Former EastEnders star Peter Dean looks worlds away from his Pete Beale role, over three decades on.
Fans of the BBC soap have been drenched in nostalgia over the last year, with a number of returnees and throwbacks to days gone by to celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary.
That has been further intensified in the build-up and aftermath of Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) death, as members of the extended Fowler and Beale clans have been name dropped left, right and centre.
Yesterday’s episode showed his grieving partner Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) sell his Bridge Street fruit and veg stall back to the family – much to the delight of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), as his dad Pete was at the helm of the cart for years.
Unfortunately there’s no return on the cards for Pete, given the character died in 1993.
But who was Pete Beale, and what is Peter Dean doing now?
Who was Pete Beale in EastEnders?
Family man Pete was one of 23 main characters devised by creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland in 1985.
He lived with wife Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) and their son Ian in a tower block a short distance away from Albert Square, but was a constant presence in the area due to his work and visits to his mum Lou (Anna Wing).
Storylines during his tenure included being accused of assaulting ex-wife Pat Wicks (Pam St Clement), after he discovered that their son Simon (Nick Berry) was not his own.
He later tried to throw Kathy’s rapist James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde) off a building, and with his marriage to her in tatters, he left Walford with new girlfriend Rose Chapman (Petra Markham).
News reaches his family soon after that the pair have died in a car crash, and Ian’s son Peter – who was born on the same day – is named in his honour.
Where is actor Peter Dean now?
85 year old Peter now looks unrecognisable, sporting a white beard and wearing a cap in a rare, new picture whilst attending a reunion.
The snap was posted on social media by a fan who noticed him taking a trip down memory lane with friends at a pub in London.
He really does look worlds away from his EastEnders days.
Since leaving the show, he’s continued to act, reprising the Pete Beale role in a 2004 episode of Leigh Francis vehicle Bo’ Selecta! and two years later in an instalment of Comedy Lab.
More recently he’s starred in Danny Baker sitcom biopic Cradle to Grave and in the 2016 TV movie Nearly New as Father David.
In 2018 he was one of a number of celebrities to appear on The Real Marigold Hotel.
Why did Peter Dean quit EastEnders?
It has been reported that his exit wasn’t exactly on good terms, with Peter’s contract with the BBC allegedly ending due to ‘irreconcilable differences’.
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In 2018, he appeared in a special soap week of ITV panel show Loose Women.
He told the panelists: ‘The producer called me in and said, “The writers can’t find anything for you to do.”
‘So I said, “Well get rid of the writers”. Life’s simple when it’s logical. But of course, it was already set.
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‘EastEnders is EastEnders. The real East End has changed.’
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