THIS week all eyes will be on Albert Square as EasEnders goes live and Lucy
Beale’s killer is finally revealed. TV Magazine talks to three of the stars
in the thick of it…
Jake Wood (Max Branning)
Suspect: Had been dumped by his lover Lucy, who could have destroyed his
family, and went out “to walk the dog” – or did he? ODDS: 16/1
The actor reveals his theories about who murdered Lucy 10 months ago.
Our cover identifies Walford’s 11 prime murder suspects, and it’s familiar
territory for actor Jake Wood, whose character Max Branning was in the frame
for killing a different EastEnder the last time the soap was broadcast live
five years ago.
“Then, it was: ‘Who Killed Archie Mitchell?’, now it’s: ‘Who Killed Lucy?’”
says Jake, 42. “It was a huge shock to all of us back then when it turned
out that Stacey was Archie’s killer.
“Right up to the point I was told – half an hour before we went live – I
thought it could be Max. But it’s exciting. You feel like you’re at the
centre of a TV event – and I’m sure it will feel the same this time.”
A mixture of live action and pre-recorded scenes throughout the week (see
schedule below) is intended to keep us on the edge of our seats, before a
bonus flashback episode reveals the events of that fateful Good Friday, when
Lucy Beale ended up dead on Walford Common. A fully live episode explores
the repercussions.
Jake admits it was particularly strange having Hetti Bywater, who played Lucy,
on set again to film the flashback.
“The events of that time were so long ago for all of us, so trying to remember
where the characters were emotionally has been tricky,” he explains. “It’s a
fantastic episode, though. It’s going to be a real treat for the viewers.”
Live challenge
The entire week will cover just one day in Walford – the day of Ian and Jane’s
wedding – and key characters will make comebacks (see right). Jake is
relishing the prospect of working with Jo Joyner (Max’s ex-wife Tanya)
again.
“It’s a lot of pressure on her to come back and just do the live scenes –
she’s very brave,” he smiles.
“I’ll be winding her up from now until we go live and be trying to put her off
her lines as much as possible. She actually came to see me when I was doing
Strictly Come Dancing [Jake finished fifth in the competition last year] and
asked me advice about returning to EastEnders. I told her she was crazy, but
she’s clearly up for the challenge. So bring it on.”
Jake caused a major stir recently when he jokingly held up a sign at a darts
match reading ‘I killed Lucy’. Bookies’ odds on Max being his secret lover’s
killer dropped overnight.
“They plummeted!” laughs Jake. “I was really surprised. It was just a bit of
banter. The cast are none the wiser about who the murderer is. We’ve
rehearsed about 15 different endings, so there are a lot of possible
scenarios. I don’t know when they’re planning to tell the killer, but I
think it may be an hour, or even just half an hour, before we go live.”
And if it’s not Jake who receives the deadly news about his character, who
does he think will?
“I started off thinking it was Abi, now I’ve gone to Ian,” he reveals. “I
think it was some sort of freaky accident. Thinking back to the episodes
where Adam Woodyatt [Ian] was so brilliant grieving, you could read that as
guilt as well, couldn’t you? So not only was Ian upset that his daughter was
dead, he was also involved in some way¿”
Lorna Fitzgerald (Abi Branning)
SUSPECT: Twisted behaviour and sick of Max’s cheating ways, did she put a
stop to his fling with Lucy in the most brutal manner? ODDS: 4/1
favourite
Everyone suspects the troubled youngster did it – Lorna tells us why.
The finger of suspicion seems to be pointing at Abi again…
I suppose it does, doesn’t it? I’m getting tweets from people all the time
saying it’s Abi who killed Lucy, so it feels like the finger has never
really pointed away from her! Everyone keeps asking me: “Should I put money
on you?”
But I haven’t given anyone tips in case I’m wrong. I don’t want that blame!
We’ve seen Abi attack her sister, stalk her dad and run over a dog. Could
she be a cold-blooded killer?
[Laughs.] Hearing that list, it seems only natural! I have enjoyed playing
that more twisted side of Abi.
I loved the apple- bobbing scene [where Abi almost drowned Lauren on
Halloween]. Jacqueline Jossa [Lauren] told me to really go for it, but she
was pregnant at that time, so I was like: ‘Oh my God, what am I gonna do?’
It’s fun when you get to do something really crazy or a shouting scene, and
I wish they’d take it further with Abi – have her go mad and shave her head¿
I do think the killer could be anyone, though, as everyone has different
sides to their character, so any of the 11 suspects could have killed Lucy.
What would be Abi’s motives?
The fact that Max has taken things too far this time [by having a secret
affair with Lucy]. Lucy was Lauren’s age. It would be like Abi having her
sister as her stepmum. If Abi is guilty, it’s because she’d just had enough
of her dad’s behaviour.
And who do you think did it?
I’ve said Ian from day one because that would be the biggest shock and good
TV.
Are you looking forward to having Jo Joyner [Abi’s mum, Tanya] back?
It was so hard keeping that a secret, because we found out before everyone
else but couldn’t say anything, even though everyone was saying: ‘When’s
Tanya coming back? We love Tanya.’ Abi feels abandoned by her mum, though.
I think not having Tanya around is one of the reasons she’s gone a bit mad.
What would you like to see happen to Abi in the future? Maybe a twisted
wedding to Ben Mitchell?
That would be brilliant, wouldn’t it?! [Laughs.] I’d like to see Abi and Jay
get back together one day in the future, but we had better wait to see what
happens when the killer is revealed.
Beale’s about
SUSPECT: Kerb-crawling with hooker Rainie, perhaps an argument got out of
hand or he accidentally ran his daughter over. ODDS: 14/1
Adam Woodyatt contemplates being a killer.
He’s been a Walford resident from EastEnders’ very first episode in 1985, so
it’s only right that Adam Woodyatt is central to the drama of the soap’s
30th anniversary celebrations. And he can’t wait to flex his acting
muscles, live on air.
“There’s no point getting nervous about Live Week,” says Adam, 46, aka Ian
Beale. “By the time we get to transmission we’ll have done so many
rehearsals. But ask me again five minutes before we go live.
People will watch for the fact that someone might mess it up!”
And while Ian is a suspect in his daughter’s murder case, Adam says he has no
clue about the killer.
“Over the past 10 months, I’ve had my suspicions about a few people,” he
laughs.
As a lynchpin of Albert Square, Ian has faced everything from adultery to
homelessness – but Adam nearly missed out completely.
“I got asked to audition in May 1984, but couldn’t make it,” he remembers.
“Then they phoned again in July. I was working in a butcher’s and had to
think about losing a day’s wages to audition. Fortunately, I went. Now I can
see myself being here another 30 years.”
Adam’s seen many cast members come and go – he remembers being in awe of Wendy
Richard (Pauline Fowler) and thinks of Gillian Taylforth (Kathy Beale) as
his second family – but one person’s still sharing Albert Square with him
after all these years.
“My Tish,” he says of co-star Letitia Dean (Sharon Mitchell). “She makes me
laugh, cry – and she drives me nuts!”
#EastEnders
WATCH IT! EastEnders Tuesday to Friday Times vary BBC1