Thomas Law reprises Peter Beale role in EastEnders

Following his surprise return in tonight’s episode, Peter Beale is making his way back to Walford alongside parents Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and Cindy (Michelle Collins), later this summer as Thomas Law reprises the role.

It was revealed in tonight’s special episode – featuring the trio living in France – that Cindy, aka Rose Knight, had been placed in witness protection after her purported death in 1998.

Louie, Peter’s 7-year-old son, was shown visiting while Jacqueline Jossa made a surprise appearance as Lauren Branning, Peter’s ex, who almost agreed to give their relationship another go until she discovered the truth about Cindy which Peter had kept from her.

Law previously played the role of Peter between 2006-2010.

The character has since been played by Ben Hardy and Dayle Hudson, however, EastEnders has a reputation for ‘reverse recasting’, recently bringing back Kim Medcalf to play Sam Mitchell after Danniella Westbrook had reprised the role for a few short periods.

Speaking about his return to the show, Thomas said:

“Over the years, I had hoped for a return to the Square although I never thought it would happen so it’s an absolute delight to be back in Walford as Peter Beale. It’s been great to see familiar and new faces, and I can’t wait to explore the character again in the wake of Cindy’s return – it’s an exciting time to return!”

The character of Peter has been involved in some of the show’s most iconic storylines, including the gripping Who Killed Lucy Beale saga in 2014 that saw younger brother Bobby (Clay Milner Russell) imprisoned for his sister’s death.

Last seen in July 2022, he left Walford in a huff after being beaten up by Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) in a case of mistaken identity, feeling unsupported by his grandmother Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), who stood by Ben.

Chris Clenshaw, Executive Producer said;

“I’m thrilled to welcome Thomas back to the role of Peter Beale. Although his time away from the Square has been short-lived, the Beale family dynamics have changed immensely since he last left Walford. Viewers will soon learn the details relating to how he came to learn that his mum, Cindy, was in fact alive, and how he and dad, Ian, reconciled their differences. We’re delighted to have him back permanently, but one thing is for certain, the Beale’s comeback will be nothing less than explosive for the Square.”

Viewers will have to tune in for more information on how and why the Beale family have reunited, but it has been teased that their return will be “far from smooth sailing” as they come into contact with old faces back in Walford.

In tonight’s episode, it emerged that Cindy’s death in 1998 while on remand for hiring a hitman to shoot Ian was all a ruse – she was given a new identity after informing on a gangster cellmate. Since learning of Cindy’s true fate about a year ago, Ian has been helping her, leading to an unlikely reunion between the pair and they have since been joined in France by Peter.

Cindy is now free to return to Walford should she wish to after a police officer informed her that the cellmate had recently died and the risk with her.

As we learned from Wednesday’s episode, her alter ego Rose is the missing wife of new Queen Vic co-owner George Knight (Colin Salmon) and the mother of his daughters, Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford).

EastEnders airs Monday-Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer