used by Pete was a metallic pewter tankard; Pete had his own tankard kept at the soap's public house, which Pete allegedly drank beer from. However, Peter Dean, a Buddhist, would only drink lemonade in pub scenes and therefore the tankard had to be used to disguise the fact that he was not really supping beer. Development Pete Beale was initially scheduled to be a short-term character. It had been decided way in advance that the big New Year cliffhanger of 1986 would be the killing-off of a character and the chosen person had to have the greatest effect on the remaining characters. Pete Beale was the obvious choice as his death would leave Kathy a widow and Ian (his son) would have to take over as head of the house. Lou was his mother, Pauline his sister and Den Watts his best friend, and everyone knew him from the fruit and veg stall, so storylines were planned in which Pete would have a heart-attack; a shock tactic to revive interest in the show after the excitement of Christmas. At the last minute, Julia Smith got "cold feet" and decided that Pete was too useful a character to lose so early in the programme's history; like Pauline he was considered a linchpin character. A new shock storyline was needed and so it was decided to introduce Den's mistress Jan Hammond into the show instead. One of the most notable storylines featuring Pete revolved around the paternity of his alleged son, Simon Wicks (Nick Berry). Pete was shell-shocked to discover that Simon, was not really his child, and that he was possibly the son of his brother Kenny (Michael Attwell). The storyline spanned several years, since the arrival of Pete's first wife Pat (Pam St Clement) in 1986, until the long-awaited showdown between Pete, Pat and Kenny in February 1988. The episode written by Tony McHale contained shocking revelations that would affect several relationships on the Square for years to come. In the on-screen events, Simon was shown to bond with Kenny, despite Pat admitting that she did not know which of the Beale brothers had fathered Wicksy. A final plot twist mid-1988 saw Pat finally reveal what she thought was the truth, that Simon's real father was Brian Wicks (Leslie Schofield), Pat's second husband and Wicksy's adoptive father. Despite this revelation on-screen, writer Colin Brake stated in an official EastEnders'