Irene (EastEnders)

Irene
File:Aunt Irene.jpg
Duration	1986-1987
First appearance	3 July 1986
Last appearance	16 June 1987
In-universe information Family Lofty

Irene Holloway was fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Katherine Parr.

History

Irene was the aunt of Lofty Holloway — his mother's sister. Lofty did not have a close relationship with his stern mother, but he doted on his auntie Irene and she was the only relative he had contact with.

Auntie Irene first appeared in July 1986, when her nephew Lofty and his fiancée Michelle Fowler visited her in the nursing home where she lived. She had been told that she only had six months to live, as she had terminal cancer. She told Michelle that she had been in love with a man in 1938, but he was killed in an accident and she had never married.

She attended Lofty and Michelle's wedding in September 1986, only to see her beloved nephew jilted at the altar. Later in the year Lofty and Michelle sorted out their differences and finally got married. Irene worried that Michelle was merely using Lofty, but Michelle promised she would not hurt him. Satisfied, Irene gave their union her blessing and also paid for their honeymoon as a wedding gift.

Irene visited Lofty and Michelle in March 1987, giving Lofty instructions about her funeral. Irene worried that Lofty would not cope once she was gone and tried to make him accept that she would soon be dead. Lofty was distressed at the prospect of losing his aunt and cried into her lap. In June 1987 Lofty went to visit Irene at the hospital. She was in obvious pain and could no longer see. The following week Lofty heard that his aunt had finally succumbed to the cancer that had been slowly killing her for years. He attended her funeral on 23 June 1987.

Family

• Nephew: Lofty Holloway