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
Lisa Fowler Lisa Fowler Lisa Fowler (also Shaw) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Lucy Benjamin. The character was introduced as a "home-wrecking blonde" by executive producer Matthew Robinson on 7 December 1998. Show scriptwriters and BBC controller of drama, Mal Young, doubted Benjamin's casting in the role. Lisa is characterised as "a loyal, romantic Earth Mother" who is "feisty, independent and ambitious". However, after a volatile relationship with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), Lisa became an "eternal victim". The characters became instrumental in one of "EastEnders" most highly publicised and anticipated storylines, dubbed Who Shot Phil?