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Lucy Beale

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Lucy Beale

Lucy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The character was played by Eva Brittin-Snell, Casey Anne Rothery, Melissa Suffield, and Hetti Bywater. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the daughter of Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins). She was the twin sister of Peter Beale (Thomas Law/Ben Hardy), and had five half siblings, Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell), Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene), Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), Anna Knight (Molly Rainford) and Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell).

From 2004, when the role was recast to the older Suffield, storylines featuring Lucy focused upon her teenage rebellion. In 2010, Suffield left EastEnders, after she was allegedly axed due to "unruly behaviour." On 14 November 2011, it was announced Lucy would be returning in 2012 with Bywater taking over the role. She returned on 12 January 2012. Her storylines have included teenage pregnancy, abortion, cheating in her exams, struggling to cope when Ian has a mental breakdown and runs away, feuding, taking over Ian's businesses, and multiple relationships, including an affair with her best friend's father, Max Branning (Jake Wood).

On 21 February 2014, it was announced that Lucy would be murdered, starting a dark chapter for the Beale family and a whodunit storyline that would run until the show's 30th anniversary in February 2015 when the identity of the murderer would be revealed. The "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" storyline was billed as the soap's biggest whodunnit, and was EastEnders' biggest marketing campaign to date. Bywater returned in a flashback episode on 19 February 2015 to explore unanswered questions about the night Lucy died. The same episode revealed that Lucy's 10-year-old half-brother Bobby was her killer, after 10 months of secrecy regarding her demise. The character reappeared as hallucinations in 2019 and 2020, portrayed by a body double and using archive footage.

As a baby and toddler, Lucy was played by Eva Brittin-Snell for the first three years. Casey Anne Rothery took over the role in 1996 and played Lucy for nearly eight years. In August 2004 it was announced that Rothery, along with Joseph Shade, who played Lucy's twin brother Peter Beale, had been axed from EastEnders as producers were looking to mature the characters. The actors were told days before filming their final scenes that they would be leaving. Rothery's family were said to be furious, with a family friend telling The People, "It was a bolt out of the blue. She is devastated and has been in tears. To be booted out without any warning is a real kick in the teeth. She rang her dad in tears. He phoned soap bosses to complain and they admitted they could have handled things a lot better." An EastEnders spokesperson said, "Joseph and Casey Anne have done a fantastic job. They're written into EastEnders' history and everyone will miss them." Casey's final episode aired on 21 September 2004. It was later announced that young actress Melissa Suffield would take over the role, and she first appeared on 28 October 2004. In March 2010, Suffield said that she wished "people didn't think I was like [Lucy] in real life because I'm not."

In 2010, Lucy was involved in a pregnancy storyline, on which Suffield said "I'm excited about the storyline because it's something brilliant to get my teeth into. I love playing 'bitch Lucy', but you'll soon see a completely different side to her." The storyline involved Lucy offering to have the baby so that it could be brought up by Ian and her step mother Jane (Laurie Brett). An Albert Square insider said: "Lucy's run rings around her father Ian and stepmum Jane for years. Lucy falls pregnant just at a time when Jane's desperate for a child of her own. Jane believes that the baby could be the solution to her dream of having a baby with Ian.

In May 2010 it was announced that Suffield had been axed from the show allegedly due to "unruly behaviour" off-set. In June it was reported that the character would be recast. Suffield left the show on 27 August 2010. In February 2011 an EastEnders spokesperson said that no decision on Lucy's recasting had been made.

On 14 November 2011, it was announced the character would be returning to EastEnders in January 2012 with Hetti Bywater taking over the role. Of her casting, Bywater said "I'm really excited to be joining such an iconic show as EastEnders, especially becoming part of the Beale household. I'm looking forward to find out what's in store for Lucy and seeing what she's going to get up to when she returns to Walford." After seeing Bywater's first episode, Melissa Suffield said that she has moved on from EastEnders and also wished Bywater good luck in the role. Bywater expressed that she would like Peter Beale to return to the show, with Thomas Law playing him.

On 21 February 2014, it was revealed that Hetti Bywater would leave the show, ending in a "raw", "emotional" and "gritty" storyline, with the character being killed off in the spring. The storyline was somewhat foreshadowed by new executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins stating at an EastEnders press event in December 2013 that "there's a big, big Beale story that will hit around Easter and keep going until the anniversary." Treadwell-Collins also stated that it would give Adam Woodyatt (who plays Lucy's father Ian Beale) "a big chance to shine" throughout the storyline. In the episode dated 18 April 2014, Lucy's lifeless body lay on Walford Common, beginning the storyline.

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