Christmas – it’s always the deadliest time in the world of EastEnders, when many a surprise death is aired, ensuring that there’s not a dry eye in the house as the turkey is carved. But, as if to even the balance, you can usually count on a birth or two too.
Over the past forty years, many a Walford resident has departed this mortal coil on or around Christmas Day – while others are welcomed into the world amid the explosive drama and family arguments.
Join us as we revisit all the biggest births and deaths in EastEnders history…
EastEnders Christmas births: Steven Beale
Steven Beale was the first Walford babe to be born at Christmas, arriving on Boxing Day 1989.
He was the spawn of Cindy Beale and her secret lover/brother-in-law Simon Wicks, but Cindy allowed her husband Ian to believe he was the baby Steven’s father. The truth came out the following year when Cindy and Simon resumed their affair and decided to leave Walford with their son.
She returned to Ian in 1992 and he raised Steven as his own. However, Steven was rotten to the core, just like his mum. He made Ian’s life hell for years, before being killed off in 2017.
Jasmine O’Brien
Jasmine’s mum Disa O’Brien gave birth to her daughter alone in an abandoned building on Christmas Day 1990.
Unable to care for the tot (who she originally called Billie), Jasmine left her in a cardboard box on Diane Butcher’s doorstep. Baby Billie was soon discovered by Diane and Mark Fowler. The pair tracked Disa down and brought her back to Walford. With the help of Diane and Dot Cotton, Disa started to bond with Billie, who she renamed Jasmine.
It was later revealed Jasmine was the product of abuse and her father Disa’s stepfather Ken Raynor. He was sent to jail and Disa took Jasmine to live in Sunderland.
Liam Butcher
Bianca and Ricky Butcher’s bundle of joy, Liam, arrived a lot earlier than scheduled. He was born on Christmas Day 1998 after Bianca went into labour during a row with nemesis Grant Mitchell.
Ricky was nowhere to be found and a power cut meant local telephone lines were down (these were the days before mobile phones – imagine!), so Bianca was forced to stay put at The Vic. Grant then acted as midwife until the real one arrived, shortly followed by Ricky.
Bianca delivered a baby boy five weeks early on Grant’s bed, before mum and son were taken off to hospital to be checked over.
EastEnders Christmas births: James Branning and Tommy Moon
There was cause for a double celebration in Walford on December 30, 2010.
Ronnie Branning’s dreams of being a mum again came true as she and husband Jack welcomed little James into the world. And Kat Moon gave birth to her son Tommy.
The tots returned home to Walford, but tragedy struck the next day when Ronnie discovered James dead in his cot. He had passed away from sudden infant death syndrome. In a heartbroken haze, Ronnie wandered across the Square with James in her arms. She heard Tommy crying from upstairs in The Vic, and swapped her dead son with Kat’s.
The shocking baby swap storyline was one of EastEnders’ most controversial to date, and it would be months before Kat realised her son was actually still alive.
Matthew Cotton
Matthew was born via emergency c-section after pregnant Ronnie was critically injured a car crash, caused by Nick Cotton.
Despite the severity of his mum’s injuries, little Matthew arrived relatively unscathed. Ronnie was then placed in an induced coma for a number of weeks. Ronnie’s husband Charlie (who was also travelling in the car) was too traumatised to bond with his son.
Matthew was left in the care of his aunt Roxy and her boyfriend Aleks Shirovs until Ronnie made a recovery.
Arthur Fowler Jnr
Arthur made a rather dramatic entrance into the world on Christmas Eve 2015.
Stacey went into labour during daughter Lily’s nativity performance at the local community centre. With labour progressing fast, Stacey was forced to deliver her baby on the stage with the help of Babe Smith and Shabnam Masood.
Martin was overjoyed at the arrival of his son, but what he didn’t know was his best mate Kush was actually Arthur’s dad.
Baby Abi with her granddad, Max (Credit: BBC)
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
