EASTENDERS’ Adam Woodyatt has teased there will be “terrible guilt and ultimate betrayal” for his character Ian Beale and friend Sharon Watts.
Speaking ahead of the show’s return on Monday 7th September after a three-month break, the actor admitted his deadly secret about Denny Watts’ demise will test his friendship with Sharon.
The old pals were revealed as the new owners of the Queen Vic, having beaten Phil Mitchell to buying the pub from the Carters.
What seemed like a business venture between two friends, was actually a ruse for Ian to assuage his guilt over the secret he’s hiding from Shazza about the unfortunate death of her son.
Fans will remember that the tearaway teen had been locked below deck by Ian Beale for picking on his son Bobby, but disaster struck when the boat crashed and began filling with water.
Sharon is currently convinced that Phil is to blame for the death of her son after she discovered that his fight with Keanu caused the boat to crash.
However, Dotty is onto Ian after stumbling across Denny’s voicemail begging Ian to let him out of the room.
The incriminating message proves that Ian is the real killer, and Dotty is using it to blackmail him into handing over the keys to the Arches.
Adam said of the situation: “It seems there’s nothing Ian won’t do to keep Sharon happy, he just has the little issue of not admitting what really happened on the night Denny died. It’s an age old yet timeless dynamic – the one person Sharon trusts the most has committed the ultimate betrayal.
“After everything she went through with losing her eldest son, giving birth to Kayden, the drama with Phil and Keanu and eventually Phil kicking her out, Ian is striving to be there for her even more so because of the terrible guilt he feels at being to blame for Denny’s death.
“It’s a really interesting dynamic to play out, especially as they have been in lockdown at the pub together.”
EastEnders bosses have now confirmed when the soap will return and revealed the drama will kick off with Dotty Cotton finally telling Sharon the truth.
“Ian has been lulled into a false sense of security about Dotty,”says Woodyatt. “In the first part of lockdown it was so strict and the pub had to shut, so Ian would’ve been pretty cut off from the rest of the Square.”
“Without giving too much away there is plenty coming up for Ian,” he teased. “He has got money worries, things aren’t looking good for him especially with regard to his new business venture, plus Dotty, his guilty secret and how the rest of the family have dealt with lockdown. It’s certainly not going to be quiet.
“But as we return things are opening up again and Dotty is not going to give Ian an easy ride. Any hope she might have miraculously decided to drop the whole thing are out the window! His friendship with Sharon is going to be tested in a few different ways.”
