A Dying Lou Tells Her Family Some Home Truth's

Copyright BBC

[@ismayb754]

One of the best scenes in soap history. No drama, violence or hype. Just pure character.

[@rocksoliddude1]

Great actress. but it's also the script writing, it's amazing. a different league to the terrible script writing of modern eastenders.

[@ismayb754]

@@rocksoliddude1 It was the script writing I was refering to :)

[@alexjones1985]

"No one interrupts Lou Beale in mid stream!" Pauline was listening attentively, to paraphrase that herself, later!

[@abigailmorrison1996]

What a rare diamond Lou Beale was.

[@phillipwilloughby5013]

When Lou entered the room, it was like a judge entering a court room. In my mind I was thinking "All rise!".

[@deanrafferty1981]

lil kid murmurs all rise when lou enters!!

[@sarah6557]

Lou was the Head of the family its called good old fashion east end RESPECT.

[@Leeann-rz3ei]

You berk.

[@sarah6557]

@@Leeann-rz3ei you cont 🤣🤣

[@Leeann-rz3ei]

@@sarah6557 haha learn to spell.

[@pjw85]

''i don't need a piece of metal to remind me i was once married'' i found that line and the way she delivered it quite moving

[@5516724]

She was the lady of the house, always stood by her word

[@tclted2656]

Lou. You were a legend. She truely ruled the square. Throughout this episode this scene got my neck a lump. She reminded me of my gran. All the meetings. Final say etc etc. They don't have them anymore.

[@selenakerr4332]

Mine too my granma was the back bone of my family she kept us all together. She may of been only 4ft 1 but she was a tuff old cookie .

[@elonerrigby9389]

Reminds me of my Nan. Shrewd. Rip. Your spirit lives on in all of us.

[@richieschick]

TCL TED my gran is still alive and still a battle axe but I can’t imagine what my life would be like once she goes. That was the greatest generation. Not many of them left now!

[@lazybelphegore6748]

I’ve never even seen this show but I was hoping she’d have something good to say about Miss Brahms (as we know her). When she did I started to get a lump too, especially when Lou started to pull off her ring. I also just realized I’m old and ugly enough to be the head of my family!

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Even in her final scene, Anna Wing ruled over them all. Nothing was ever the same again after this episode. She was heart and soul of this series.

[@williamf4544]

Thats so true

[@WillMeganFan]

Very true. I always believed that Anita Dobson's departure was the turning point for the show but in the two months between Anita and Anna leaving, the quality doesn't suffer at all. However after Anna leaves, a major light goes out.

[@Judah12]

Yep she sure did 😮 put all her heart and soul into her acting 😊

[@mustafakarwa4881]

The elderly of the 80s were the true wise people. RIP Anna Wing. Lou was such a legend. Eastenders ain't as good now as it was back then. I wonder what she would say to Ian now, and I wonder what she would say about Pete and Kathy's marriage

[@kailashpatel1706]

The woman who played it once appeared on the 'Word' in the 1990's, yeah what was she doing on a cult Friday evening young adults programme!, saying it was much tougher now to be a young person then it ever was in her own time, because no one had anything....

[@kailashpatel1706]

The series was brilliant back then full stop...

[@johnjohnsilver]

She would enter a fit of rage if she found out what happened to her family over the past 31 years

[@jackjones9838]

@@johnjohnsilver She'd enter a fair of rage if she saw all the bad acting in the current Square.

[@kevinlongman007]

@Champion Tonto the Wonder Horse Vanessa Paradise? Do you mean Vanessa Paradis?

[@huwwilson650]

For those who remember the hard times and when people really knew what it was like to be survivors - this really is a trip down memory lane!

[@cor8129]

I totally agree!

[@laminage]

Yes, I was reading Cheryl Ann Tweedy's Book from Girls Aloud and she and Kimberley Walsh grew up in a Neighborhood similar to this one. Alot of Boy Band/Girl Groups almost always grow up in Poverty but overcome.

