Who is Bobby Beale's mum in EastEnders and is he related to Anna Knight?
Troubled Bobby Beale has some messy family history.
Bobby Beale is already a firm favourite with EastEnders fans but it can be hard keeping track of the Beale family tree.
This week has seen the explosive return of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and his 'dead' first wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) to Albert Square, shaking the cores of the Beale and Knight families.
One person sure to be affected is Bobby (Clay Milner Russell) himself, having not seen Ian in over two years and then also having never met Cindy - the mother of Bobby's half-sister Lucy who he killed in 2014.
Plus, what will this mean for Bobby's burgeoning relationship with Anna Knight (Molly Rainford)?
Amidst all of this confusion, one might be unsure of Bobby's own family history, so it's a good thing that RadioTimes.com has you covered.
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Who is Bobby Beale's mum in EastEnders?
Bobby Beale's biological mother was Laura Beale in EastEnders.
Born Laura Dunn (Hannah Waterman), Ian met her when she became a nanny for his adopted son Steven Beale and two biological children Lucy and Peter Beale in 2000.
Having dealt with a tumultuous marriage to Cindy Williams and then a short-lived one to Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite), Ian seemed to settle down with sweet Laura.
Following Laura's death, Ian would go on to marry Jane Collins (Laurie Brett), who would later adopt Bobby as her own son.
It would be Jane who would initially cover up Bobby's involvement in Lucy Beale's death.
What happened to Laura Beale in EastEnders?
Ian Beale and Laura Dunn began their romance in 2000 and went on to marry in 2001.
The pair had managed to survive Ian's difficult financial bankruptcy and subsequent mental health issues and came out of the ordeal stronger.
The marriage faced issues, however, as Ian continued to be drawn to his former wife Mel and the pair kissed. A spiteful Laura later kept Mel's business assets after they were signed over to her to save them from the authorities when Mel was being investigated. Mel told Ian and departed Albert Square after the death of her husband Steve Owen (Martin Kemp).
Laura later was horrified to learn that Ian had been paying local prostitute Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) for sex, resulting in a guilty Janine confronting her and Laura throwing boiling milk over her, scolding Janine.
While Laura wants to try for a baby, Ian doesn't want one and has an illicit vasectomy. Laura becomes pregnant and Ian reveals he can't be the father and throws her out after tricking her into signing her business assets back to him.
After this, Laura informs married mechanic Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) that he is the father of her unborn child after they had a drunken one-night stand. The news causes Garry's wife Lynne Slater (Elaine Lordan) to separate from him.
In the aftermath, Garry and Laura move into a bedsit together and Laura goes on to give birth to her son Bobby, but Garry's relationship with Laura fails and he reunites with Lynne.
However, Bobby falls sick and tests for a blood transfusion make clear that Garry is not the father of Bobby after all and that it is in fact, Ian. Laura keeps this a secret from Garry and Ian.
Laura soon gets appointed as the manager of Ian's former Bridge Street cafe, now owned by his nemesis and former stepfather Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and renames the cafe "Laura's", leaving Ian furious.
However, when Phil is driven from the Square after troubles with the law, his sister Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) sells the cafe back to Ian and he gleefully fires Laura.
Following this, Laura struggles as a single mother despite support from Garry and her feud with Janine escalates as her nemesis stops her from getting a job, so Laura sabotages Janine's business plans.
Events get incredibly nasty, with the pair even coming to physical blows and doing so in Laura's flat, at the end of which, Janine swears revenge on Laura.
A broken Laura decides to come clean to Ian that he is Bobby's father but he is horrible to her so she stays quiet and returns home, deciding to write him a letter confessing instead.
Ian later changes his mind and pays a visit to the flat and in a rush to answer the door, Laura runs and trips on one of Bobby's toys and falls down the stairs to her death.
Laura's body is later discovered by her friend and Janine's former stepmother Pat Evans (Pam St. Clement).
Subsequently, Janine was arrested for Laura's murder following their physical fights and was held on remand, with Pat initially refusing to give Janine an alibi in revenge for Janine's murder of Pat's stepson Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson).
Thanks to a visit from Janine's father and her ex-husband Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), Pat later relented and gave Janine her alibi and she was acquitted of Laura's murder.
Following Laura's death, Pat also found the letter confirming Bobby's paternity and informed Ian and Garry, the latter of whom had taken in Bobby with his wife Lynne.
Blood tests would confirm Bobby's paterntiy, leaving Garry devastated, while Bobby went to live with his father, Ian.
Is Bobby Beale related to Anna Knight in EastEnders?
No, Bobby Beale shares no blood relation to Anna Knight in EastEnders.
The pair do, however, share two half-siblings in the late Lucy Beale (last played by Hetti Bywater) and older half-brother Peter Beale (now played by Thomas Law).
As such it is made slightly awkward between Bobby and Anna if they were to pursue a romance with a half-brother in common, but also due to the fact that Bobby killed his and Anna's mutual half-sister.
Bobby and Anna, however, have no biological parents in common.
Read more:
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- EastEnders icon teases return of Cindy Beale's "bad" side in love triangle
- EastEnders airs shock Cindy Beale flashback to Marbella, Lucy’s 2014 murder
- EastEnders’ Ricky Norwood reacts to epic Fatboy return: “Absolutely thrilled”
- EastEnders fans delighted by “genius” return in early iPlayer release
- EastEnders’ Cindy Beale brawls with Kathy who brands her “manipulative b***h”
- Michelle Collins almost played another iconic EastEnders character
- EastEnders trailers for Cindy return tease Kathy showdown: "You're dead!"
- EastEnders' Shona McGarty quits role as Whitney Dean after 15 years
- EastEnders' Gillian Taylforth teases Kathy and Rocky future after Jo's threats
- EastEnders is nowhere near the axe – it's having a renaissance
- EastEnders' Gillian Taylforth supports comeback for Kathy’s Hills family
- EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw promises “big” Christmas for the Beales
- EastEnders' Michelle Collins teases Cindy’s scenes with love rival Elaine
- Will Jacqueline Jossa return full-time to EastEnders as Lauren Branning?
- EastEnders' Michelle Collins confirms flashbacks and Cindy Beale breakdown
- EastEnders must give tragic heroine Whitney the happy ever after she deserves
- EastEnders legend Angela Wynter explains Yolande Trueman return
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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Authors
Lewis Knight is the Trends Editor for Radio Times, covering trending titles from TV, Film and more. He previously worked at The Mirror in TV, Film, and Showbiz coverage alongside work on SEO. Alongside his past work in advertising, he possesses a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Film Studies.
