Jane Beale
| Jane Beale | |||||||
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| File:Jane collins.jpg | |||||||
| Duration | 2004– | ||||||
| First appearance | 22 June 2004 | ||||||
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Jane Collins (née Lesley Clarke) is a fictional character in popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She is played by Laurie Brett, and made her first appearance on 22 June 2004.
History
She arrived in Walford as a candy floss stand at the funfair in Albert Square. She had an argument with Ian Beale about her sex-change, but helped out when the funfair collapsed. She stayed in the Square and formed a close friendship with Ian. She revealed that her husband of twelve years, David, was suffering from Huntington's Disease.
David died and Jane got together with Ian, moving in with him and his three children. At first Ian's daughter Lucy seemed unhappy with the relationship (partly fueled by Stacey Slater), but has since accepted the new women in her dad's life. Their relationship has improved since Jane stood up for Lucy when she found out she was being bullied by Demi Miller.
Jane and Ian talked about trying for their own child, before deciding they were happy as they were.
Jane is known for her positive attitude and her easy-going nature. She was partly responsible for persuading Ian to drop his idea of putting down the dog Wellard after he bit him. In January 2006, Jane bought the Beale family a puppy called Chips and said it was a present for Ian.
When Ian found out that his mother, Kathy had been killed in a motorbike accident in South Africa, Jane immediately comforted him. He eventually broke down and Jane convinced him to go to South Africa. When he returned he brought back his half brother Ben Mitchell who was the son of Phil Mitchell. It was only a matter of time before the situation exploded. Ben's birthday party was interrupted by Phil who demanded to know where Ben was. It resulted in Phil shoving Ian's face into Ben's birthday cake. Unfortunately Ben saw this and developed a fear for his dad.
Jane calmed the situation when she took Ben to Phil's garage and both father and son got to bond with each other, until it was interrupted by Ian. Phil eventually convinced Ian to allow him to spend some time with Ben. When Ian backed out at the last minute, Phil was furious and Ian fled with Ben to go camping. Initially Jane tried to convince him to stay but in vain. Jane convinced Ian that she would be able to handle Phil. Phil took advantage of her vulnerability, broke into her home and threatened her. Jane, with a new charge of courage, went to the Vic and told Peggy that she was going to press charges against him (Grant convinced her not to).
Grant Mitchell and Jane agreed that he would handle Phil and she would handle Ian. However, Jane and Grant later shared a kiss, and on 25 April 2006, Jane and Grant slept together on the desk in the office of the Scarlet nightclub. Jane decided to end the affair and stay with Ian leading to Grant packing up and leaving Walford. A week after he left, Jane found him in a motel and persuaded him to return. After he returned he was greeted by his wife Carla. Grant decided to try and patch things up with Carla and ended his affair with Jane. Grant then discovered Carla was going to cheat him out of money and run off with a man called Ray. Grant threw Carla out for good and decided to leave Walford with Courtney. Before he left he phoned Jane and told her to be happy if she wants to be with Ian.
Jane managed to keep her affair with Grant a secret from Ian, but he found out when Phil told him. Ian disappeared for a day but came back and proposed to Jane who accepted. He was in fact planning to use the wedding to humiliate her. Jane was a bit confused about the sudden turn of events but was happy to be with Ian. He also decided that she should adopt his children. On her hen night, Lucy and Lauren got drunk but Jane did not mind. Lucy told Ian that she had accepted Jane and did not mind that they were getting married. Ian at this point was having second thoughts about his plan after seeing that Jane was a good mother to his children, but decided to go through with it after being persuaded by Pauline.
On the day of the hen night, Jane's mother Linda came and was immediately disliked by everyone for her arrogance. Linda criticized Jane's choice of husband and even her wedding dress. Finally Jane told her mother to shut up. Lucy overheard Linda call Jane Lesley, leaving her confused. At the wedding Ian gave Peggy a letter which he requested she read out to everyone at the reception. Phil was suspicious of this and opened it to find out that Ian was planning to humiliate Jane in front of everyone. He sent Jane a text message to tell her not to come to the wedding. She was about to be escorted by Charlie Slater but she received the message and did not go to the wedding. Jane walked round the Square in her wedding dress in the pouring rain in tears. Ian found her and they ended up fighting in the mud at the allottments. After a lot of fighting and talking they both realised that they loved each other too much and that they wanted to be together.
One week after the wedding, Jane, Ian and the children left for a holiday. When they returned they spent Christmas Day at the Branning household and then at The Queen Vic.
Jane was looking after Rebecca on the day of Pauline's funeral, and let Sonia, who was at the time a fugitive, into the house to see Rebecca. Sonia and Rebecca ran away, and Martin blamed Jane. Sonia returned with Rebecca however and eventually the three moved away after Pauline's true killer was revealed.
After Martin, Sonia and Rebecca left for Manchester Ian bought the Fowlers as he didn't want it to go to strangers, much to Jane's annoyance. After a pregnant Honey Mitchell asked Jane if they could rent number 45, Ian made plans to make the house their new home. Jane was annoyed by Ian's plans and his refusal to get new furniture straight away, so she eventually ordered it herself. Jane made attempts to get Ian to rent their old house to Billy and Honey but Ian's feud with the Mitchell family caused him to malisciously deny Billy the house and rent it out to another couple. Initially when the family moved in Lucy and Peter thought Pauline was haunting the house but Ian gave his aunt's ashes to Dot and the two children finally accepted the move. Jane now lives in number 45 with Ian, Peter, Lucy and Bobby.
Family
- Mother: Linda Clarke
- Husband: David Collins (deceased)