[@willowmadhuridixit8991]

laminage this is the Eastend of London. Cheryl Tweedy is a Geordie, she grew up in Newcastle. Nothing like the EastEnd of London in those days! Her parents didn’t live in the true poverty of the old EastEnd days.

[@laminage]

@@willowmadhuridixit8991 My bad! Thanks for reminding me. These folks were true survivors. I look at The UK Blue Collar Families and they were more "realistic" than the US Blue Collar Families. The most memorable if not longest running were The Coopers on Guiding Light 1987-2009 where Socrates and his Brother Stavros came to the US From Greece whose real last name was Kouperakis. They ran a Diner Wheels & Meals that was built from Scratch. Yet their 5th Street was like Sesame Street. They would have fit right in if they visited Walford. I look at what Viki, Mark, Ian & Sharon went through and it was much rougher than what the US Soap Kids went through.

[@allyplumb]

This is when Eastenders had good actors, good scripts and believable plots and stories not dominated by chavs.

[@BLTKellys]

Back when working class people had dignity.

[@laminage]

@@BLTKellys What made EastEnders & Coronation Street is that they really showed the challenges of Working Class Life. 5th Street on Guiding Light (US) never had the issues that these folks had.

[@laminage]

@@BLTKellys Mal Young who worked on EastEnders worked on The Young & The Restless and "Tanked". He didn't realize that UK Soaps and US Soaps are as different as Night & Day. Daran Little who worked on Coronation Street also had issues when he wrote for All My Children in The US now he writes for EastEnders. Did The Older Actors like Lou Beale do Comedy, or Theater. In The US alot of the older Actors were in Movies and Broadway.

[@kevinlongman007]

@@laminage Anna Wing who played Lou Beale was a very experienced actress and had done plenty of theatre roles. This was her first big TV role.

[@softshallow7435]

It was good upto about 2000 then it all went down hill. All writers write for other soaps no wonder the storylines look so familiar.

[@johncook496]

Lou Beale - every family in the East End had one. Absolute legend.

[@BLTKellys]

In the country, not just there.

[@marctufano2162]

Brilliantly acted scene by Anna Wing. My favourite EastEnders actress. Rest in peace Lou Beal 🥺

[@con8200]

Michelle a lonely old spinster? Could Lou see into the future? She got it exactly right!

[@laminage]

I think that Dirty Den getting her pregnant and the like affected her to the point that she probably doesn't think she's worthy of having a proper relationship with a Man.

[@5516724]

Lou said it exactly direct, there was no messing around with her, she stood up for what she believed in

[@martinputt6421]

@@laminage She shouldn't have slept with him then

[@laminage]

Martin Putt Yeah but Dirty Den was so cunning and charming and sometimes young girls fall for that

[@martinputt6421]

@@laminage True

[@kevinlongman007]

Now Ian lives in that house and that room is twice the size!!

[@suzannechapman7598]

Because they knock through to Lou bedroom n made it into one room instead of the 2

[@psycoticbastard]

Was it done for Widescreen TV ..lol

[@tommyjd12345]

only because no bugger wants to live with him!

[@mrzombiezlay]

They got rid of the bedroom thats why wich was a front room but they nocked wall down

[@samanthab1923]

Thanks for explaining that. Before he did that who lived in the room after Lou died?

[@katiepratt3714]

R.I.P Anna Wing xx

[@gammergq]

Well she was spot on about Kathy look at her predicament now.

[@Eurafrican]

Love this scene! Summaries EE at the top of its game. Flawless ensemble acting, sparkling dialogue, sharp characterisation and attention to detail- everything 2015's EE lacks.

[@campgalore]

Great scene, I always thought it was an interesting idea that Lou just sort of decides her time on earth is done, despite not having any life threatening condition. You could say the character was such a force of nature that she had the ability to make that choice. I read that Anna Wing decided she wanted to leave and the producers were very against the idea and tried persuading her to stay on, which she declined.

[@Unicysis]

The way the camera slowly moves around every single Beale and Fowler member and the ominous silence feels like something out of the Godfather. Lou Corleone addressing the entire family.

