Ian enters Bobby (now Alex Francis) into a talent contest but cheats by enlisting another child to sing while Bobby mimes. When Ian's deceit is revealed, Bobby is left exposed and upset. Jane leaves temporarily and Bobby becomes troubled. When Ian catches Bobby bullying his cousin Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) and confronts him, Bobby shouts that he wants his mum. He disappears from school to look for Jane, and it is Jane who finds him. She formally adopts him. Bobby and Ian plan a surprise 40th-birthday party for her, but when they see her kissing a man named Martin (Alisdair Harvey), Ian's reaction leads Jane to divorce him, leaving Walford to protect Bobby from their acrimonious arguments. In August, Bobby is misinformed of Jane's death after Ian starts telling people he is a widower. Bobby is upset so Ian tells him that he was only joking and calls Jane to prove that she is alive. When Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton) moves in with them, she and Bobby start to bond but Bobby still visits Jane, and she briefly returns to Walford prior to accepting a catering job in Wales. When Mandy dumps Ian, he suffers a nervous breakdown and goes missing, leaving Bobby in Lucy's care. Several weeks later Ian returns after having been living homeless, scaring Bobby with his unkempt appearance.