Pete Beale (EastEnders) 1985-1993

[soapfan]

What did everyone else think of the character?

I mean actor Peter Dean was criticised for his acting at times (I don't think he was that bad an actor, he was better than Leslie Grantham anyway), but mainly, it was Peter Dean's own conduct that resulted in his sacking from EastEnders, and how he taken the lovemaking scenes with Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) too seriously where he used to grope her was a "touchy-feely" type of person in one scene with Michelle in the 1980s.

I think if Pete hadn't have been killed off in 1993, there wouldn't have been the petty Phil and Ian stuff, and Pete wouldn't have tolerated Phil's bullying of Ian.

Also, it didn't show Pete's death, as he was killed off-screen, I was wondering if it would be possible to bring Pete back (he could pretend he faked his own death like Kathy), if it meant killing Phil and Ian off.

Pete Beale (Peter Dean) now:-

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

I'm not sure how I feel about Peter Dean/Pete Beale.

I have found that Peter Dean overacted, where as Leslie Grantham I felt was the better actor, Anita Dobson overacted but that was because Angie herself was such a larger than life character so it was acceptable (plus Dobson had been on the stage so the acting style is different to soap) but Peter Dean I couldn't take seriously at times.

There had been plans to kill Pete Beale off quite early on in the series, but Julia Smith changed her mind and kept him on.

Pete Beale had come to a natural end by the early 1990s, I don't think there was anything else the writers could do with him unfortunately, even if they wrote him off and brought him back a few years later I'm still uncertain if there was room for Pete Beale in the 1990s and 2000s, aside for a potential, but predictable, Pete vs Phil feud over Kathy and how Phil treated Ian, but I felt that Kathy and Ian grew and developed more without the presence of Pete.

 

[Walford Boy]

I agree re Peter Dean. When the show first aired he was awful, however he did improve as time went on.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

It would be interesting though if Pete were around today and Ben became close to him and looked up to him as a father figure rather than Phil.

One character I think EastEnders missed in the 90s and early 00s was Lou Beale, even if she became a recurring character like Ethel did, it still would've been good if she was still around, especially to see how she'd deal with Pete's death, Kathy's marriage to Phil and her possible rivalry with Peggy, two forceful, strong matriarchs in Albert Square, literally squaring up to one another.

 

[Walford Boy]

I missed Lou. A shame Anna Wing left after 3 years. I think in a interview in later years she acknowledged she made a mistake leaving when she did.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

Pete Beale didn't seem to have the potential for longevity like Arthur Fowler did, Arthur could've remained for ten more years after his original departure, he and Pauline were that stalwart, reliable couple that many small communities have up and down the country, as I recall Bill Treacher didn't want to leave EastEnders he only wanted a six month break as he was drained, and had worked ten years without any breaks virtually on the show, whoever made the decision to kill him off was very short sighted.

 

[soapfan]

Pete Beale didn't seem to have the potential for longevity like Arthur Fowler did, Arthur could've remained for ten more years after his original departure, he and Pauline were that stalwart, reliable couple that many small communities have up and down the country, as I recall Bill Treacher didn't want to leave EastEnders he only wanted a six month break as he was drained, and had worked ten years without any breaks virtually on the show, whoever made the decision to kill him off was very short sighted.

Well true, TPTB at EastEnders have been too trigger happy with the axe at times, I agree with you that killing off Arthur Fowler was a mistake, he could have been the Ken Barlow of EastEnders. The difference is though, Bill Treacher can act though, whereas Bill Roache can't act.

Having said that though, I think Pete Beale had more potential than Mark Fowler as a character, and the fact Pete didn't have AIDS/HIV+ was a good thing too.

Pete Beale is a far better character than most of today's characters. Because of the mistake that was made with Arthur, I think bringing Pete back would help make up for that mistake. He'd fill the void left by Arthur perfectly.

 

[soapfan]

Since I last posted here, both the actors Leslie Grantham and Bill Treacher have died in real life, and Peter Dean is still currently alive.

Regardless of whatever happened in the past with Peter Dean/Pete Beale over 30 years ago, a character like Peter Dean/Pete Beale would be far better than any of todays characters, who knows, there may be a possibility of him getting back together with Kathy or even finding out about some of Phil's bullying of Ian.

EastEnders bosses already tried bringing back James Wilmott-Brown/William Boyde and it was badly written and badly acted, but at least he got to meet Phil eventually.