rage at Janine, but gets overpowered in the end. Janine later stops Laura from getting a job by badmouthing her and in his response, Laura ruins Janine's business venture, this leads to Janine confronting Laura in her home. The argument escalates into a fight, which ends with Janine overpowering Laura and vowing revenge on her before leaving. An emotional Laura then decides to tell Ian he is Bobby's father but he shuns her. She writes him a letter but moments later, Ian visits her flat as he feels guilty. In her haste to answer the door, she runs down the stairs and trips on a toy, breaking her neck as she falls. She is found dead by Janine's estranged stepmother Pat Evans (Pam St. Clement). The day after Laura's death sees Janine being charged with murdering Laura, but she is cleared when Pat is eventually persuaded to give Janine an alibi. She also finds Laura's letter to Ian and blood tests confirm Ian is Bobby's father. He feels guilty for the way he treated Laura before she died. Creation and development Casting On 6 January 2000, it was announced Waterman would be joining EastEnders as Laura Dunn, a nanny hired by Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) to care for his children. It was also reported "romance could be on the cards" for Laura and Ian. Waterman previously appeared in EastEnders in 1997 as an HIV patient. Shortly after she joined the show, Waterman began to be recognised by members of the public and she commented "It can be quite intimidating when people stare at me in the street, so I've resorted to doing what I never dreamed of before - wearing a baseball cap to go shopping. It's interesting being on the show, especially with dad being a Cockney. And I'd love to work with him one day. So far, I've avoided it in case I was accused of using his name to get on, but now we joke about working together on EastEnders. I can just picture him behind the bar at The Queen Vic!" Relationship with Ian Beale Waterman said there were perks to playing a couple at war in TV soaps." "After a day of nagging Adam and moaning about just about everything, I feel fantastic by the time I get home," she laughs. "If Laura's having a bad day that usually means I finish off the day