Jane Beale
Jane Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 21 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. She returned on 8 November and departed again on 27 January 2012. Jane made a temporary return to the show on 6 January 2014 until 20 May of that year and permanently from 24 November 2014 to 23 October 2017.
Jane's storylines have included her relationship and later marriages to Ian Beale, an affair with Grant Mitchell, accidentally shot by Ian's stepson Steven Beale which results her desire to have a child of her own following a hysterectomy, a relationship with Masood Ahmed, her popular friendship with Tanya Branning, covering up her adopted son Bobby's role in the murder of her stepdaughter Lucy Beale, being paralysed after being brutally attacked with a hockey stick by Bobby, caught up in the fire at Beale's restaurant, which was started by Steven before she was then left in the blaze by Max Branning and being forced by Max to leave Walford which led to a second departure.
Following the conclusion of her second stint, she made two voiceover appearances on 8 and 25 December 2017. The character made an unannounced return in the episode broadcast on 15 July 2024, and appeared until 17 July, before making a further appearance on 19 September of the same year to accommodate the exit of Bobby.
Creation and development
Brett joined the cast of EastEnders in 2004 and was asked to dye her hair red and keep it short for the part. She also put on an English accent to disguise her natural Scottish accent. Brett described Jane as "warm, kind, caring and nurturing but she's not somebody that will be pushed around. She is quite feisty. She's a matriarch. Not as a dominant woman but she's definitely a matriarch, she's the centre of a family in the making for EastEnders."In 2006, Jane has an affair with Grant Mitchell. The scenes began after writers saw chemistry between Kemp and Brett. Brett considered the storyline to be a turning point for the character as "All I did for the last year was say: 'What can I get you?' in the café." Jane was given a sexier look after a new producer came in and asked Brett to grow her hair and bleach out the red dye.
Jane marries Ian Beale, after co-habiting for around two years. Brett described Jane as "the straight man to Ian's buffoon. She's the other half who makes him whole." Speaking on the character's relationship with her husband, she likened herself to his mother, Kathy, stating: "if Jane doesn't work out for Ian, no one will! Perhaps because Ian is finally married to his mother. Jane is very Kathy-esque. They'd have got on really well, though I can't imagine Kathy would've been too impressed with Jane's affair with Grant – despite the fact she got through a few Mitchells herself!" She stated that she hoped Jane and Ian's marriage would be a lasting one, commenting that so far: "it's panned out brilliantly. There are millions of marriages like this one, involving a strong woman behind an incredibly weak man. But it's Ian's flaws that make everyone love him so much. The only time a character becomes boring is when they're two dimensional, and that's something you could never say about Ian. I can't imagine being anyone else's missus!"
On the Beale family as a whole, Brett commented: "we're probably the most normal family in Albert Square. The Beales are like the Trotters from Only Fools and Horses in many ways. They're salt-of-the-earth people who are trying to better themselves, so there's plenty of scope for drama and comedy. The writers certainly haven't run out of ideas for us yet – I haven't stopped working on big stories since I joined the show!"
Reintroduction (2014)
Jane returned to EastEnders in the 6 and 7 January 2014 episodes. Brett's return to filming was not announced by the show's producers so that viewers would be surprised. Brett found it easy to keep her return a secret, but said that the EastEnders press office and executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins probably found it more difficult. Brett said that she was "absolutely thrilled" with the reaction that she received, after the episode was broadcast, opining that it proved that Jane is a popular character. Brett's character returned to screens from late February to early May, and returned on 24 November 2014.Second departure (2017)
On 23 October 2017, Jane made a previously unannounced departure from the show after being forced to leave Walford by Max Branning. Of her departure, Brett commented: "I've loved every minute of playing Jane Beale. To return to EastEnders with such a huge storyline was an absolute gift. However, what I have known from the start is that with the soap gods watching us at all times, there is only so long before things go full circle. It's been hard keeping the secret but the storyline has been great to play out and I have loved every minute of it."Second reintroduction (2024)
Jane made an unannounced return in July 2024. It was revealed on-screen that Ian had been meeting with Jane in secret, with her return scenes showing her first meeting with Cindy Beale.Storylines
2004–2012
Jane comes to Walford with a funfair, working the candyfloss stall. She argues with Ian Beale but helps out when the funfair collapses. She moves to the Square and becomes friends with Ian. She reveals that her husband, David Collins, is in a hospice with Huntington's disease. After he dies, Jane and Ian start dating and she moves in with him and his children, twins Lucy and Peter, and Bobby. When Jane and Grant Mitchell intervene in a feud between Ian and Grant's brother Phil Mitchell, they end up kissing. Jane tells Grant she is not in love with him. After an argument with Ian, she has sex with Grant but stays with Ian, and Grant leaves Walford. Phil tells Ian about the affair so Ian proposes to Jane, quietly planning to humiliate her at the wedding. Jane learns this on their wedding day and disappears. Ian finds her and they fight but realise they love each other and want to be together. They marry in secret.Ian's stepson Steven Beale, who has been living overseas, returns to Walford and takes Ian hostage, locking him in a flat. The family eventually learn where Ian is and try to rescue him, but Jane is shot in the process. She and Ian agree to have a baby when she recovers but Jane needs an emergency hysterectomy, leaving them devastated. Jane starts going to a stand-up comedy club, telling Ian that she is going to the gym. However, he knows she is lying so Tamwar Masood takes him to the club where she is onstage. Amused initially, he is hurt by her jokes about him and their sex life. He gives her an ultimatum: give up her hobby or end their marriage. After she is accepted by a talent scout, she's shocked when Ian insists on being her agent. His interfering takes the fun out of her comedy career so she ends it.
