a secret. Vicki, named in honour of her great-grandparents Lou Beale (Anna Wing) and Lou's late husband Albert, is born in 1986 and Den is allowed to hold her but he and Michelle agree that he should keep his distance so nobody guesses he is her father. Michelle raises Vicki with her fiancé, Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt), who she marries after jilting him at the altar, although Den provides for Vicki secretly. After Sue Osman (Sandy Ratcliff) realises that she has had a phantom pregnancy, she is devastated and suggests to Michelle that she lets her and Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih) adopt Vicki, which infuriates Michelle. Vicki's grandmother, Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), realises Den is Vicki's father when she sees him give money to Michelle and slaps him. Lofty begins to pressure Michelle to let him adopt Vicki and have another child, but their marriage soon breaks down after Michelle has an abortion and Michelle refuses to name Vicki's father upon Lofty's departure. When Den is shot and presumed dead, Michelle tells Sharon that Vicki is her half-sister and Sharon is devastated whilst Arthur is furious. Vicki survives meningitis but Dr Legg (Leonard Fenton) fails to diagnose it, reuniting Michelle and Sharon. Michelle decides to go on the run with Clyde Tavernier (Steven Woodcock) after he is accused of murdering Eddie Royle (Michael Melia), taking Vicki and Kofi Tavernier (Marcel Smith), Clyde's son, with them. Michelle and Clyde are caught by the police when trying to flee the country and Vicki and Kofi are sent to a children's home, but are later collected by their grandmothers. Vicki is kidnapped when an old woman, Audrey Whittingham (Shirley Dixon), takes her from outside her school. A national police investigation is launched and Vicki is returned home safely. When Michelle is shot by Dougie Briggs (Max Gold), Vicki discovers she is Sharon's half-sister when she stays with Sharon and her husband, Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and the following day, Sharon tells Vicki about her father, which infuriates Michelle. The truth about Vicki's paternity spreads and Michelle's aunt, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), is upset about not being told by Michelle herself, finding out from Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton). In October 1995, Michelle and 9-year-old Vicki leave Walford for Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States. 2003–2004 A teenage Vicki returns to Walford in February 2003 when she runs away from home. She has been arguing