Pete Beale - Reception

Reception

Despite lasting in the serial for eight years, during his tenure in EastEnders, producers appeared to differ in their opinions of Pete's importance in the programme; some referenced the character's value, while others deemed him disposable and there were several attempts to cull the character. It was revealed in 1987 that Pete was originally only intended to be a short-term character. Show creator and series producer Julia Smith had considered killing him off in 1986, but she vetoed this idea, ultimately deciding that Pete was too much of an asset to lose. When producer Mike Gibbon took the helm as head of the serial in 1989, he employed writer David Yallop to pen storylines that controversially killed-off various characters in the show. According to Yallop, the decision to axe the characters was dependent of the talent of the actors portraying them. Yallop stated that Pete Beale was among the characters to be killed. The storyline never came to fruition because Gibbon's controversial plots were not sanctioned by the BBC and Yallop's storylines were not used; Yallop sued the BBC for termination of contract, at which time the finer details of the proposed plots were disclosed to the media. Despite this, in 1991, EastEnders' storyline editor Andrew Holden described Pete as "almost synonymous" with the programme because he had been there since day one. He added, " carry a lot of history. Original characters are very precious things. has always seen himself as a family man and in the future we see him making a determined effort to put his family back together. Whatever happens he'll always carry a torch for Kathy". According to Holden at that time, Pete was "an untouchable", not in danger of being killed-off.

However, this opinion apparently altered by 1993, when script-writers decided that Pete's storyline had come to a "natural end" and he was written out. Peter Dean went public with his criticism of the show, believing there was a lot more his character had to offer and that the failure to come up with decent material for Pete was due to unimaginative scriptwriters. His exposé to The Sun newspaper included his suspicions of set secrets, such as earlier plans to write Pete out and his opinions about former co-stars. Following Dean's exposé, Pete was killed off-screen seven months after his initial exit. Peter Dean speculated that Pete's off-screen killing was a result of the exposé. Although this accusation has never been confirmed by the BBC, show creator Julia Smith had publicly decreed that derogatory stories sold by cast members to the press about the show's production would not be tolerated, and any cast member doing so would not return to the show.

Discussing Pete's demise, Gillian Taylforth who played his ex-wife Kathy Beale, has stated that although she and actor Peter Dean had problems "now and then", she found it really hard when he left, and that Pete's death was "an end of an era for EastEnders." The tankard that Pete was often seen drinking from in pub scenes was allegedly so popular that Peter Dean reported it was stolen twice by fans and he had to replace it on both occasions. Dean has suggested that during his time in the soap, the most letters he received were about a storyline that saw him cross-dressing as part of a practical joke: "The episode I got the most letters about was when Pete was going to a Topsy Turvy party, where men dress as women and women as men. But he didn't get the message that the party was cancelled. He opened the door of the Queen Vic in this dress, singing a song, and then it was the duff, duff, duff ... People felt so sorry for Pete about that."