That Cindy Beale - always loves playing with fire and is as slippery as the eels she serves up at Beale's Eels! Since rising from the dead, the EastEnders' character has wasted no time in getting back to her old tricks - just as we knew she would. Fresh out of witness protection, Cindy has managed to do the unimaginable and reconcile with Ian, the ex-husband she had gunned down, after falling for Ian's half-brother David Wicks, for which she was sent to prison well over twenty five years ago. But she's now embroiled in yet another scandalous liaison with none other than her former stepson, Junior - son of her second husband George!
As a briefly-reunited David and Cindy resolved past conflicts recently, and argued about her current affair, the camera panned to a switched-on recording device that had innocently been left there by an oblivious Freddie Slater. And now viewers are looking forward to the truth being revealed, and a whole lot of drama over the festive period.
Walford has always been a hotbed of secrets, lies, and scandal. Back in the day, many a secret came to light via a private conversation being overheard, or a private letter or diary falling into the wrong hands. But as we gravitated more towards the twenty-first century, it wasn't just mere hearsay that revealed the truth but sometimes technology played its part, from revealing tape recordings; incriminating voicemails; hacked emails and the occasional meddlesome photograph.
It was Sharon Mitchell's satnav and emails that tipped off her already suspicious husband, Phil, that she was being blackmailed over the paternity of her unborn child. Frankie Lewis’s camera captured a telling photo of Janine Butcher looking incredibly shifty while disposing of something in one of the street’s bins which was enough to convince her new mother-in-law, Shirley Carter, that Janine was up to no good (though, let’s face it, when is she not?) Nish Panesar uncovered the identity of his wife’s secret lover through CCTV footage from his shop. And let's not forget the recording of Stacey Slater's admission that she killed Archie Mitchell that fell into the hands of her love rival, Janine.
Even Lucy Beale’s mystery man, Max Branning, was exposed through texts, and the chilling truth about Max's role in Steven Beale's death came to light through Jane Beale’s frantic voicemails to Stacey. And Sharon Mitchell made her own startling discoveries with the aid of technology from Cindy Jr.'s video message explaining who really killed her half-sister, Lucy; to her own son, Denny's, heartbreaking SOS voicemail before the boat crash, revealing that Ian had locked him in a cabin, preventing him from escaping. Tech has indeed been at the heart of some of EastEnders most gripping storylines.
1. KATHY DISCOVERS THE TRUTH ABOUT STEVEN BEALE (1990)
When Kathy Beale's first grandchild, Steven, was born, she was over the moon as all grandmothers are. Sadly for Kathy though, all was not what it seemed...
When Kathy's son Ian and his pregnant fiancée Cindy got married, they were hardly what you could call love's young dream. While Ian was besotted with Cindy, she was in love with someone else - Ian's best friend and stepbrother Simon Wicks (yes, what is it with Cindy and Ian's brothers???) who also happened to be the father of her unborn child.
So Kathy got a lot more than she bargained for when she popped over to Ian and Cindy's, letting herself in with keys Ian gave her. She beamed with pride when she heard Cindy cooing to her son over the baby monitor. But Kathy's smile faded a little when she heard a familiar voice - Simon's! The conversation she heard between them left her highly suspicious. Convinced that Cindy and Simon were having an affair, Kathy confronted Simon's mother, her good friend Pat Butcher, believing that she knew something. Turns out she knew a lot more than Kathy did, and inadvertently let slip to a shocked Kathy that it was her son Simon who was Steven's father, and not Ian.
And so began the war between Kathy and Cindy which has raged on for almost thirty five years. Despite moments of ceasefire between the two women - who were once very good friends - it's definitely war now. Goodness knows what Kathy will do after this Christmas's explosive revelations.
2. SHARONGATE! (1994)
Ah, Sharongate - one of the most iconic of all EastEnders storylines...
Sharon Mitchell and her brother-in-law Phil must have had a death wish when they started an affair behind Grant's back. Grant Mitchell was was notorious for being one of the most volatile residents on the Square and everyone knew not to get on the wrong side of either of the Mitchell brothers - Grant least of all!
Sharon agreed to be interviewed by her best friend Michelle Fowler for a local history project that Michelle was helping her partner with, college lecturer Geoff Barnes. Had the girls stuck to the subject matter, all would have been well. But a few bottles of wine really got the conversation going and before the girls knew it, they were stepping into dangerous territory - Sharon and Phil's affair... Both forgetting that there was tape recorder in the room that was recording EVERYTHING!!!
