A disgraced Alice was forced to leave Shieldinch after her drunken outburst at George's funeral. She passed away in a road traffic accident in 2010.
Alice is Derek's mum and daughter of George and Moira. At least that's who she thought she was - after George's death it emerged that George's brother Robert is her real father, after an affair with Moira.
Alice returned to Shieldinch after 16 years away. As a teenager, Alice fell foul of drugs and alcohol, and ended up pregnant. She abandoned her baby son, Derek, and ran away to London. For years her family thought she was dead, but George knew that he'd paid her to leave Shieldinch. When she first returned, he was not very forgiving of her past errors, and found it hard to hide his contempt for her but she managed to heal the rift.
The reappearance of Deek's father, Mac, brought further difficulties for Alice. She initially felt edged out by Mac, but when it became clear they both still had feelings for one another, they resumed their relationship. Mac left after Deek found out that he had an affair with Moira but returned when Alice said she needed him. Deek initially said he didn't want to know his family.
Alice took in Zoe and her sister Nicki after their mum died of a drugs overdose. However, her good deed backfired when Mac fell for Zoe and left Alice for her. Alice was sickened by Mac's affections for such a young girl. In a bid to reveal his true colours, Alice tried to trap Mac by downloading child pornography onto his laptop. In the meantime, Mac focused his attentions on Nicki - much to Alice and Zoe's horror. Despite Alice's bitterness, she helped Zoe oust Mac. Alice was an important influence when it came to forcing Mac out of Shieldinch.
After she tried to frame Mac for downloading child pornography, Alice faced a traumatic court case and was sentenced to 6 months in jail which she found very tough. After getting out of jail, she became friendly with Fi, who she met at an AA meeting. Ironically, Fi is the Sheriff who sentenced Alice. Fi is gay and Alice confused their friendship for something more and made a pass at her. When Fi didn't reciprocate she was mortified and became weirdly jealous of Fi's friendships.
Alice began getting her life back together, having got a job as a counsellor, but since news of George's illness came out, she became increasingly depressed, feeling left out of the family's decisions and she turned to booze again.
The final straw came when she discovered Robert is her real father, a fact she blurted out drunkenly at George's funeral. Her behaviour alienated Shirley and Deek, and a disgraced Alice was forced to leave Shieldinch.
Actor: Lorraine McIntosh
Most recent posts about Alice Henderson
- Back to the 80s(22 July 2010)
- 12 May 2010 - There's been an accident(14 May 2010)
