BBC/Composite: EastEnders Insider Share By Joel Harley Jul 24 2025 By Joel Harley Jul 24 2025 With Anthony returning to EastEnders, 5 times the soap killed the wrong sibling The wrong brother died Anthony Trueman Features Share By Joel Harley Jul 24 2025 By Joel Harley Jul 24 2025 Nicholas Bailey is set to reprise his role as Anthony Trueman in EastEnders later this year, returning to Walford for dad Patrick’s wedding to Yolande, and almost two decades after brother Paul was killed off. This is exciting news for Patrick, whose son hasn’t been seen in Walford in 11 years. Fans of the soap’s 00s’ era will be pleased to see the return of Albert Square’s one-time resident doctor… but for some, there’s a niggling feeling over what we could have had. There’s no denying that Anthony’s an interesting figure from the soap’s past… but is he the one we really want to see? After all, wasn’t brother Paul the more interesting one? Here’s why EastEnders killed the wrong Trueman brother – and four more times they repeated that mistake. Paul was Anthony’s rebellious brother (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Five times EastEnders killed off the wrong sibling 1. Paul Trueman Paul Trueman was the half-brother of golden child Anthony. Unlike Anthony, Paul was never academically inclined, and brought shame upon the family after leaving a girl seriously injured in a drunken car crash. Or did he? It was actually Anthony who had been driving, and Paul took the rap to save his brother. After doing so, Paul became estranged from mother Audrey (who disowned him for the crime) and dad Patrick (who’d walked out on his boys when they were children). Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers As a result of his difficult past and fractured relationship with his parents, Paul was always more interesting than brother Anthony. Sadly, his criminal tendencies led to his downfall after he became involved with local crime lord Andy Hunter. Paul incurred Andy’s wrath after tattling to the police about his criminal enterprises, and was picked up by a hitman before he could flee Walford. Paul’s subsequent death occurred off-screen (with a plea to ‘make it quick’), although a distraught Patrick did later identify the body. Granted, the soap didn’t have much choice in the matter. Star Gary Beadle reportedly chose to leave in protest at Paul being turned into a drug dealer, describing the move as a ‘stereotyping’ black men. It’ll be good to have Anthony back after all these years – but just think about what we could have had. Good whodunnit, bad choice of Beale (Credit: BBC/YouTube) 2. Lucy Beale With apologies to Peter Beale. Lucy Beale was at the heart of a massive whodunnit in 2014, after a mystery figure struck out and killed her. During that time, all manner of suspects emerged, from Lucy’s own dad to an uncharacteristically creepy Billy Mitchell. The soap eventually revealed that it was little Bobby Beale who done it, but not before letting Max Branning go down for the crime. Max was released when the truth came out, but the damage had been done. Not least to Lucy Beale, who had historically always been the more interesting Beale twin. Nothing Peter has done since has quite convinced us otherwise either, from his often cruel treatment of Lauren, to his tendency to follow in dad Ian’s footsteps. Furthermore, due to Lucy’s death, we’ve missed out on the reunion between her and Cindy. We can’t imagine she’d put up with nearly as much of Cindy’s nonsense as pushover Peter does. Steven really took after his mother (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Five times EastEnders killed off the wrong sibling continued 3. Steven Beale With more apologies to Peter Beale. There are black sheep, and then there’s Steven Beale. After pretending to be his own dead mother, he held Ian hostage for weeks, tormenting him in revenge for Cindy’s ‘death.’ After shooting Jane – making her unable to have children of her own – Steven was somehow welcomed into the Beale fold, where he continued to wreak even more havoc. Between accusing Christian of coming on to him, he also facilitated teenage runaway Lucy’s flight from Walford. Grandma Pat almost caught him out, so Steven tried to keep her quiet by attempting to smother her to death. He resumed his scheming and manipulating when he returned from New Zealand in 2016, now latching onto Lauren Branning instead. After trying to get her pregnant by poking holes in condoms, Steven tried to save their relationship by lying about having a brain tumour. At the same time, he was also sleeping with Lauren’s sister, Abi. With so many secrets piling up, Max blackmailed Steven into helping with his revenge plot against the Beales. This culminated in a disastrous fire at the family restaurant, in which Steven finally hit back again Max. During the ensuing scuffle, Steven was grievously injured, and later died. In doing so, Peter outlived another sibling far more interesting than himself. Abi was always overshadowed by her big sister (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Five times EastEnders killed off the wrong sibling continued 4. Abi Branning With apologies to Peter Beale’s fiancée. Lauren Branning‘s been through a lot in her time in Walford, from her struggle with alcoholism to the whole traumatic Steven Beale thing (see above). This often had the tendency to overshadow younger sister Abi’s problems while The Lauren Show continued. Unlike Jacqueline Jossa, star Lorna Fitzgerald had been on the show since she was a child, allowing audiences to watch her grow up on screen. This involved her transition from sweet, animal-loving child to a more bitter, resentful figure. Her villain arc began as she dumped Jay Brown for a relationship with his pal Ben Mitchell, before her subsequent affair with Steven. She was also one of the prime suspects in Lucy’s murder, having shared a violent confrontation on the day she died. This sense of growth and history made her death all the more impactful when she took that fatal tumble from The Queen Vic tumble. All that opportunity trickling away, as she bled out on the pavement. Jags died in prison after being set up by his mum (Credit: BBC) 5. Jags Panesar With no disrespect to Vinny, who is very nice to look at. Brother Jags fell victim to mum Suki’s scheming when he became involved with Habiba Ahmed. Fuming at her Sikh son dating a Muslim woman, Suki framed him for Vinny’s attack on Martin Fowler, letting him go to prison as punishment. A few years later, and Jags died behind bars due to a dispute with the Mitchells. Vinny, meanwhile, got away more-or-less scot-free. This would be excusable if Vinny had achieved anything of note during the subsequent years, but he’s kind of faded into the background instead. Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Good to Know Share By Joel Harley Jul 24 2025 By Joel Harley Jul 24 2025