[@innovativeinnovation6629]

Very very old fashion but this is brilliant. Reminds me of my Nan, " didn't make a fuss around the kiddies, but told the adults what they need to do"

[@fatimakhatun5788]

They old school....Kathy and Arthur calling their mother in law “mum” instead of by her name. Respectful

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

I kind of get it, but I always felt that it was oddly informal and disrespectful. I can't say why, but it seemed kind of creepy to me.

[@harveysgamingchannel4009]

I thought they were all brothers and sisters

[@Extra_050]

I came across an old letter not long ago, written by my grandmother to my great-grandmother (her mother-in-law), wherein she referred to her as "Mum" or "Mother". I think it was a generational thing.

[@sparkandflame]

Never agreed with calling the inlaws, "Mum and dad" I always felt the opposite to you, and found it disrespectful to your own parents.. who gave birth to you, raised you, put clothes on your back and made sure food was in your tummy. You shouldnt throw the word mum and dad to people .. its reserved only to your mother and father! If ever you are to divorce, the inlaws will go back to being addressed by their own names..

[@jhibberd6290]

It was not uncommon in the old days but my family never did it. My mum used to call her mother in law "granny" though because it didn't feel right calling her by her first name

[@robinnes2662]

Ian never did learn that lesson about money did he?

[@alexjones1985]

Think he's learnt it now. Shame it took Lucy's death to turn him round, though😪

[@alexjones1985]

Mind you, now she'd be I disappointed in him. "Lettin' an innocent man go to prison? To protect the killer? Shame on you!"

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

Rob Innes no never. Selfish and mercurial.

[@chelseaoliver5404]

Rob Innes none of them did really lol

[@kevinprior3549]

Michelle is still selfish even if she has changed her face!

[@craig39605]

Margaret Thatcher was the Iron Lady of politics back then. Lou Beale was the Iron Lady of Walford.

[@Uploads-su7vl]

Margaret Thatcher was Satan

[@scjones3516]

The Fowlers and Beales got owned! Lou rules - a legit matriarch!

[@RichelleBremner]

Gosh I remember this 😊 Anna Wing did this beautifully.

[@88pynogrl]

What she said to Pauline made me cry!❤❤❤

[@boutrosboutrosghaliboutros3148]

The woman who played Lu outlived the one who played Pauline fowler. .amazing woman. .

[@robertprees603]

Pauline turned into Lou and was probably a lot worse.

[@samanthab1923]

Robert Prees It's weird seeing this. Just heard Kathy say Ian was getting more like his Auntie Pauline, moaning all the time.

[@kieranmoss1501]

Lou was an old battle axe but she was such an icon. She was tough and tough for a reason. Eastenders has really gone to the rocks since 💔. Need an an actor exactly like her again to bring eastenders back to what it was back in the 80s

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

Don't worry, if we can just get a few muslim families into the show, it will bring Eastenders back to its former glory

[@sarahnez3444]

What an amazing scene 👏 and so outstandingly portrayed by Anna Wing, I don't even think that was rehearsed, just pure character, I had never seen this before, hats off to all involved 👍

[@candygarcia3482]

To tell the truth...my filled with tears and my heart bent..... I saw allot of myself in all of them..especially her daughter...😢

[@jamiedodger7830]

Classis Eastenders. Remember watching this when it air. Would of only been a kid. I'm 40 in a few months. Lou Beale was great.

[@SIZERRULE]

GO LOU!!! FIRM BUT FAIR! "yes gran" lol love it. Watching this in 2019! Who else?

[@s.b.7924]

Thanks for the memory. That was the BEST of Eastenders EVER. I wish the writing showed more of that than the silent screen drama with sound.

[@rosscol601]

Very wise and old fashioned woman.

[@softlystroll]

24 years after Lou left the show and Anna Wing is still on the go. Good on her.

[@kaysmith8992]

Can't believe she died only recently. I think the way they dressed back then also aged them.

[@Leeann-rz3ei]

​@@kaysmith8992not really

[@LL-fd7xn]

Lou pretty much summed up all of their futures here!

[@huwwilson650]

I wish the likes of Lou Beale were still around.

