Mark Fowler

Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made brief returns to the role in 1986 and 1987. Scarboro died by suicide in April 1988 and subsequently Mark was recast two years later on his return, with former Grange Hill regular Todd Carty taking on the role. From this point the character was a permanent fixture in the series and Carty remained in the role until the character was written out of the series in early 2003.

The character was originated as a member of the established Beale/Fowler family; he is the eldest son of Arthur ( Bill Treacher) and Pauline (Wendy Richard), thus being the older brother of both Michelle (Susan Tully/ Jenna Russell) and Martin (Jon Peyton-Price/ James Alexandrou/ James Bye) as well. Initially a delinquent teenager from his early stint on the show, he later became a changed man upon returning to Albert Square as a 22-year-old in 1990. Following his return, Mark became one of the show's central protagonists was featured in some of the most prominent storylines during his tenure on the soap. Arguably his biggest and most prolific storyline saw the character announce that he had been diagnosed with HIV, which forced him to grow up fast and accept his responsibilities. He frequently found it difficult to accept the restrictions of the illness, which finally caused his death in April 2004.

Mark had embarked on three marriages with Gill Fowler (Susanna Dawson), who had also contracted HIV and died on the day after their wedding; Ruth Fowler ( Caroline Paterson), which ended in adultery; and Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin), which became the most circumstantial out of all his marriages. Other storylines involved feuds with his archnemesis Nick Cotton ( John Altman) and love rival Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), an unlikely friendship with Phil's aggressive brother Grant ( Ross Kemp), a much-friendlier relationship with Nick's beloved mother Dot (June Brown), a close companionship with Michelle's best friend Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), helping his family keep secret that Sharon's adopted father Den (Leslie Grantham) is the father of Michelle's baby Vicki (Emma Herry/Samantha Leigh Martin/ Scarlett Alice Johnson), becoming a suspect in the Who Shot Phil? enquiries, coping with the death of his father Arthur not long after the latter is exonerated for being wrongfully implicated with embezzlement, and managing to reconcile with Pauline in light of overcoming a number of major family problems.

Storylines

1985–1987

Mark Fowler is the first of three children born to Albert Square residents Arthur Fowler ( Bill Treacher) and his wife Pauline (Wendy Richard); he has a sister called Michelle (Susan Tully) and the two later have a brother named Martin (Jon Peyton-Price). In the events of his teenage years, Mark got involved in drugs with local thug Nick Cotton ( John Altman) before later seeking to join a racist organization known as "The New Movement". He also generally clashed with his parents before later becoming a suspect in the murder of elderly neighbour Reg Cox (Johnnie Clayton), unknowingly committed by Nick. With no solution to his own problems in sight, Mark abruptly leaves home without telling anyone. He is not seen again until eight months later when he contacts his parents through a runaways' agency; Pauline and Arthur eventually locate him in Southend-on-Sea. Mark is living with an older Swedish woman named Ingrid ( Sally Faulkner) and her two children, John (Anthony Short) and Melanie