Cindy Williams is a fictional character from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', that has been played by four actresses since being introduced in 1998. She makes her debut in episode 1692, originally broadcast on 9 November 1998. Cindy is brought up by her maternal grandmother and aunt off-screen after her mother,

Cindy Beale Cindy Beale (also Williams) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Michelle Collins. She first appeared 10 May 1988 and originally departed on 27 December 1990, before returning as one of the show's central ...

(

Michelle Collins Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Cindy Beale in the BBC soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (r ...

), had supposedly died off-screen in prison during childbirth. In 2023, Cindy was revealed to be alive, confirming that she had not died during childbirth and had gone into a

witness protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after trials, usually by police. While witnesses may only require p ...

programme. The characters most prominent storylines see her learn of (and subsequently come to terms with) the murder of her half-sister

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

(see

Who Killed Lucy Beale? "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" is a storyline from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It was announced on 21 February 2014, and began on 18 April 2014, when Lucy Beale ( Hetti Bywater) was discovered dead on Walford Common from a deliberately inflicte ...

), enter a relationship with

Liam Butcher Liam Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sonny Bottomley for two months in 1998 and 1999, twins Jack and Tom Godolphin from 1999, Gavin and Mitchell Vaughan in 2002, and Nathaniel Gleed from 2002 to ...

(James Forde), and struggle as a teenage mother to daughter Beth Williams. Cindy made an unannounced departure on 17 August 2015. Ella Wortley and Cydney Parker both portrayed the role from 1998 to 1999, followed by Eva Sayer in a brief appearance in 2007. On 18 July 2013, it was announced that Cindy would return to the series as a regular character, with

Mimi Keene Mimi Roshan Saeed (born 5 August 1998), better known as Mimi Keene, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Cindy Williams (EastEnders), Cindy Williams on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2013–2015), Ruby Matthews on the Netflix ...

taking over the role. Cindy leaves her home in Devon to join her half-siblings

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

( Ben Hardy) and

Lucy Beale Lucy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. The character was played by Eva Brittin-Snell, Casey Anne Rothery, Melissa Suffield, and Hetti Bywater. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the daughter of Ian ( ...

(

Hetti Bywater Harriet Jessica Phoebe "Hetti" Bywater (born 10 September 1994) is an English former actress. She is best known for portraying Lucy Beale in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', taking over the role from Melissa Suffield from 2012 until the charac ...

) in

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of East London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location wor ...

Creation and development

Conception, birth, and custody battle

The chaotic relationship of the fictional character

(

) with her husband

Ian Beale Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Adam Woodyatt. He is one of four remaining original characters, the others being his mother, Kathy Beale ( Gillian Taylforth), his long standing best friend an ...

(

Adam Woodyatt Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role he has portrayed since the show's inception in 1985, making him one of the shows longest ...

) has been struggling for some time. The

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

is damaged by both partners' selfishness and Cindy's promiscuity, with Cindy growing tired of Ian, which leads to an affair with Ian's half-brother

David Wicks David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC TV soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Michael French. David originally appeared from 23 December 1993 to 21 November 1996. He returned to the show on 1 January 2012 and departed two weeks later ...

(

Michael French Michael French (born Michael Clark, 17 September 1962) is an English actor, known for his roles as David Wicks in ''EastEnders''; Nick Jordan, a consultant and Clinical Lead, Senior Consultant in emergency medicine in '' Casualty'' and former ...

). However, Ian discovers their relationship and vows to obtain custody of their children,

Steven Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

and

. Later, Cindy snaps and hires a

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

to kill Ian; when this proves unsuccessful she flees the country with the help of David and Barry Evans (

Shaun Williamson Shaun Williamson (born 29 November 1965) is an English actor best known as Barry Evans in ''EastEnders'' and as a satirical version of himself in the BBC/HBO sitcom '' Extras'', 'Barry off EastEnders'. Early life Williamson was born in Park W ...

), taking Steven and Peter to Italy. A couple of years later, viewers see her begin an affair with businessman

Nick Holland Nick ‘Dutchy’ Holland (born 29 July 1974) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played 179 games for Australian Football League (AFL) club Hawthorn between 1994 and 2005, serving as Vice Captain between 1999 and 20 ...