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

Why? She's a miserable old bag who slags off her own family

[@BenKellyMusic92]

She really was an absolute force of nature 💪 Good for you Lou, tell it like it is with the whole lot of them! My step grandmother is (luckily, for now!) very much like her, an East End Oracle 🧐

[@willowmadhuridixit8991]

Poor Lofty. remember crying my eyes out when it first aired. I loved Lofty.

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

Michelle was a bitch for breaking Lofty's heart. She's a user!

[@samanthahardy9903]

Lou reminds me so much of my nan. I miss Lou and my nan. God rest them.

[@alexjones1985]

She will 'ave another baby, Pete, but not by you! And don't get me started on the baby's father!

[@laminage]

Was the Little Boy Martin Fowler and who did Pauline get pregnant by? I live in Canada so I missed a lot of Episodes.

[@emikodragon]

They mean Kathy. Kathy married Phil Mitchell in the 90's and had Ben Mitchell.

[@kimgrattage2395]

Laminage. Yes, it was Martin as a young child, Arthur and Pauline's son. As far as I remember it was Arthur who had an affair, NOT Pauline. She didn't have a boyfriend until AFTER Arthur died.

[@feeltheforce10]

Thats called proper acting.Anna Wing used her eyes and that stare when giving her convictions.Wonderful.

[@laminage]

If this were a US Soap, Lou would have Won An Emmy Award and she would have been applauded for "Editor's Choice".

[@shawneecherrypie4331]

This show has decent acting from 1985-2009 then it died.

[@daniboy28]

I remeber this episode. I was in my mid 20's, and stationed in the UK (USAF). I got hooked on Eastenders early on. I figured Lou would have been long gone by now. I was shocked when she showed up at Wendy Richards' funeral; she looked great! Kind of strange how she outlived Ms Richards...

[@billydeeuk]

daniboy28 Cancer is a bitch

[@Rainbowqueen500]

Eastenders was so good back then, it made you really care about the characters.

[@gazzyb1079]

Good old Lou. The show desperately misses a character like her.

[@phoebe9149]

Damn, she was right about Michelle becoming a spinster😂😂😂

[@gazzyb1079]

If Anna wing had never had a personal crisis in faith over the shows moral direction I could have seen Lou being with us well into the 1990’s. her meeting the Mitchell’s would have been something!

[@LL-fd7xn]

Would od given Peggy her run for her money!

[@alexjones1985]

"Chelle, don't even bother to come back for yer' own mum's funeral! Selfish, that's wot you are!"

[@5516724]

Lou would have been discusted at the way Michelle turned out if she was around

[@CB-xr1eg]

@@5516724 Or disgusted.

[@5516724]

@@CB-xr1eg spell check mode again?

[@CB-xr1eg]

@@5516724 Always!👍

[@samanthab1923]

alex jones Why did she make that crack about Mark?

[@zaramariadixon39]

LEGEND! ! She was no fool!!

[@Hulk2k6]

Lou must have been vicious in her younger days. I can just see her giving a teenage Den serious evils whenever he came knocking for Pete, and giving Arthur the stink-eye when he started dating Pauline or threatening to hack Kenny's bits off when she caught him with Pat!

[@sambrown2322]

Lou was the definition of "I speak, everyone else listens!" ❤

[@galvatron3214]

Ive never seen this scene before, but i know what Lou Beale was like. I seriously thought she was gonna rip seven bells out of Arthur, but she was actually quite merciful on him. It was Michelle that she tore a new one to more than anyone else.

[@jenparry718]

Being reminded of that episode, i really think scriptwriters of later episodes should do some research before writing new ones. This scene is what makes it hard to believe that Pauline finds a sister in Ireland years later. Also, where did Dot's relative in Ireland come from. I know Dot wasn't in this scene, it just came to mind. Lou was to down to earth, to have spoken to Michelle that way knowing she also had an illegitemit daughter.

