[4] Peter's storylines have included being involved in a car accident, a turbulent relationship with Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan/Jacqueline Jossa), discovering that his younger half-brother Bobby (Eliot Carrington/Clay Milner Russell) murdered his twin sister Lucy (Hetti Bywater), and disowning his family when they cover up her murder, taking over Ian's businesses, affairs with his girlfriend Ash Panesar's (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha) mother, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Bobby's girlfriend Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith), being comatose after suffering injuries in a fire from Kathy's café, reconciling with Lauren, and being a suspect in the "Who Attacked Cindy?"

Peter is injured in a fair ground collapse in June 2004 but is saved from the wreckage by Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and his son Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman).

Lucy (now Melissa Suffield) and Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) quickly spread this rumour at school and Lauren dumps Peter.

Lucy decides to move to Devon to avoid spending another year studying, while Jane secretly plans to leave Ian.

At Billie Jackson's (Devon Anderson) birthday party, Peter ends up kissing Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty).

Ian later receives news that Peter and Lucy have been involved in a car crash and takes Bobby (Alex Francis) to visit them.

On her return, Lucy (now played by Hetti Bywater) reveals that she fell out with Peter as he dated her friend, Leanne, in Devon.

Peter is shocked when his half-sister, Cindy (Mimi Keene) arrives and wants her to return to Devon because she aware of his secret, but she chooses to remain with the Beales.

Peter later tells Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) that his friend Gaz died while they were swimming because he pushed him to go further out to sea.

Peter did not tell Gaz's family the details of what happened and this angers Lola, but they later start dating when she forgives him.

For Lauren's sake, who is now a recovering alcoholic, Peter tries to get Ian to tell the truth and turns against Carl, resulting in a beating.

In April 2014, Ian makes the discovery that Lucy has been taking cocaine and, in an attempt to reach out to her, tells her that she is his favourite, but Peter overhears and storms off, upset.

Lauren rejects his advances as she has recently started dating Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), but realises she is still in love with him when he rescues Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) from a fire.

In May 2016, Ian's mother Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) contacts Lauren and informs her that Bobby (Eliot Carrington) has brutally attacked Jane, leaving her in a coma.

Her grandmother Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell) later reveals that they have moved back to New Zealand, hinting that Lauren and Peter have reunited.

That same month, Peter (now Dayle Hudson) returns to Walford after being contacted by his grandmother Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) that Bobby (now Clay Milner Russell) has been left comatose after being attacked, as a result of islamophobia.

He is hostile towards Ian and Bobby, having never forgiven them for their role in Lucy's death, but agrees to see them after a talk with Kathy.

Peter decides to sponsor a Christmas tree for Albert Square and enters into a brief feud with Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) when they successfully outbid him.

Peter fails to warm to Kathy's boyfriend Tom "Rocky" Cotton (Brian Conley), who is impersonating as Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) father, Terry Cant.

Peter is unaware of the identity of his attacker and is disgusted when Lewis Butler (Aidan O'Callaghan) reveals that it was Ben and that Kathy knew about it.

During this time, he becomes close with Bobby's ex-girlfriend Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith), but Peter turns her down when she attempts to kiss him.

After Ben reveals his fling with Dana, Peter decides to leave Walford and burns bridges with his family by publicly denouncing them.

In June 2023, it is revealed that Peter is now living in France along with Ian and his mother Cindy, funding their lifestyle with the money he stole from Kathy.

Peter asks her to stay longer, but Lauren declines, saying Walford reminds her too much of her deceased sister, Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald).

Uncertain, Lauren rejects Peter's attempts at romance and sleeps with Zack Hudson (James Farrar).

Peter was introduced in 1993 along with his twin sister Lucy, and was originally played by Francis Brittin-Snell as a baby and toddler from 1993 to 1996.

Ian's wonderful relationship with Denise and the inclusion of Lucy, Peter and Bobby in the household will reinvigorate the clan with vibrancy and energy.

Executive producer Jon Sen added that Dayle is a "talented actor who captures [Peter's] complexity perfectly.

Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw added that he was "thrilled to welcome [Law] back to the role of Peter Beale" and that the return would be "nothing less than explosive.

[21] Stuart Heritage from The Guardian expressed a dislike for Peter in April 2010, saying he should be written out, "before his increasingly spectacular haircut goes power mad and starts to colonise the entire set.