List of East Enders Characters (1992) - Anne Howes

Anne Howes, played by Cassie Stuart, meets Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) while he is on a stag night in a curry house. Phil brings her back to his home at the The Queen Victoria public house and they have sex. A romance is quick to develop, but Anne turns out to be a habitual liar. She refuses to give Phil her home telephone number or allow him back to her house and when Phil questions her on this, she becomes defensive and hostile. By this time Phil has fallen for her, so he perseveres, but he begins to grow suspicious when he spots her arguing with a strange man in the middle of Bridge Street market. Anne claims that the man was merely an ex-boyfriend, but when Phil confronts him he is told that Anne is his wife and a serial adulterer.

Phil is angered by her dishonesty, but Anne claims that her marriage is over, which her husband, Terry (Neal Swettenham), refuses to accept. She portrays Terry as suicidal and needy and promises that her feelings for Phil are genuine. Phil eventually accepts her explanation and confesses to loving her, but Anne remains uncertain about leaving her husband, fearing that he will kill himself if she does. After days of ignoring Phil, Anne agrees to discuss their relationship over dinner, but she arrives at the restaurant late, claiming that her husband had locked her in their bedroom. Terry follows them there and is shocked to discover that Anne had claimed he was suicidal, dismissing this as one of her lies. He pleads with Phil to finish with Anne for the sake of their young daughter — another secret that Anne has been keeping. Phil endsthe affair after realising that Anne has been lying to him all along.