EE-Lou Beale still alive!!

eye3 · 28/10/11 - 13:36

Has anyone heard the radio ad with the teenager talking to his grannie about sniffing coke (the drug not the the drink)?
The actress paying the old dear is Anna Wing...the great Lou Beale.
Hard to believe that its 23 years ago since Lou died. Julia Smith intended Anna Wing to be in the show until she popped her clogs but Anna thought otherwise and quit. Strange to think she could still be there, outliving nearly all her family and other cast members.

Bathsheba · 28/10/11 - 14:11

Apparently she's 96!

UpInMyFace · 28/10/11 - 14:13

I think that had Anna stayed abit longer then the Beale's would be very different today. Obviously in hindsight no one knew she would still be going strong 25 years later but it does go to show that killing off certain characters should only happen if they are certain that they will never return.

cobwebsoup · 28/10/11 - 14:34

UpInMyFace wrote: »

I think that had Anna stayed abit longer then the Beale's would be very different today. Obviously in hindsight no one knew she would still be going strong 25 years later but it does go to show that killing off certain characters should only happen if they are certain that they will never return.

Completely agree. Eastenders would benefit hugely from having a few old faces back. As far as I know most of the original cast members are still alive in real life. I'd absolutely love to have Pete Beale and Arthur Fowler back.

[Deleted User] · 28/10/11 - 15:27

My partners works in town and she goes out to lunch with a group of her friends everyday and seems to really enjoy it! He said she is very sweet!

The_abbott · 28/10/11 - 15:31

cobwebsoup wrote: »

Completely agree. Eastenders would benefit hugely from having a few old faces back. As far as I know most of the original cast members are still alive in real life. I'd absolutely love to have Pete Beale and Arthur Fowler back.

yeh I liked all the original characters really. I wish Mary or the Osmans came back or Dr Legg.

I do wonder if those that chose to leave regret their decison (like Bill Treacher).

Matthewrox · 28/10/11 - 15:32

She is 97 and holding it together

Sunny B · 28/10/11 - 15:37

She's 97 on Sunday! Apparantely she quit EE cos she was unhappy with the direction it was going but has since reflected that it might not have been the right decision!

And off topic, but I didn't know that Jim Branning first appeared in 1996 along with Derek!

The Rhydler · 28/10/11 - 15:54

Anna Wing herself decided to leave. Not liking the direction the show was taking

She has since stated she regrets leaving

Big up to her tho, hope she makes the century

The Rhydler · 28/10/11 - 15:55

Lol Sunny. I didn't see your post where you said exactly the same as me

Sorry

Sunny B · 28/10/11 - 16:07

The Rhydler wrote: »

Lol Sunny. I didn't see your post where you said exactly the same as me

Sorry

That's alright lol, I only got my info from wiki anyway, didn't know if it was right lol

gboy · 28/10/11 - 16:22

I worked with Anna Wing a few years ago and she's a lovely lady.

Whilst she didn't regret leaving, she did regret the decision to kill off Lou Beale. She would have preferred it if Lou had retired to Clacton (or somewhere) and she could have made the occasional re-appearance from time-to-time.

The Rhydler · 28/10/11 - 16:29

Her death episodes and its aftermath were a masterclass though, and brought out the sole decent acting performance of Peter Dean

Yellow Dragon · 28/10/11 - 16:37

I remember Anna saying on TV that she often wondered if leaving was the right decision. I think because Anita, Leslie and a few others quit she rushed into leaving as well. It would have been great having her back and fourth for every big Beale/Fowler event not to mention every Christmas. So its a big shame they door wasn't left open.

The Rhydler · 28/10/11 - 16:48

I dont think it would have worked, someone like Lou had to be present all the time, or not at all. It was the right thing for her to die.

gentleguy · 28/10/11 - 16:52

they should have left the door open like they did with ethel, ethel pretty much kept leaving and coming back as she pleased so why not lou? in the american soaps they have many characters who come to visit every now and again, this is something british soaps fail to do.

The Rhydler · 28/10/11 - 17:52

Ethel had no family ties, no necessity to stay put

EastEndFan05 · 28/10/11 - 18:28

I wish she was still in EE but it was the right decision to kill Lou off. She wouldn't have left her family and it wouldn't have worked with her coming and going because she was too much of a central character. I often wonder how the show would have turned out if she'd never left along with Den and Angie in 1988/1989.

EastEnderz · 28/10/11 - 18:49

What's a grannie?

MelSingleton · 28/10/11 - 19:25

I loved nearly all the original characters (though Legg was a bit of a lump, chirpy Pete Beale an annoying pratt) and it was sad to see them leave, but thought Lou's departure was probably the worst of all. It really took something out of the Beale-Fowler family dynamic and that couldn't really ever be replaced.

Lou was in the show just three years. I always thought they could / should have done more to keep Anna Wing in the show longer.

eye3 · 29/10/11 - 00:56

Is she had stayed, it would have been good to see Dot and Lou sparring for the past 23 years

robertaloud30 · 29/10/11 - 03:48

2 pics of her from last year

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/259/19748129625101559015097.jpg

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/4781/19748129625097558915097.jpg

johnloony · 29/10/11 - 07:36

What is the point of this thread? The title says that "Lou Beale still alive" but then it immediately contradicts itself by stating (accurately) in the first comment that Lou Beale died 23 years ago.

Why pretend that she is still alive?

If the person who started the thread meant to say that Anna Wing is still alive, why start a thread about it to tell us? The same logic would require seven billion threads to tell us that everybody in the world is still alive - one for each person still living.

I just don't understand it.

UpInMyFace · 29/10/11 - 08:53

UK soaps take themselves too seriously. Had EE been an American or Aussie soap then Anna would have returned as Lou's sister Flo.

Stranger things have happened!

[Deleted User] · 29/10/11 - 11:18

UpInMyFace wrote: »

UK soaps take themselves too seriously. Had EE been an American or Aussie soap then Anna would have returned as Lou's sister Flo.

Stranger things have happened!

Thank God EE isn't an American or Aussie soap.

SuperAPJ · 29/10/11 - 17:32

I recall a year or two ago that Dot was going to remember Lou saying something in one episode, which would be newly recorded by the actress. Did this happen? It was obviously a very small thing so I can't remember.

Hey there!

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EE-Lou Beale still alive!!

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