[@madeleinalazaris8138]

Well, when the daughter that Lou and Albert had before marriage was born, they had her adopted and it just wasn't a subject spoken about as it WAS the 30s. I think her rant at Michelle was more about the fact that she just used Lofty and wasn't the nicest to him, honestly she was a bit selfish towards him. All Lofty tried to do was to be there for them and provide and she treated him like he was nothing. Lou's comment "If you don't watch out, you'll end up a lonely old spinster" was about Michelle's selfishness more than anything.

[@mark-s]

​@@jenparry718 this was classic writing that was never as strong also better characters too then in the series than after the 90s I stopped watching but came back with Cindy's return and Xmas episodes have been good this year

[@gazzyb1079]

So much wisdom and gold n this speech....and none of them took a blind bit of notice.

[@METALLICARULES11]

Couldn't be any more fitting that on her last day on Albert Square she tells everyone exactly what she thinks of them.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

The crazy thing is that today is 2019, 21 years have passed since this episode, and all the characters from this scene who are still alive on-screen (Ian, Michelle, Kathy and Martin) are still in the series (although only Ian and Kathy are still played by same actors). Also, even though character of Lou died in 1988, long before Pauline, Anna Wing actually outlived Wendy Richard by four years.

[@mehhandle]

31 years, this was filmed in 1988.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

@@mehhandle Yes, you are absolutely right.

[@mehhandle]

@@miroslavtomic7038 I wish I wasn't right , I'd be well happy if 1988 was only 21 years ago lol. Time flys by to quickly when you're having fun 😊

[@zanducktv2398]

What she had to say to Ian kinda negated that earlier two hander when he broke down in her arms, the first time Julia’s Theme was used. Adam must have felt honoured to have worked with Anna.

[@KRONIKBASS808]

This is the time Martin came downstairs, later he went back upstairs for almost a decade 😂

[@laminage]

A similar thing happened on All My Children (1970-2011) where Bobby Martin went upstairs in the attic and they forgot him, kind of like Chuck on Happy Days. Then Samantha Marler went upstairs to study for her Law Exam and wasn't seen again.

[@chrisdawson6156]

Kathy was good looking back then and still is this is a great episode I was too young to remember it but the acting was great

[@Leeann-rz3ei]

Get glasses

[@chrisdawson6156]

@@Leeann-rz3ei Hi there why should I get glasses

[@Leeann-rz3ei]

@@chrisdawson6156 if you think Kathy was ever good looking you certainly need them.

[@chrisdawson6156]

@@Leeann-rz3ei Well she was good looking in the 1980s and 1990s but everyone has their own appinion

[@tonykennedy1352]

They don't build em' like Lou Beale anymore. Watching old episodes and clips of Eastenders reminds me so much of my relatives I barely remember, who died when I was too young but their spirit somehow exists in my memory.

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

The magnificent Anna Wing will be 100 years old next year! To think, the First World War broke out the year she was born, in 1914. This woman is LIVING history!

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

She's dead now

[@mariahoness6160]

Very true about michelle. She was a very selfish girl. And she has ended up a lonley old sinister.

[@Harris665]

I loved this scene and also the conversation Lou had with pat..

[@johnlaslett5339]

My nan used to tell people how it is. Brutal honesty is painful but it's the only way people listen.

[@Lady_Jay]

thank you for uploading this

[@camcab147]

I only remember bits of Eastenders when it first came out. I recognise all of those characters in this video and was younger than Michelle here. Now I'm around the age of Pauline, Kathy, Pete and Arthur and sat here thinking how young they look!

[@STEJTHEGREATEST]

Was always a cozy-looking room/house.

[@willar7]

lou beale was proper east end hard as nails but could have a laugh when needed nothing was black and white

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

Except her television set in the 1960s

[@hkazu63]

You know, she was right about Pauline. Right about all of them really. But Pauline’s stands out the most to me. They really did break the mould when they made her; the only downside was when the writers began to lose who she really was, they couldn’t find the one to put her back together.

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

Pauline was the Humpy Dumpty of Eastenders

[@amywhitmell2964]

I miss Lou Beale in eastenders since 19th February 1985 until 28th July 1988.

[@paulschnaars6046]

"Sit down Arthur, nobody interrupts Lou Beale in mid stream"

[@leonashmead6381]

Michelle’s face 😂😂😂 she got settled quickly!

