Ian left for dead! He pushes someone too far, but who is it?
SOMEONE SNAPS AFTER BEING PUSHED TOO FAR…
This week marks the beginning of yet another classic ‘whodunnit?’ in Walford, after Ian is brutally attacked in the Queen Vic and left for dead!
By the end of Friday’s episode, Ian’s enemies, old and new, are practically queuing up outside the pub to have a pop at the rotten weasel – after months of secrets, lies and betrayal finally catch up with him… “Ian is collecting enemies like trophies, and he has really dug himself a hole with many Albert Square residents,” concedes Adam Woodyatt, who plays him. “Ultimately, his downfall is that he is terrible with money – and he loves Sharon. Ian thought that by saving her and buying the Vic she would fall in love with him, but of course that didn’t happen. He ended up losing money and has no way of paying back Max, which has landed him in trouble with a lot of people. It’s a huge mess, and Ian at his finest!”
FRESH FEUDS!
Not content with his existing conflicts, Ian’s week gets off to a bitter start after he deliberately tells Whitney that her sister
Ian is collecting enemies like trophies – and has dug himself into a hole…”
Tiffany is planning to be a surrogate for Stuart and Rainie.
“Rainie and Stuart are nagging him, and Ian loses his patience,” explains Adam.
“He thinks, ‘I’m the landlord of the Queen Vic and a councillor, and I deserve more respect!’ So Ian tells Whitney about the surrogacy, knowing it will cause trouble, and he doesn’t care what happens next.”
Meanwhile, Ian is only just getting warmed up – as further altercations with Suki, Tina and the Mitchells result in a spike of locals desperate to ring his neck…
“I don’t think Tina is really on Ian’s radar as a threat,” reckons Adam. “She’s a bit of a joke to him, and he doesn’t take her seriously. As for the Mitchells, I think Ian genuinely regrets grassing them up and making that call to the police about the robbery – and Suki concerns him. When she threatens him, Ian knows that she isn’t bluffing.”
MAX-IMUM DANGER…
However, Ian’s war with Max stands to do him the most harm after he witnesses his former business partner canoodling with Linda – and threatens to expose the pair (see p22 for the full story). That’s the final straw for Max, as he teaches Ian a lesson that he’ll never forget, before issuing a stark warning: pay back his money, or pay a deadly price…
“Ian is terrified of what Max might do,” shares Adam. “He has to think of a way to outwit him, which is why Ian decides to do what he does next, and winds up in a whole lot more trouble with his family. Ian believes his life is on the line, so he doesn’t have a choice.”
A FAMILY AT WAR!
As tensions boil and Ian resorts to desperate measures to fend off Max, Bobby’s big moment arrives when the residents of Albert Square gather to hear him announce the worthy recipient of the Lucy Beale Foundation fund.
However, the Beales are a frayed bunch following Ian’s decision to forge Kathy’s signature and secretly remortgage the café – and when the police arrive to arrest Ian, he thinks that his mum has ratted him out!
“She’s the one that knows what he’s done, so it’s an easy enough assumption to make,” reasons Adam. “He fails to consider that Kathy is his mother, and is probably the only one left on the Square who actually still loves him, despite her being furious. Once again, Ian’s only thinking of himself, and not how his actions have affected those around him.”
NO WAY OUT…
As the week draws to a close, smug Ian thinks that he has finally gained the upper hand on Max, while Peter helps Bobby to see his father for the rotter he truly is. However, dark forces are already circling the Vic, as several people head to the pub to have it out with Ian once and for all. Someone gets there first, and as the