Linda's storylines include struggling with the revelation that her son Johnny (Sam Strike/Ted Reilly/Charlie Suff) is gay; being raped by Mick's brother Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo); giving birth to a premature baby after falling down the stairs; suffering from bulimia nervosa; discovering that Mick kissed their daughter-in-law Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty); revealing that she has secretly battled cervical cancer; surviving an ambulance crash; perverting the course of justice when Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) is shot, leading to her being falsely accused of attempted murder; coping with son Ollie's (Harry Farr) diagnosis of autism; battling with alcoholism; splitting up with Mick for a short time, and an extramarital affair with Max Branning (Jake Wood), which leads to another pregnancy; ultimately divorcing Mick after being lured back into alcoholism by Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), who wants him for herself; adjusting to life without Mick after he is presumed dead at sea after shortly reuniting with him; dealing with the return of her rapist Dean, murdering Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) to save her best friend Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) during "The Six" storyline, for which she later turned herself in to the police but effectively escaped punishment after Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) took the blame, coming to terms with the revelation that her father was gay which her mother hid for years and eventually admitting herself to rehab for her alcoholism.

Shirley's estranged son Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) comes to Walford, and although he continues to share a troubled relationship with his mother, he is welcomed by Mick and Linda into the family.

He tells Linda that the police are making a mistake as it was in fact his friend Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), that was speaking with the prostitute; he pulled over merely to see what was going on.

Unable to cope with the negative social stigma surrounding her family, Linda demands that Mick reveals the truth, but he refuses, wanting to keep his word to Ian.

With Lady Di needing an expensive operation and mounting debts, Shirley convinces Linda to sell the freehold of The Queen Vic, and they agree not to tell Mick.

However, Mick is determined to find the money to keep the pub and signs up to participate in a robbery with Aidan Maguire (Patrick Bergin) and his gang on New Year's Day 2018.

However, Phil stops Aidan at the last minute and pressures him into leaving Walford or he'll reveal to the police that he killed Fi's brother Luke Browning (Adam Astill).

Linda initially thinks Mick shot Stuart so she dumps the gun in the canal after she finds it in the bar but she is seen by Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).

She is arrested after crashing into a parent's car during the school run and, failing a breathalyser test, faces a court summons, also a driving ban which she keeps secret from Mick, unfortunately she reverts to drinking alcohol, anxious about telling him.

On Christmas Eve, Linda gets drunk and insults Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) and Mick, mocking him about his panic attacks, which Ollie witnesses.

Linda later invites Sharon to live with the Carters but her guilt grows, especially when Keanu's mother Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) becomes convinced that Phil has killed him, causing her to drink heavily again.

On New Year's Eve, she goes to Karen's party and gets excessively drunk, leading to her almost exposing the events of Christmas Day, kicking Sharon out, flirting with Max Branning (Jake Wood) and almost being raped by a stranger after going to his hotel room.

Linda's alcoholism continues to spiral out of control, resulting in her slapping Sharon and social services intervening as Ollie's schoolteachers notice him becoming extremely unhappy.

Linda drinks Mo Harris' (Laila Morse) vodka on the bus en route to the boat and arrives drunk, which leads to her announcing in front of everyone that Mick and Whitney are having an affair.

At Christmas time, Linda is visited by Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), under the name of Judith, who unknown to her, has moved into The Queen Vic and is trying to take advantage of Mick.

Linda is left shaken when she discovers Shirley has reunited with Dean after grieving the loss of Mick, and is comforted by Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) who reassures her that there are people that care about her.

In the following months, Linda is left shocked when Dean returns and enters unannounced, claiming that he is back in Walford in aid of his daughter Jade whose cystic fibrosis has worsened.

Elaine returns from her honeymoon finding out how far Linda's alcoholism has gone and gives her an ultimatum – to either choose to live on the streets and continue drinking, or go to rehab.

After Elaine threatens to call the police to report the assault if Linda tries to return, she chooses to continue drinking, stumbling out of The Queen Vic with a bottle of vodka.

She then appears to down most of the bottle of vodka, before experiencing a vision of what will happen to her if she continues drinking, including her imminent death, subsequent funeral, her family being torn apart and Johnny becoming an alcoholic.

[15] Linda's early stories included her struggle with son Johnny's (Sam Strike) sexuality, which was revealed a week after the Carters moved into The Queen Vic.

[17] The argument eventually reached breaking point in June 2014, when Linda failed to support Johnny's plans to go to gay pride and caused him embarrassment by revealing his cowardice during the attack on Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean).

Other storylines included Linda's turmoilous friendship with Sharon, which turned into a rivalry when she opened a rival bar, The Albert, in Walford; her plans to breed her dog, Lady Di, being scuppered when her daughter Nancy (Maddy Hill) lost control of her and she was impregnated by Abi Branning's (Lorna Fitzgerald) dog Tramp; and her turmoil over her eldest son, Lee (Danny Hatchard) being in the army, and her supporting him through the grief for a lost comrade on his return to England.

She was involved in a brief scandal where Dexter Hartman (Khali Best), Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) and Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) discovered pictures of her during her time as a Page 3 model.

Linda formed a connection with Dean as she counselled him through his long standing issues with his mother, having a fair perspective on the situation due to her own battles with Shirley in the past.

EastEnders senior executive producer Kate Oates explained that Linda's downward spiral was a combination of a lot of traumatic experiences in her life.

In February 2023, there was a flashforward scene which saw Linda, alongside Sharon, Kathy, Suki, Stacey and Denise in the Vic looking over a dead body revealing a Christmas Day murder would occur.

Linda appears in animated form in a Children in Need sketch called Tom and Jerry: A Fundraising Adventure, broadcast during the 2014 telethon on 14 November 2014, along with Mick in The Queen Vic.

In the sketch, cartoon cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry visit several animated versions of BBC stars, tasked by Terry Wogan to raise cash.

[37] In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Linda 21st on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, referring to her as a "Bun-haired, flamingo-loving Queen Vic landlady".