[@laminage]

Another admirable thing is that The Beales & The Fowlers are still the heart & soul of the Show. Very smart move. When The Young & The Restless debuted in 1973 it focused on The Wealthy Brooks & The Blue Collar Fosters. Now it's about The Abbots and The Newmans.

[@mark-s]

"Youre alright kathy when you stay ordinary no airy fairy ideas above your station" i wander if kathy remembers these words today

[@rusrus29]

Those Elderly off 1980s London , really knew how to say things.."The post war generation " I imagine anyone reading this who are in their 40s/50s would agree.."Don't get Grans like that anymore hehe"

[@uniquerebeljaney3639]

My Nanna was a bit like this, she was a proper Nanna, it makes me sad that my little boy never got the chance to meet her.

[@theenglishkid8794]

That's because half the grans today are only around 30 years old after having about 10 kids at the age of 15 and ending up having a bunch of grankids.

[@HarryPotter-me4ww]

I miss Lou she was great in Eastenders she was wonderful

[@Ruthypops1]

Incredible scene

[@rtt806]

Rip Anna 💎 what a legend

[@ForestKicks]

That's a great shot @ 3:33 - you're looking right down Michelle's point of view as Lou lays into her. Great direction.

[@cawsofattitude]

also fantastic screen you dont get this now i really dont watch eastenders but the classic years is golden :)

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

I'm dying soon, so I'm going to make you all sit in front of me while I slag you all off This was the ultimate David Brent move

[@andrethomas7075]

So basically this get together was a character assassination and then a crappy old gift?

[@madeleinalazaris8138]

A very true character assassination as all her predictions about them turned out right 🤣😂

[@Aussietari]

With the Sad Passing of June🥀Brown Today, "Albert Square," is now without Dot Cotton, &. It will Never be the Same Again.😥

[@ismayb754]

the sad thing is, none of them took her advice. Ian continued to care about money, Michelle continued to be selfish (albeit offscreen), Pauline let herself get old and frumpy before her time.

[@thatguyluke242]

Kathy did have another baby tho Although not from Pete

[@samanthab1923]

ismay b All the deaths too. Pete, Mark, Arthur, Pauline, Lucy. Divorces, prison, bankrupted.

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

@@thatguyluke242 Kathy was wrong to have another mans spunk up her minge, she should have stayed loyal to Pete

[@MrAlbertSquared]

Suffice it to say, they didn't take Lou's advice to heart.

[@kristiansfan]

I miss the old eastenders that was great!

[@monalisasmile6629]

And irl, the actress who played Lou Beale outlived Wendy Richard.

[@dollyandayrton1894]

It was so funny how she insulted everyone LOL

[@doitanywayz]

it's funny because Ian turned out to be a failure and Pauleine died miserable and sad! and never smiled! nothing changed for them then!

[@kaysmith8992]

"Don't get airy fairy ideas above your station", would love to know what that wartime generation would think of today's 'celebs' and 'influencers'

[@gannyandalfie170]

Loved lou wasn't the same when she left x

[@suzannahchirgwin-wade8751]

Well said Lou you tell them ,it's about time she start sorting out the family

[@Randyyy2468]

Story telling at its absolute best.

[@MyJohney]

OMG FLASHBACK I remember watching this episode....lou Beal

[@sethcorn7933]

R.I.P Anna wing and Wendy Richard.

[@ryanwilliams1800]

i don't need a piece of metal to remind me i was once married!

[@laminage]

Lou was so ight on about Ian and Money. If this were a US Soap Anna Wing would have gotten an Emmy award. You couldn't have a US Matriarch talking to her Family like this. Not Alice Horton (Days Of Our Lives), Not Nancy Hughes (As The World Turns) and not Bert Bauer (Guiding Light) who are all dead but they didn't have to struggle the way Lou Beale did.

[@chrisrowe7503]

I still never to this day get how Lou knew she was going to die that very night.

[@williamf4544]

Well lets hope you dont get to know any time soon - but you will one day