(Dominic Taylor), before she is tracked by a private investigator, with her sons abducted and taken back to Britain. Cindy, who has been forced to leave Lucy behind, is desperate to have her back - and follows Ian back to Walford with Nick. After gaining custody of her children, she is arrested moments later for attempted murder when Ian's associates persuade the hitman, John Valecue (Steve Weston), to tell the police that Cindy has hired him. Ian is then given custody of their children, with Cindy being charged and held on remand. Although she has become pregnant with Nick's child, he abandons her in prison after realizing her true nature and knowing she is guilty of shooting Ian. As the soap opera progresses, Cindy Beale later gives birth to her daughter (Ella Wortley and Cydney Parker) off-screen in prison, but Ian is informed that she has died in childbirth from an

embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule (fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (air embolism, gas embolism), amniotic ...

. He is forced to break the news to their children, which devastates him. Ian ia shocked to be told that, as he is still officially Cindy’s next of kin, he is in line for custody of the child. On attending Cindy’s funeral, Ian meets with Cindy's mother

Bev Williams The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1989, by order of first appearance. Maxine Roberts Maxine Roberts, played by Ella Wilder, is the selfish sister of Carmel Roberts (Judith Jac ...

(

Diane Langton Diane Shirley Maria Langton (31 May 1944 – 15 January 2025) was a British actress, singer and dancer whose career on stage and screen spanned six decades. After beginning her career in theatre, she went on to appear in television shows, portr ...

), who agrees Ian should have custody of the baby, and Cindy is named after her mother. However, Bev's another daughter Gina (

Nicola Cowper Nicola Jane Cowper (born 21 December 1967) is a British actress. Cowper is the younger sister of twin actresses Gerry Cowper and Jackie Cowper. Cowper made an impression as a film actress in her early career, but she is best known for her work o ...

), is unable to have children, and Ian decides to let her have custody. Cindy is therefore not seen again until years later, where she makes a brief appearance, played by Eva Sayer, when Ian visites Devon thinking Gina is sending him poison pen letters as Cindy, his wife.

Reintroduction (2013)

On 18 July 2013, ''EastEnders'' revealed that Cindy would be returning, with the role recast to actress

, who had previously performed in ''Kin'' at London's

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

during 2010, before starring in ''

Sadie J ''Sadie J'' is a British children's television comedy-drama series about a girl named Sadie Jenkins, who is described as "the only girl in a boys' world" because she is surrounded by her Dad Steve, his apprentice Keith, her brother Danny, his b ...

'' and war drama ''

Our Girl ''Our Girl'' is a British television military drama series written and created by Tony Grounds broadcast on BBC One from 2013 until 2020. The series began with a feature-length television pilot first broadcast on 24 March 2013 starring Lacey T ...

''. Keene made her first appearance as Cindy on 20 August 2013.

Storylines

Cindy is born to

(

) and

(Dominic Taylor) in prison, as her mother is serving a sentence for hiring a hitman to murder her former husband

(

). Cindy Sr supposedly dies shortly after the birth due to an

. Nick is not interested in his daughter, so Cindy lives with her grandmother

(

) and aunt Gina Williams (

) in Devon. Ian is aware of the responsibility he has towards Cindy Jr as her guardian, and is concerned as to who should care for her. However, Bev is unwilling to look after Cindy due to her age and suggests that Ian has her, but Gina unable to have children, contests this. She is subsequently given custody of Cindy. When Cindy is eight years old, Ian visits Gina and Cindy, thinking Gina is sending him poison pen letters as Cindy Sr, though she is not. When Cindy is 14 years old, she breaks into Ian's house in Walford, wanting to see her half-brother

Peter Beale Peter Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Peter makes his first appearance in episode 926, originally broadcast on 16 December 1993. Peter has been played by seven actors since being introduced in 1993. Franc ...

( Ben Hardy) about something that happened in Devon. Peter tries to drive her away, but Ian allows her to stay. Cindy is difficult, stealing money from

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother, Grant ( Ross Kemp), sister, Sam ( Danniella Westbrook/ Kim Medca ...

