EastEnders created the Beale and Fowler family, drawing on his own background. His mother, Ethel Holland, was one of four sisters raised in Walthamstow. Her eldest sister, Lou, had married a man named Albert Beale and had two children, named Peter and Pauline. These family members were the basis for Lou Beale, Pete Beale and Pauline Fowler. Holland also created Pauline's unemployed husband Arthur Fowler, their children Mark Fowler and Michelle Fowler, Pete's wife Kathy Beale and their son Ian Beale. Smith used her personal memories of East End residents she met when researching Victorian squares. Ethel Skinner was based on
Tom Banks (EastEnders) Tom Banks (EastEnders) Tom Banks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Colm Ó Maonlaí from 23 April to 1 November 2002. Introduced in April 2002 as a love interest for Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), producers made the decision to axe the character and he was killed off in November 2002. The character was allegedly popular with female viewers who voted him the eighth sexiest male character to appear in "EastEnders" in a 2005 poll. Tom was a Merchant Marine who was friends with Mark Fowler and Sharon Watts when they were children. He also