EastEnders fans were delighted after Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley) unexpectedly mentioned a soap legend who left the Square decades ago.
During last night's episode (Thursday, June 15), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) was talking with her fiancé Rocky, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) and Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) at the Vic where they spoke about her son, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), who ran away from Walford in 2021.
Rocky mentioned that Ian had "been done for fraud, embezzlement, exploitation [and] blackmail" more times than he could count, but as the group trash-talked her son, Kathy insisted that she wanted him at her wedding despite his jaded past.
Since he managed to find his long-lost ex-wife, Rocky promised her: "Kathy Beale, if you want him at the wedding, then I'll make it happen."
Rocky then spoke to newcomer George Knight (Colin Salmon) and Martin Fowler (James Bye) about tracking down Ian.
"Any tips you might have for tracking down missing relatives. I need to find Ian, Kathy's son, for the wedding," Rocky suggested.
"Trust me on this one, if they don't want to be found, you don't stand a chance," George replied.
Despite George's cryptic advice and Martin's disgust, a desperate Rocky met his future grandson Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) at the Vic to ask for help about finding Ian.
But as he pulled out a book and told him: "I've spent the last few hours trying every number in Kathy's address book," he surprisingly namedropped some soap icons.
"Ted, Tony, Michelle. I spent a fortune chatting to Liz and Kenny, they live in New Zealand. But not one of them has heard anything from Ian," Rocky said.
However, there was one name that caught everyone's attention.
"I'm dialing numbers that are 20 years old here. I mean, half of these people are dead. Who the hell is Angie?" Rocky questioned.
Of course, Rocky is talking about the original Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) who was married to Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). The couple made EastEnders history due to their turbulent marriage and ability to draw in record-breaking numbers of viewers.
Angie left the Square in 1988, but later passed away from cirrhosis of the liver in 2002 after moving to Miami and remarrying.
Fans went wild on Twitter over the surprise Angie mention...
“Half these people are dead. I mean, who the hell is angie?FINALLY AND ANGIE MENTION 🎉 But it was from rocky, you win some you lose some. Kenny, ted and michelle mention as well!#EastEnders pic.twitter.com/0naur4XRxjJune 15, 2023
Who the hell is Angie? There’s only one Angie 😁. #EastEndersJune 15, 2023
ANGIE WATTS #EastEndersJune 15, 2023
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
