EastEnders trouble. Co-creator Tony Holland was from a large East End family, and such families have typified "EastEnders". The first central family was the combination of the Fowler family, consisting of Pauline Fowler, her husband Arthur, and teenage children Mark and Michelle. Pauline's family, the Beales, consisted of Pauline's twin brother Pete Beale, his wife Kathy and their teenage son Ian. Pauline and Pete's domineering mother Lou Beale lived with Pauline and her family. Holland drew on the names of his own family for the characters. The Watts and Mitchell families have been central to many notable "EastEnders" storylines, the show
Pauline Fowler setup of a woman named Lou Beale, with twin children Pete and Pauline, was recreated on-screen as the first family of "EastEnders", the Beales and Fowlers. Pauline's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appears in an abridged form in their book, "EastEnders: The Inside Story". From the beginning, Smith considered the role ideal for Wendy Richard, with whom she had worked on the 1960s BBC soap, "The Newcomers"; Holland and Smith decided to approach her about the role, even though their casting policy was not to use "stars"—Richard was already well known in the UK for playing