(

Steve McFadden Steve Robert McFadden (né Reid; born 20 March 1959) is an English actor whose career has spanned three decades. He rose to prominence for his role as longstanding character Phil Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', which he has ...

) and winning the Miss Teen Vic

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

by persuading

Patrick Trueman Patrick Trueman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Rudolph Walker. He made his first appearance on 13 September 2001. On 7 December 2015, Walker filmed his 1,000th episode as Patrick. For his portrayal of ...

(

Rudolph Walker Rudolph Malcolm Walker CBE (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, best known for his roles as Bill Reynolds in ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1972–1976) and Constable Frank Gladstone in '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–1996), as wel ...

) to rig the votes. Despite having attracted the attention of

(James Forde), she has a one-night stand with TJ Spraggan ( George Sargeant). She realizes she is pregnant but hides this from Ian as she fears that he will send her back to Devon. Depressed, Cindy drinks heavily and has sex with Liam. She is later found drunk by Tina Carter (

Luisa Bradshaw-White Luisa Bradshaw-White (born 9 December 1974) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in many British television series, including ''Grange Hill'' as Maria Watts, '' This Life'' as Kira, '' Bad Girls'' as Lorna Rose, ''Holby City'' as Li ...

), who takes her to the hospital. When Ian discovers Cindy's pregnancy, he confronts Liam, prompting TJ to admit he is the father. Cindy and TJ decide to raise their baby together, despite initial concern from both families. Cindy struggles to hide her resentment over Ian, who favoured her half-sister

(

), and tells him and his former wife

Jane Beale Jane Beale (also Collins) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 21 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. She returned on 8 Novem ...

(

Laurie Brett Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969) is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Jane Beale in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One drama series '' Waterloo Road''. Early and personal life Brett was b ...

) that Lucy has a

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

addiction. Soon after, Lucy is murdered. Cindy reveals Lucy's addiction to the police, angering Ian, as he is convinced Lucy only took drugs as a one-off. He throws Cindy out, sending her back to Devon. Cindy attends Lucy's funeral but when Ian tries to make amends, she reminds him that she knows he is lying about his

alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...

. A heavily pregnant Cindy returns to Walford and meets Ian, who is trying to reconcile with fiancée

Denise Fox Denise Fox (also Wicks and Johnson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Diane Parish. She made her first appearance on 11 May 2006 and temporarily left ''EastEnders'' in early 2008 to give birth to her se ...

(

Diane Parish Diane Carol Richards (born 6 November 1969), known professionally as Diane Parish, is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006. A graduate of the Royal Academy of D ...

). He shows little interest until he notices Cindy is in labour, and she admits that she ran away after discovering Gina and Bev were planning to have her baby adopted. Ian helps her deliver her daughter Beth Williams. She reconciles with Ian, but this is marred by Denise leaving him and TJ struggling to bond with Beth. TJ admits he cannot cope with being a father and moves to

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

with his family. Cindy struggles to cope with being a single mother. She confides in Liam, but when she tries to kiss him, he turns her down realizing that it would be for the wrong reasons. Cindy finds a Christmas present addressed to Beth; inside is Lucy's jewellery box. Former police officer

Emma Summerhayes ''EastEnders'' is a BBC soap opera that first aired on 19 February 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2019, in order of first appearance. All new characters in 2014 were introduced by executive producer Dominic ...

(

Anna Acton Anna Acton (born 29 January 1977) is an English actress who is best known for her roles as List of The Bill characters (A–D)#Rochelle Barratt, Rochelle Barratt, the wife of a borough commander, in the ITV (TV network), ITV television series ' ...

