When she first arrived in the square, Mel started working for local businessman Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). They soon begin dating and Ian later requests Mel to help with his children; Mel finds the children hard to deal with at first but grows to love them. Ian and Mel plan to marry, but Mel gets cold feet – realising she doesn't truly love Ian. When Ian discovers this, he claims that his daughter Lucy (Casey Anne Rothery) is dying of cancer in a desperate bid to retain his romantic bond with Mel; she gives in and later agrees to marry him. The pair marry on New Year's Eve 1999, in a double wedding with fellow neighbors Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) and Natalie Evans (Lucy Speed). At their reception, however, Mel discovers a letter that Ian threw away – which officially gave Lucy the all-clear; she confronts Ian and, after he admits to lying about his daughter's health, dumps him just as the clock strikes midnight and the new millennium begins.