Death" episode.

External links

• Case File: Lucy Beale at BBC Online