Ian Beale's prison ordeal began in earnest on EastEnders, with the character starting the episode squealing on the wing but ending it staring serious trouble in the face. Adam Woodyatt's long-suffering Ian is beginning an eight-year jail sentence for his part in Jordan Fox's accident, and things are already going badly for him.
Glasses smashed by inmates
First, some inmates tripped him up, breaking his glasses after he was whining on the phone about conditions in jail. Then, a man who seemed his saviour proved how he could be Ian's worst enemy. Jordan Fox, the son of serial killer Gray Atkins and Chelsea Fox, was accidentally mown down by Ian in his car. Chelsea had offered to help Ian get off the charge but failed to deliver in time.
Gray Atkins reveals his motive
Gray helped Ian up and sent the bullies packing, even dispensing some tape to repair his glasses. But then told him with an air of menace that he knew perfectly well the reason Ian was in jail. He said: "Fortunately, or unfortunately for you, I know why. What you did to my son. You put him in a wheelchair. I really wanted to hurt you, but I couldn't, because I'm stuck in here. Now? You're on my turf."
Advising him on how to cope with trouble in prison, he told Ian coldly that he should run, saying: "Your legs work... unlike my son's." Gray is not a man to be messed with, having claimed the lives of three people: Chantelle Atkins (shoved onto a dishwasher with knives in 2020), Kush Kazemi (pushed in front of a moving Tube train in 2021), and Tina Carter (strangled in his kitchen in 2020 after she learned how Chantelle died).