Unfortunately the tape eventually fell into the hands of the worst possible person - Grant! And on the night that The Queen Vic was hosting an engagement party for Phil and his fiancée, Kathy Beale, Grant uncovered the horrifying truth. And a heartbroken Grant felt that if he knew about the betrayal by his wife and brother - the two people he loved the most - then everyone else needed to know too. So in what is now an iconic scene, Grant played the tape to a pub full of stunned guests, leaving Kathy furious and Phil and Sharon mortified.
Grant did forgive his brother rather quickly - but not before landing him in hospital first. He wasn't so forgiving towards Sharon however, and made her life a misery until she fled to Florida to be with her mum. The couple did reconcile briefly after Sharon returned, but she then broke Grant's heart again - partly out of revenge - by deciding to start a new life in America without him.
3. CINDY BEALE CAUGHT CHEATING! (1995)
'Cindy Beale? Cheating again? Well, I never!' Said absolutely no one ever! But this was a cheating of a different kind. Well actually on second thoughts - no it wasn't!
Why Cindy and Ian reconciled after the revelation that Ian was not little Steven's father, we'll never know. And as expected, it wasn't long before Cindy was doing what she does best - cheating on Ian. Only this time it was with David Wicks - who was half-brother to both Ian and Simon! But it was Ian's latest obsession with pub quizzes at the Queen Vic, turning him into the world's most boring man, that did garner Cindy some sympathy - from locals and viewers alike!
When a new team called John's Shirt rocked up at the Queen Vic and began competing, they proved to be every bit as competitive as Ian and really put his nose out of joint. Determined not to be beaten at his beloved pub quizzes, Ian hatched a plan... and it involved a mobile phone and what looked like a laptop from Jurassic times, plus a CD-ROM with lots of general knowledge info. Well, this was in the days before Wi-Fi and Google! The plan was for Cindy to keep visiting the ladies, and while there she would phone David to get the quiz answers from him courtesy of the Jurassic laptop - and also whisper sweet nothings to each other (although that obviously wasn't part of Ian's plan!)
However Alex, one of the members of John's Shirt, became suspicious of Cindy's comings and goings and felt that she was up to something (when isn't she!) After catching sight of her outside the pub with the mobile, he angrily confronted her. Cindy was terrified that he'd overheard her with David and would expose them, while David, on the other end of the line, could hear the the commotion but was powerless to do anything (so no change there then!) Alex then frogmarched Cindy into the pub, where an argument broke out culminating in a violent brawl. Luckily for David and Cindy though, Alex didn't hear anything he wasn't supposed to so they'd got away with it.
This was the mid-nineties when people didn't own mobile phones the way they do nowadays. Today no one would bat an eyelid at the sight of someone with a mobile clamped to their ear. In fact these days it would be odd not to! But it does remind you of how much times have changed when the glimpse of a mobile arouses suspicion. And CD-ROM - that takes us back!
4. TIFFANY MITCHELL'S HEARTBREAK (1998)
And the baby monitor strikes again!
Tiffany thought she'd finally found the stable family life she craved when she married Grant Mitchell, moved into The Vic and had baby Courtney. But the Mitchell marriage was rockier than the Grand Canyon and the one thing Tiffany never really had was her husband's love. There were bust-ups and break-ups. Grant had an affair with Lorraine Wicks. Tiffany had an encounter with Beppe Di Marco. But unlike Grant, Tiffany was never ready to call time on her marriage and really fought for her family. And her hard work paid off when Grant finally realized that he did love Tiffany after all. Vowing to be a better husband, and with the Mitchells agreeing to try for another baby, it seemed that all of Tiffany's dreams were starting to come true...
But this is Walford and since when has anyone had a 'happily ever after' there? After a romantic night out with her husband, Tiffany was the happiest she'd ever been; revelling with the Queen Vic regulars while Grant went to check on Courtney who was being babysat by Tiffany's mum, Louise. Wanting to check that everything was all right with Courtney, Tiffany took the baby monitor out into the hallway just in time to hear Grant declare his love for Tiffany to Louise. But Tiffany's happiness soon turned to horror when during an argument between Grant and Louise, it was revealed that Grant had yet another fling that Tiffany didn't know about - this time with her own mother.
This time there was no going back and this revelation ended the Mitchell marriage for good. The image of a distraught and tearful Tiffany stood clutching the baby monitor in disbelief was heartbreaking... but not as heartbreaking as Tiffany's tear-stained face as she lay dying on the Square a few weeks later after being hit by a car during a fight with Grant.
