How are Bex and Lily related in EastEnders and who was Shakil? History explained

Lily and Bex in were left opening up to each other as they continued to grieve the loss of their father Martin Fowler.

But are Lily Slater and her sister Bex Fowler related, and do they have the same dad? Bex vowed to be there for her younger sibling in the latest episode, also vowing to remain in touch with their little brother Roman.

Ruby Allen and her son Roman left Walford for good last week, with Lily fuming at her mother Stacey Slater, blaming her. Of course what Bex doesn't know is that Ruby didn't cause the fire on their late father Martin's stall, and it was actually Lily.

Regardless of the drama, Bex decided that when the dust settles she would get in touch with Ruby so she and Lily could remain in Roman's lives, following the death of their father Martin. Bex and Lily are sisters but are not related by blood.

Lily's real dad is Ryan Malloy, but she was raised from a young age by Martin after he married her mother Stacey. Even after Stacey and Martin split, Martin remained in Lily's life and continued to be a dad to her.

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Lily referred to Martin as her father, and recently explained that while they were not biologically related she saw him as her real dad. As for Bex, she is Martin's daughter with her mother being his ex Sonia Fowler.

Roman, Ruby's son, is also Martin's child making him the half-sibling of Bex. Both Bex and Roman are step-siblings of Lily and her brother Arthur, while Martin was also the biological father of Stacey's daughter Hope.

They are all linked through Martin, DNA or not, and have always seen each other as siblings. Bex refers to Lily has being her sister because of her close bond with Martin, with Lily growing up with her when she was previously in Walford.

So while they are not related in terms of DNA, they are very much sisters and share a relatively close bond it seems. Similarly, Lily sees Roman as her brother and is hoping to remain in his life following the recent tragic death of their father Martin.

During the latest episode, there was mention of another tragic character who died on the show. Bex's ex-boyfriend Shakil Kazemi was sadly killed in a knife attack back in 2020 leaving Walford in pieces.

The death of her ex and close friend hit Bex hard, and continues to affect her to this day - as she shared with Lily during their chat about grief. Bex spiralled after Shakil's death, with her turning to drugs and suffering with her mental health before she left to go travelling.

Bex told Lily how Martin's death made her think of Shakil's murder and how she coped back then. Lily has asked her big sister how she coped following Martin's death, to which she admitted she wasn't coping before sharing some advice to Lily.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on , , , , , and .