[dullagj2]

The role of Ian Beale's youngest son, Bobby, is to be recast. Rory Stroud has taken over the role and will appear onscreen from the end of February.

Bobby was born 22nd July 2003. He was played by Kevin Curran until 2007 and then, Alex Francis took over the role appearing for the first time on 7th May 2007. He was last seen onscreen 4th September last year.

Bobby's mother, Laura, died in 2004 when she fell down the stairs. Pat found his birth cert which stated that Ian was the dad, Laura had pretended it was Garry Hobbs. Bobby has always thought of Jane as his real mum as she has been the only maternal influence in his life and of course, his half-brother, Steven, put pay to Jane ever having a child of her own.

Bobby was fond of Mandy but she left last year. He was left in the care of Lucy after his father disappeared.

Hopefully this is the start of Newman rebuilding the Beales. I expect Peter will return before the year is out. I thought Alex Francis was quite good in the role, don't know if he was axed or his parent's wanted him to leave.

[Zack06]

PHEW I thought this was about Peter....! Bobby is only young so I guess a recast wouldn't do much harm.

[JR_THELEGEND]

So i take it the new Bobby will look about 22 then!

[monalisa62003]

gutted about this bobby is a mini Ian!! hes one of my fav child actors

[dan2008]

Originally Posted by dullagj2

Hopefully this is the start of Newman rebuilding the Beales. I expect Peter will return before the year is out. I thought Alex Francis was quite good in the role, don't know if he was axed or his parent's wanted him to leave.

He was alright but that's it. I think this is a good call tbh. The new actor might be a little more 'grown up' so it could see better storylines for Bobby and the Beales which i'm not sure Alex could pull off.

I thought the recast was about Peter actually

[green855]

Originally Posted by Zack06

PHEW I thought this was about Peter....! Bobby is only young so I guess a recast wouldn't do much harm.

I actually screamed "Nooooooooooooooooooooo" as I opened the thread. Thought it was Peter as well but now meh I don't care.

[rick182]

There was nothing wrong with his acting...

[Identity]

Happens all the time, I quite like the current Bobby, I really do.
But it's not a big deal, wish the little man good luck in life and his career, in acting or whatever else he'd like to do when he grows up!

[Freeman000]

Originally Posted by JR_THELEGEND

So i take it the new Bobby will look about 22 then!

Ha ha. Yep. They always look much older.

[T.K. Mazin]

Originally Posted by JR_THELEGEND

So i take it the new Bobby will look about 22 then!

22 with a full beard and model looks to go with it . Tyler and Joey will have competition I believe.

[Hound of Love]

Meh. Thought it would be Peter.

[Harlowe]

I'd thought it would be Peter aswell, I didn't see anything wrong with the little actor who played Bobby but I guess they want a older boy to play him as he starts too enter his teen years in a few years time.

[Cuishla]

Now if they can only bring Peter back and figure out a way to bring Stephen back as well.

[flbkab]

I didn't think there was much wrong with Alex Francis but I had started to wonder if a recast was on the cards as has he hasn't been on screen for ages.

At least it's not about Peter which was my first thought when I saw the thread!

[Kenkennedykenne]

Sigh. When will people learn to

1) Link to a source, and
2) make sure it is a reliable source

[Broken_Arrow]

I hope this means Ian will be getting more screen time. The actor who played Bobby was quite good for his age I thought. The only thing that stood out was his posh accent. Same for Lucy. These are supposed to be East End kids. But good luck to the new actor in the role of Bobby and also to the departed actor.

[xTonix]

When I read the title I thought you were going to say Peter has been recasted.

[Hit Em Up Style]

I doubt Thomas Law will return to EE anytime soon. He seems to be enjoying being in his band too much.

I've always wondered if Peter was axed for the two Goon brothers as EE works on that formula, as in one in one out, its why Anthony was axed for Joey. I've always suspected Jane was pushed out for Mandy rather than Laurie actually quitting as well. The whole Mandy thing was weird. Nicola only seemed to return because she was mates with BK. . You can never really tell as things get spinned so much by the actors and the show. Laurie's official line was that she quit to be a mother but then she signed up to Waterloo Road, a show that films series back to back and has a smaller cast, meaning a bigger work load. So it never made sense.

[IanMandy]

I love Alex Francis- why??!!! He's one of the best child actors

[klendathu]

He'll be about 6foot and have a rebellious attitude and behavioural problems

[IanMandy]

Originally Posted by klendathu

He'll be about 6foot and have a rebellious attitude and behavioural problems

This!

I love cute Bobby

[IanMandy]

Plus, I can't believe his final scenes have aired, means I wont get to see old Bobby anymore

[Kenkennedykenne]

Where is the source? For goodness sake will someone post a souce? Everyone is accepting this as fact, without a source it is just mindless speculation that may not even be true

[RingoJ739K]

I thought this was Peter for a second.

I wish Alex the best for the future. I liked him as Bobby. Hopefully it won't be too much of a change.

[flbkab]

Originally Posted by Kenkennedykenne

Where is the source? For goodness sake will someone post a souce? Everyone is accepting this as fact, without a source it is just mindless speculation that may not even be true

Been confirmed by DS.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2...le-recast.html