EastEnders fans criticise Father’s Day post celebrating rapist

Fans of EastEnders have questioned the use of some unusual – and rather problematic – fathers in their annual Father’s Day social media post.

The series of images, which feature some of Albert Square’s most popular men, were posted on Facebook, Instagram and X yesterday (June 16).

Among those present were Martin Fowler (James Bye), Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) and Peter Beale (Thomas Law).

However, hidden among the faces were some of the series’ most controversial father figures – Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) and Stevie Mitchell (Alan Ford).

Dean is currently in prison after being framed for the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) – but he’s not entirely innocent. Before his stint at His Majesty’s Pleasure, he withdrew his teenage daughter Jade’s (Elizabeth Green) cystic fibrosis medication in an attempt to make her dependent on him.

Many years ago he raped his sister-in-law Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), so he is definitely not the type of man to be celebrated!

Nish recently returned to Walford and told his children that he was dying. This came as quite a shock to them, given the years of emotional and physical abuse he had inflicted on his family.

Stevie joined the BBC One soap earlier this year as the estranged father of Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick).

The show’s backstory states that he was abandoned in a children’s home as a child and was subjected to years of physical abuse. Plus, he will soon reveal a secret family…

Who wrote the EastEnders Father’s Day post?

• Martin Fowler (James Bye): Father of Rebecca and Hope and adoptive father of Lily and Arthur. He believed the latter to be his own son until Stacey revealed her affair with Kush Kazemi.
• Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara): Father of teenagers Avani and Nugget.
• Peter Beale (Thomas Law): Dad of Louie.
• Alfie Moon (Shane Richie): Father of Bert, Ernie and Cherry and adoptive father of Tommy. He originally thought Tommy was his own son until Kat’s affair with his second cousin Michael came to light.
• Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick): Stepfather of Lexi and married to her late mother Lola.
• Howie Danes (Delroy Atkinson): Father of Denzel, who developed a steroid addiction during his father’s five-month absence.
• Callum Highway (Tony Clay): Stepfather of Lexi, her father Ben is currently in prison in the USA for fraud.
• George Knight (Colin Salmon): Father of Junior, Gina and Anna. Junior has recently returned to his life after many years of estrangement.
• Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden): The tough man from Walford has three sons and a daughter, as well as four stepsons with his wife Kat. He is currently trying to build a relationship with his youngest child, Albie, who grew up like Keanu’s son.
• Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker): Father of Anthony and Isaac and adoptive father of Paul. He is also a valued father figure for Denise and Kim.
• Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry): Father of Ash, Kheerat, Ravi, Vinny and the late Jags.
• Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman): Father of Dana and the right-wing terrorist Aaron.
• Jack Branning (Scott Maslen): Father of Penny, Ricky, Amy and the late James and stepfather of Raymond.
• Junior Knight (Micah Balfour): His son Xavier recently moved back to Dubai after Junior’s affair with Bianca Jackson was revealed.
• Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick): Father of Janet, Will and the late Dan.
• Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt): Father of Peter and Bobby. His daughter Lucy was murdered by Bobby and his eldest son Steven died of cardiac arrest.
• Zack Hudson (James Farrar): Following the death of his daughter Peach, he and his girlfriend Whitney were happy to welcome a second child – Dolly – earlier this year. After his affair with Lauren Branning was discovered on their wedding day, Whit fled the area.
• Dean Wicks (Matt DiAngelo): Father of Jade, whom he almost killed to make her dependent on him.
• Ricky Branning (Frankie Day): Father of 12-year-old daughter Charli.
• Stevie Mitchell (Alan Ford): Father of Billy and his brother Charlie – their secret son Teddy is due to be born soon.

Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) also had no contact with his sons for many years until a DNA test revealed that his best friend was actually the father of Paul (Gary Beadle).

Another name in the running was Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who hasn’t exactly had the best relationship with his “family” over the years. That’s probably worth an article of its own.

Fans were quick to notice the odd decisions. One commented: “That’s such a weird lineup, they might as well have fielded Tony King or Archie Mitchell.”

Another posted: “Why is Dean involved? He tried to kill his daughter and he stole from her charity. Not exactly ‘dad goals’ are they?”

One viewer added sarcastically: “Some great dads here, Ricky, Nish, Dean. People to look up to.”

While this criticism should certainly be acknowledged, it could also be argued that the genre (which relies on a lot of drama and conflict to keep the plot moving) is not particularly well suited to portraying parents in a positive light.

Perhaps it’s high time that the show – now in its fortieth year – started featuring more inspiring male role models.

MORE: Internet completely unsettled by creepy advertising “spying”

MORE: ‘Be vigilant’: Coronation Street and Emmerdale issue warnings about cast’s social media

MORE: EastEnders confirms Phil Mitchell’s tears as character’s fate ‘sealed’ in 45 frames

This website is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.