After Ian invests in Masala Masood, the curry business run by Masood Ahmed and his wife Zainab Masood, the Masoods and Beales go into business together, and Jane has a flirtatious relationship with Masood. When Ian refuses to consider the possibility of adopting a child, Jane turns to Masood for comfort and they kiss. Ian changes his mind but she knows it's only for her sake and leaves Walford, refusing to come home when Ian finds her and only returning when Bobby goes missing. Jane discovers her brother, Christian Clarke, is having an affair with Masood's son, Syed Masood, while acting as Syed's wedding planner. Zainab discovers this, and blames Jane for Christian coming to Walford. When Zainab hears Tamwar playing an audio recording of Ian having sex with Janine Butcher, she plays it to Jane. Ian explains that Janine was blackmailing him and admits he stole Archie Mitchell's laptop on the day he was murdered to retrieve the recording. Ian is arrested when Janine implicates Ian in Archie's death, but the charges are dropped. This damages Jane's chances of adopting.
Jane learns that Lucy is pregnant and suggests Lucy consider an abortion but Lucy wants Jane and Ian to adopt the baby. Jane agrees but Ian refuses and blames Jane for taking advantage of Lucy. Ian convinces Lucy to have an abortion and arranges it, then tells Jane that Lucy has miscarried. Fearing that Jane will learn the truth, Ian persuades her to visit her mother, Linda Clarke, in Florida. Jane is suspicious but Lucy convinces her to go. That night, Masood reminds her of their kiss and asks if he can go with her, but she goes alone as Masood stays in Walford after Syed attempts suicide. When Jane returns, the family learn that there are inconsistencies in Lucy and Peter's exam results and the papers will be investigated. Lucy denies cheating but later admits that she did. When Jane tells Lucy's friend Zsa Zsa Carter that she is upset about Lucy's lies, Zsa Zsa assumes Jane is talking about the abortion and tells her about it. Jane asks Lucy to promise her that she is not hiding anything else and she does, but Jane learns that Ian knew about the abortion and that Lucy planned to cheat on her exam, so she decides to leave once she has what she feels she is owed. She opens another bank account and plans to transfer funds secretly before leaving, telling Ian that she no longer wants to adopt, but Ian suggests that she adopt Bobby and she agrees, as she can fight for access to him. Jane tells Christian about the abortion and he urges her to leave Ian, offering to help.
Kim Fox brings Ian a letter from the bank about Jane's secret account. He asks Jane about it and she says she's been saving for a holiday and then has to book one, but suspicious Ian watches her every move. Jane discovers that Ian plans to buy the local Indian restaurant, the Argee Bhajee, without consulting her. Jane angrily tells friends that she no longer loves Ian, unaware that he has overheard. Ian attempts to woo Jane by cooking for her and offering the Argee Bhajee after her, admitting that he overheard what she said at Zainab's house. Jane then reveals that she knows about Lucy's abortion and is sick of his lies. She meets Masood and the pair console each other about their respective partners. They go to a hotel to have sex, but change their minds and decide to remain friends. When Jane returns home, she confesses to Ian and they reconcile.
Ian asks Jane to renew their wedding vows and she agrees. Days later, Ian admits to having an affair with Glenda Mitchell. He hopes she can forgive him but she cannot; they end their relationship but continue to live together, with Ian determined to win her back. She is horrified when Greg Jessop asks Ian to be best man at his wedding to Jane's best friend Tanya Branning. During Tanya's hen night, Jane and Tanya get drunk and Tanya accuses Jane of being jealous, so Jane refuses to be Tanya's matron of honour. Returning home, Jane finds Greg bringing Ian home and she goes to kiss Greg, who pushes her away. Filled with guilt, Jane admits what she did to Tanya and they reconcile. Jane and Ian's relationship deteriorates when she meets a man named Martin at a pub quiz. They have a brief affair; she ends it, but Ian tries to make Jane jealous by hiring an escort named Jeanette. Jane learns that she is an escort and mocks Ian; he calls Jane a prostitute disguised as a wife. She then vows to take everything she can in their divorce. Jane tells Masood she is in love with him and asks him to leave Zainab, but he refuses, telling her he loves her but does not want a divorce. Jane wins the café in her divorce from Ian. Bobby is upset by their arguments, and Jane realises she must leave Walford for his sake, so there are no more arguments. She promises to see Bobby regularly, and leaves after removing her wedding ring. Ian and Jane's divorce is later finalised.
When Jane returns six months later after Bobby visits her, she's shocked to learn that Ian is engaged to Mandy Salter and that Masood and Zainab have split. Masood tells Jane that he cannot just be friends with her and they begin a romantic relationship. Masood and Jane go to dinner at Ian and Mandy's house and Ian asks how their relationship can develop if Jane is not a Muslim, so she tells Ian that she will convert, surprising Masood. Masood says she need not convert, so she is relieved. She sees Masood kissing Zainab and tells Zainab's new partner Yusef Khan, and her relationship with Masood ends, though they stay friends. As Tanya has cervical cancer, Jane helps organise a function to raise money for cancer charities. At the event, Jane's former cuisine tutor Gethin Williams arrives. He is impressed with Jane's catering and asks her to interview for a job at his new restaurant. Jane is reluctant but Tanya sets it up regardless, telling Jane the next day and persuades her to go. She is offered the job, but it is in Cardiff, about 150 miles away. She accepts the job but Tanya assumes she has decided to stay in Walford and is horrified when Masood reveals the truth. Tanya is upset and says that Jane is no longer her friend. Jane is tempted to stay when Ian tells her that his half-brother Ben Mitchell needs her but Christian convinces her to go, telling her not to give up on her dreams. As she and Christian are leaving, Tanya runs out of her house, and the two reconcile. She leaves and joyfully exclaims that she can now be whoever she wants.