The Fowlers have been part of EastEnders for the past 36 years and have left their mark on The Square.
James Alexandrou played Martin Fowler, the son of matriarch Pauline Fowler, from 1995 to 2007 after taking over from Jon Peyton Price.
The 36-year-old had quite a run on the soap, playing a troubled teen who faces underage pregnancy, a brief jail sentence and his brother tragically dying of an AIDS-related form of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Fortunately for James, his life behind the camera has been a lot happier, with him even dating one of his co-stars.
James dated Kara Tointon, who played Dawn Swann on the popular soap, for a year before calling it quits.
(Image: Getty Images)
After 12 years of playing the character, James bid farewell to Martin and Albert Square to pursue his other passions
His character left to travel round the world with his wife Sonia Fowler, played by Natalie Cassidy.
The door was left open for the character to come back, however despite the Martin making a return, James did not.
He explained: “They were talking for a while about me going back.
“They made it very clear that they were bringing the character back and they would really like me to go back, but it just wasn’t right for me at the time.”
(Image: BBC)
“The attraction in it would be to see some of my old mates and have a bit of nostalgia, and that wasn’t enough at the time to do it.”
The actor went on to tour with the Royal Shakespeare company playing numerous roles including Iago in Othello.
He also made appearances on other BBC shows like Silent Witness and Casualty.
The actor has also been vocal about the controversy surrounding actor and director, Noel Clarke after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
(Image: PA)
The Guardian reported allegations of bullying and sexual harassment from 20 women against Clarke in April.
The star “vehemently” denied the allegations, but said he was “deeply sorry” for some of his actions and would seek professional help.
Taking to Twitter, James wrote: “Noel Clarke had too many of scared us for too long.
“I genuinely feel ashamed I didn’t do more to stand up for friends of mine he hurt.
“Innocent until proven guilty, but this was long overdue.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
