7 EastEnders favourites you might've forgotten were named after other characters
Baby Peggy joins the list of kids named in honour of another local
EastEnders legend Peggy Mitchell lives on as Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) names her newborn baby girl after her indomitable grandmother.
It's a nice nod to the soap's past and acknowledgement of the Mitchell obsession with 'faaaamily', but it's not the first time kids have carried the name of another character, or have an unusual story behind what goes on their birth certificate. Here's a list of current Walford residents and who they were named after - some are pretty obvious, but others might surprise you…
1. Louise Mitchell - after her (fake) grandmother
Lou may have named her daughter after her formidable grandmother, but she herself was named after another mighty much-missed matriarch, Lou Beale. Hang on, isn’t that the wrong family? Allow us to explain...
When Lisa got pregnant in 2001 she didn’t want bullying ex Phil anywhere near her bubba, so kindly friend Mark Fowler agreed to pose as the baby’s dad and bring her up as a Fowler – hence naming her after his gran to strengthen the story. Phil had no idea he was the child’s biological father until Sharon found out and blabbed, and Louise was eventually lured over to the dark side of the Mitchells. At least she wasn’t named Pauline.
2. Tiffany Butcher-Baker - after her mum's best mate
Tiff is named after mum Bianca’s dear departed BFF Tiffany Mitchell who was played, of course, by Martine McCutcheon. That’s all very nice, but considering Tiff’s granddad Frank Butcher (Ricky’s dad) mowed her namesake down in a tragic car accident on New Year’s Eve 1998, isn’t it also a bit morbid?
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3. Denny Rickman - after his dead dad
Bearing the name of the father he never knew, Dennis Junior is a reminder of one of the most traumatic events of mum Sharon’s life. Pregnant with a miracle baby she never thought she’d have, she cradled dying husband Dennis Senior after he was stabbed when a hit was taken out on him by Ruby Allen’s gangster dad Johnny on New Year’s Eve 2005 (what is it about New Year’s Eve?) then named their son in his memory when he came along the following summer.
4. Pearl Fox-Hubbard - after the soap's anniversary
The little’un’s moniker is something of a self-referential in-joke. Kim’s baby girl was born in the Queen Vic loos during EastEnders’ 30th anniversary live episode in 2015, and was named Pearl as that’s the traditional symbol of celebrating something that’s been going for three decades, whether it’s a marriage or a long-running BBC soap opera.
5. Amy Mitchell - after the birth name of her dead cousin
Backstory told us Ronnie Mitchell (RIP) was forced to put her baby, Amy, up for adoption after giving birth in her teens and never got over the trauma. So when her sister Roxy Mitchell (RIP) had a little girl in 2008 she named her in memory of the niece she never knew, and their dad Archie Mitchell claimed had later died.
Turns out 'Amy' was still alive and working in the market - mousy stall-holder Danielle Jones was Ronnie's long-lost daughter all grown up and had tracked her mum down. That didn't end well…
6. Ricky Mitchell - after the person his mum pretended was his dad
Man-eater Sam Mitchell claimed old flame Ricky was her baby daddy and deliberately named her son Richard, born in 2010, after her childhood sweetheart. However, a negative paternity test revealed it was all a ruse to lure him away from love rival Bianca and Jack Branning was the real father.
Sam left in disgrace with the lad but when they returned for Peggy's funeral in 2016 she was struggling as a single mum and left him with Jack. He is now raising his son named after someone else. He doesn't seem to mind.
7. Arthur Fowler - after his granddad (except he's not)
Another confusing case of passing down a name from the wrong family is Stacey Fowler's son. Born on Christmas Eve 2015, Arthur was named after Stacey's husband Martin's late father, who passed away in 1996 when Martin was just a kid.
However, after Stacey suffered from severe postpartum psychosis Martin discovered his bezzie mate Kush Kazemi was Arthur's biological dad, the result of a liaison between him and Stace while she and Martin were on the proverbial break.
Everyone rubs along together co-parenting nicely, until Kush needs a storyline and he pushes to get custody of the kid…
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