5. CHRISSIE WATTS! MURDERER! (2005)
Everyone knows that you don't mess with a Mitchell. So when former pub landlady, Peggy Mitchell, discovered that the new pub landlady, Chrissie Watts was behind the murder of Den Watts and was now framing Peggy's daughter, Sam for it - well, Peggy was having none of it! After confronting Chrissie at Den's funeral and chiding her for playing the grieving widow, the Mitchell matriarch dragged her equally fearsome sons, Phil and Grant, back to Walford and the three of them set about trying to prove Sam's innocence... and Chrissie's guilt.
One by one, the residents of Albert Square came to realise that Chrissie did away with her own husband, and this included Chrissie's stepson Dennis. However Dennis's wife Sharon (who was also Chrissie's stepdaughter - don't ask; it's complicated!) refused to believe that Chrissie had anything to do with her father's death. Having been a Mitchell herself once, Sharon was convinced that the family were just looking out for one of their own and didn't care who they pinned the blame on. But after seeing Sam in prison, followed by a discussion with Chrissie, Sharon realized who the true killer was, and joined forces with Dennis and the Mitchells to bring Chrissie down.
The problem was that there was no concrete evidence that proved Chrissie's guilt. However an argument that Chrissie had in Scarlett's nightclub with her new boyfriend, Jake Moon, in which she described how she killed Den, changed all that. Her confession was captured on CCTV - with super clear audio and visuals! The nightclub's owner and gangland boss, Johnny Allen, was in possession of the recording and used it to blackmail Chrissie. When that didn't work, Johnny told the Mitchells about the CCTV footage, with the brothers wasting no time in seizing it. Realizing they were in trouble, Chrissie and Jake tried to make a run for it but were thwarted by the police - and Sharon, who wasted no time in awarding a former stepmother with a massive punch in the gob before Chrissie was carted away to begin her nineteen year stay at one of Her Majesty's hotels!
6. MAX AND STACEY AFFAIR REVEAL (2007)
Everyone wants to kiss the bride at weddings but when Max Branning's passionate clinch with his new daughter-in-law, Stacey Slater, was unknowingly filmed, neither of them knew that their affair was going to be very publicly exposed - and that the fall-out would be colossal...
Now that they were all family, the Branning and Slater families opted to spend Christmas day together at the home of Max and his wife, Tanya. The newlyweds already had babies on the brain, and Max and Tanya were also exceptionally lovey-dovey, so love really was in the air. But not for long...
Max, dressed as Father Christmas, began handing out presents - and made the mistake of handing over a DVD to Stacey's husband - his son, Bradley - and everyone worked out it was the wedding highlights. Max's teenage daughter Lauren had videoed Bradley and Stacey's wedding day - and the footage revealed to her the devastating truth about her dad and new sister-in-law. So she included that incriminating clip in with all the highlights!
Realizing that the secret was going to be made public, Lauren had a change of heart and unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the DVD but too late - before she knew it, Max had slipped it into the DVD player, and everyone was eagerly anticipating reliving the magic of Bradley and Stacey's wedding day. Unfortunately what followed was more tragic than magic, with a distraught Tanya asking her embarrassed guests to leave as a fight broke out between father and son.
It was the big reveal the nation was waiting for and it didn't disappoint! This episode has gone down in EastEnders' history as one of the most iconic.
EastEnders has proven time and again that even the deepest and darkest secrets can be exposed with a little help from modern - and sometimes old-school - gadgets and media. Preventing secrets from coming to light in Walford is harder than ever, as technology has become the ultimate plot twist in its drama-filled sagas. Perhaps the next time the residents of Albert Square share something top secret, they’ll make sure that there are no devices lurking about nearby!
Which of these storylines has been your favourite?
Photos: YouTube
Blog graphics: Angel Noire
I remember the episode where Tiffany found out about her mum and Grant. It was the one we'd all been waiting for but poor Tiffany, she looked well and truely crushed. We all knew this marked the beginning of the end for the character as we knew that Tiffany was going to be killed off. We thought it her falling down the stairs was the end of Tiffany but sadly worse was still to come.
I think it's fair to say that this year's Cindy- Junior reveal is a cross between Sharongate and Max and Stacey.
I cannot wait for the Christmas Day episode. I wonder who will get hold of the tell-all recording!
Absolutely bored to death of the Ian-Cindy-Junior love triangle so glad that this storyline is on its way out.
Sharon gate and Max and Stacy in particular were very memorable storylines. I didn't remember Chrissie being caught by CCTV tape but I do remember when she got arrested for Den's murder.