EastEnders - Bobby Beale's mum explained
EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders' Cindy Beale has returned to Walford this week – and her comeback has sparked some questions about her connection to Bobby Beale.
Michelle Collins has reprised her role as Cindy, with a huge twist back in June unveiling her as George's missing wife 'Rose'.
With Bobby growing close to newcomer Anna, who also happens to be Cindy's daughter, fans have been trying to work out the complicated dynamic of the Beales and the Knights.
But if you're still a bit confused, here's everything you need to know:
Who is Bobby Beale's mum?
Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) is the son of Ian Beale and his former wife Laura Beale, who was played by Hannah Waterman.
As we have recently discovered, Anna is the daughter of long-lost Cindy, who is also the mother of Bobby's brother Peter and his late siblings Steven and Lucy.
This means there is no biological relationship between Anna and Bobby should they become a couple, although the situation is still a bit messy (just ask Peter).
Laura fell pregnant with Bobby in 2003 while she was married to Ian, but given that he'd had a secret vasectomy, there was initially some mystery over who the dad was.
Garry was eventually unveiled as the man in question, but after Laura gave birth to Bobby, it became clear that he couldn't be the baby's biological father as he had the wrong blood group.
This meant that Ian was the youngster's dad after all, but Laura decided to withhold the truth from him and allowed Garry to carry on thinking that Bobby was his son.
Laura died in April 2004 after tripping on Bobby's toys and falling down the stairs. This allowed the truth about Bobby's paternity to come out when Pat Evans discovered his birth certificate and was forced to share the truth.
Ian then took over the care of Bobby, leaving Garry heartbroken. Bobby has remained part of the Beale family ever since, with Ian's subsequent wife Jane going on to adopt him.
What happens after Cindy's return?
Cindy finally comes face-to-face with Gina and Anna in today's scenes (August 29), after walking out on them nine years ago.
Anna had been left devastated after believing her mum had rejected her attempts to get into contact, unaware that Ian has actually been intercepting the messages.
The fallout of Cindy and Ian's return unsurprisingly sends shockwaves through Walford, and Cindy is left desperately trying to explain herself to Gina and Anna. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes shortly afterwards.
Cindy's reasons for walking out on the Knight family nine years ago link back to her eldest daughter Lucy's tragic death.
Viewers know that Bobby killed Lucy in a shocking story twist back in 2014.
This means Bobby also has a lot to deal with in the aftermath of Cindy's return, as he fears Anna won't want to be with him anymore.
Bobby's fears are seemingly confirmed when Anna snaps at him at Peggy's in tomorrow's episode, before she gets passionate with Bobby's best friend Freddie.
Freddie is left guilt-ridden over his betrayal in next week's scenes, and eventually confides in Alfie about what's happened.
Alfie advises Freddie to keep quiet for Bobby's sake, but it doesn't stay a secret for long as Ian later blurts out the truth in The Vic.
Cindy also has a challenge on her hands when it comes to reconnecting with her daughters and is left humiliated by Gina.
Ian has a plan to get Cindy's daughters back on side, but will it pay off?
Opening up about this week's scenes, Michelle told Digital Spy and other media: "It's been very hard for Cindy. She had to leave nine years ago, and not to see your kids in nine years is hard and she's going to have to work very hard for them to understand the reasons why she did it.
"I think it's very hard for women because people are not very accepting of women leaving their children as opposed to a man. I think women have to fight that bit harder to be understood, because it's all supposed to be the mother never leaves the children and you are judged a lot harsher than a man is if you do."
She added: "It's all about Cindy trying to make people understand. She knows she's not going to be forgiven. It was pretty awful what happened, and it's a constant battle and I think it's going to be an ongoing battle."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage.
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