) tries to get information from Cindy in her grief about her involvement in Lucy's death, but fails. Ian and Jane remarry, but Ian comes to think that Jane murdered Lucy. Jane says that she killed Lucy following a row, but Ian realises she must be lying and works out the actual killer is his young son Bobby Beale (Eliot Carrington). Jane admits to protecting Bobby after seeing him standing over Lucy with the jewelry box, and moving her body to where it was found on Walford Common. Bobby is unaware that he killed Lucy, so the family, including Cindy, decides that they will keep the truth from Bobby, but Peter leaves for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. When Ian and Jane leave for their honeymoon, they take Beth with them to allow Cindy some time to herself. Cindy continues to see Liam and confides in him that she misses her teenage life before she becomes a mother. After Ian and Jane return, Cindy is unable to bond properly with her daughter and feels stressed. Cindy abandons Beth in the park, but when she returns to collect her, Beth is not there. A panicked Cindy later finds her with Liam, and fearing that she will be unable to be a good mother, decides to put her up for adoption. When Ian and Jane suggest they adopt Beth, Cindy threatens to leave. After Ian admits that he is using Beth as a distraction from all the pain he endured in losing Lucy, Cindy changes her mind and realizes that she does not want Beth to be adopted by strangers. Wanting her daughter to grow up with her family, she agrees to let the Beales adopt Beth. She soon has second thoughts about the decision, worried that she might still be responsible for Beth and that living in the same house as her will remind her of her failure as a mother. Soon, she gives the Beales an ultimatum: either they let her give Beth up, or she will tell everyone that Bobby killed Lucy. When Ian confronts her about her ultimatum the next day, Jane decides to have Beth live with TJ but regrets it at the same time. When Cindy tries to make things better for them, Ian declares that it will not work and forces her to leave. After learning that Cindy has spent the night at Liam's house, Jane goes there to apologize to her on Ian's behalf, but Liam explains that Cindy has left Walford to stay with friends in Devon and may not be returning. Two weeks later, Liam's grandmother, Carol Jackson (

Lindsey Coulson Lindsey Coulson (born 13 April 1960) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Carol Jackson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1993–1997; 1999; 2010–2015). For this, she won the 2000 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Perfo ...

), discovers that Cindy is sleeping underneath Liam's bed. When she refuses to go back to the Beales' house, Carol lets her stay after Jane secretly pays her. Ian accidentally tells Cindy this on the night of her prom. Feeling unwanted, she goes to a bar and asks two older men to buy her drinks. She ignores Liam's warnings and gets into a car with them, but when she decides to leave, they refuse to let her. She returns later and tells Jane how she managed to escape; the men did not harm her. She contemplates leaving Walford for good due to feeling nobody wants her, but Liam convinces her to go home and reunite with her family. When

Max Branning Max Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jake Wood. He made his first appearance on 27 June 2006. Wood took a four-month break from the show in 2011 and the character was absent between August and Nov ...

(

Jake Wood Jake Dylan Wood (born 12 July 1972) is a British actor and podcaster from Westminster, known for his role as Max Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He has also made guest appearances in series including ''Only Fools and Horses'' a ...

) is charged with Lucy's murder, Bobby attempts to smash Max's car. Cindy stops him and calls him stupid, so he pushes her, causing her to fall exactly where Lucy was killed. Believing that Jane and Ian have told Carol the truth about Bobby, Cindy tells Liam this. Ian stops Liam from telling Carol or the police and buys Liam and Cindy a one-way ticket each to Devon so the truth does not come out. Carol finds out about this and warns Ian not to mess with her family. Liam demands £100,000 from the Beales in exchange for his silence and departure. Liam and Cindy then go to live with Liam's father

Ricky Butcher Ricky Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest-running male protagonists to feature in ''EastEnders''. Owen originally left the ...

(

Sid Owen Sid Owen (born David John Sutton; 12 January 1972) is a British actor, television presenter and former singer from London, who played Ricky Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1988–2000, 2002–2004, 2008–2012, 2022–2023). He a ...

) in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, though Ricky advises them not to take any money from the Beales. Before she leaves, Cindy sends a video message by email to Bobby, informing him that he killed Lucy. However, the email is instead opened by

Sharon Mitchell Sharon Mitchell is an American sexologist and former pornographic film actress and film director, director. In 1998, she founded the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM), which tested over 1,000 adult film performers per month be ...

(

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and ag ...

). When Cindy calls Bobby from Düsseldorf, Ian takes the phone and tells her never to contact Bobby again. In June 2023, it is revealed that Cindy Sr. had in fact survived the childbirth to Cindy Jr. and that she had been placed into a

programme after she had informed on her cell mate. Cindy Sr. tells

Kathy Beale Kathy Beale (also Mitchell, Sullivan and Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Gillian Taylforth. Portrayed as "an attractive, bright, caring and highly moral woman", Kathy is one of the serial's ori ...

(

Gillian Taylforth Gillian Taylforth (born 14 August 1955) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Kathy Beale on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', as well as appearing as Jackie Pascoe on ITV's ''Footballers' Wives'' (2002–2006) and Sgt. Nikki W ...

) that she hasn’t gotten in touch with Cindy Jr. because she felt that she had no right to after giving her up and walking away from her. In September 2023, it is revealed that Cindy has broken up with Liam and has gone traveling. In February 2024, Cindy Sr. tracks Cindy down but their reunion was short lived when Cindy Jr. told her mother that she wished she really was dead. In April 2024, Cindy Sr. receives a text from Cindy Jr. saying that she hopes that she’s okay with a heart emoji after Ian had sent Cindy Jr. a message saying that it would mean a lot to Cindy Sr. if she did so.

Reception

After Carol Jackson (

) discovers an abandoned

pregnancy test A pregnancy test is used to determine whether a person is Pregnancy, pregnant or not. The two primary methods are testing for the pregnancy hormone (human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)) in blood or urine using a pregnancy test kit, and scanning ...

in January 2014, she was seen to inquire with family members - possible owners included Carol's daughter

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. It is known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. It came to greater notice in the 1970s, due to public fi ...

(

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is a British actress and DJ. After appearing as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), she came to prominence for her p ...

) and Peter's ex-girlfriend

Lauren Branning Lauren Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. The role was originally played by Madeline Duggan, who first appeared on 3 July 2006. Duggan played the role for four years until her exit on 23 June 2010. Three ...

(

Jacqueline Jossa Jacqueline Mary Osborne (''née'' Jossa) (born 29 October 1992) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Lauren Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 2019, Jossa won the nineteenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Ou ...

). A week later, the test was revealed to belong to Cindy when she was seen to go for an abortion. She had fallen pregnant with TJ Spraggan's baby after a one-night stand, but afterwards decided to keep the baby, before the truth was revealed to their two families. The storyline subsequently received minor negativity from fans, with the ''

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

s Amy Duncan revealing that some viewers were outraged by what had been deemed as a "gross underage pregnancy storyline". Several ''EastEnders'' fans then commented on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

to voice their displeasure over the episodes: one said they " ouldn'tbe arsed with Cindy being pregnant in Eastenders ..She has a 5 min cameo every month how is she gonna cope with this storyline?", whilst another felt that the storyline was "just promoting underage pregnancies tbh" rather than actually raising awareness about the issue. Despite this, Keene went on to be nominated in 2014 in the category of "Best Young Performance" at the

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV (TV network), ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal a ...

for her portrayal of Cindy, but lost to ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' child actor

Ellis Hollins Ellis Hollins (born 14 November 1999) is an English actor. He is known for portraying the role of Tom Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. In 2006, he appeared in ''Alpha Male'', a family film released in the United Kingdom. A ...

. Anna Howell of Unreality TV praised Keene's birth scenes in an article on who they thought had given the best performances of 2014, with Cindy giving birth to baby Beth rated third on their list for ''EastEnders''. Howell branded Keene's performance as "one of the most powerful, and convincing labour scenes nreality TVhave ever seen", and stated that whilst many women had portrayed

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...

in the soaps over the years, given Keene's age and limited experience in soap acting, felt it was worth "a massive mention at just how well this young girl handled something quite as dramatic as the birth of her on-screen daughter."

References

External links

Cindy Williams
on

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Cindy EastEnders characters Television characters introduced in 1998 Fictional waiting staff in soap operas Fictional teenage parents Fictional blackmailers British female characters in soap operas English female characters in television Teenage characters in soap operas Television shows about teenage pregnancy