Ian Beale

Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the drama's longest-serving main character, and, following the departure of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) in 2006, was the only one to have appeared continuously from its inception. The character appeared in his 2,000th episode in the show on 26 March 2007, and his 3,000th on 27 May 2016. After 36 years on the show, Woodyatt departed EastEnders on 22 January 2021.

Ian Beale
EastEnders character
Portrayed byAdam Woodyatt
Duration1985–2021
First appearanceEpisode 1
"Poor Old Reg"
19 February 1985 (1985-02-19)
Last appearanceEpisode 6208
22 January 2021 (2021-01-22)
Created byTony Holland
Introduced byJulia Smith
Spin-off
appearances
Dimensions in Time (1993)
Last Tango in Walford (2010)
EastEnders: E20 (2010)
The Ghosts of Ian Beale (2014)
ClassificationPresent; regular
Profile
OccupationBusinessman
Chef

Ian is the son of Pete (Peter Dean) and Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). He is the nephew of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard).