EastEnders marks its 40th anniversary next week and to celebrate the occasion, Daily Star has taken a look at where the original cast members from the first-ever episode are now
It has been 40 years since EastEnders first hit television screens on February 19, 1985, and viewers fell in love with Walford for the first time.
Over the years, there have been countless characters come and go from Albert Square, but there are still a few left from the very first episode.
Back then, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) was a fresh-faced teenager with high hopes, and a chip on his shoulder, who hung around his dad Pete Beale’s (Pete Dean) fruit and veg stall.
Ian lived with his mum Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Pete who was also the twin of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard).
Kathy was on the show for 15 years until she left in 2000, and later faked her own death while in South Africa. However, she made a shocking return in 2015 and has remained part of the furniture ever since, to the delight of son Ian.
Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) was a bit of a loud-mouth teenager during the show’s debut episode who lived at The Queen Vic with her fiery parents Den (Leslie Grantham) and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson).
With that said, let’s take a look at what happened to some of the most iconic stars from the inaugural episode as EastEnders turns 40.
Susan Tully as Michelle Fowler
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Michelle Fowler is the older sister of Martin, and originally starred on the show between 1985 until 1995. After leaving the soap, Susan, 57, turned her talents to directing and has worked on TV classics including The Bill, London’s Burning and even EastEnders.
Other credits include Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Silent Witness, Stella, Britannia, Line of Duty and Strike: Lethal White. She has also directed episodes of Sky Atlantic show Tin Star.
Gretchen Franklin as Ethel Skinner
Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin) was the Walford gossip queen for three years until her character moved to an old folks’ home.
She made brief returns until her final appearance in 2000 where she passed away in company of best pal Dot Cotton. In real-life, Gretchen died in 2005, aged 94.
John Altman – Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton was the original Albert Square villain, and the son of Dot, who returned to Walford six times. But after years of causing havoc, Nick died from a drugs overdose in 2015.
Actor John, 72, has continued to act and has appeared in other popular shows including The Real Marigold Hotel and horror, The Last Grail Hunter. He’s also a musician.
Anita Dobson – Angie Watts
Anita Dobson portrayed the emotionally exhausted and alcohol-dependent Angie from 1985 to 1988, and was The Vic’s first landlady and wife to Den. Angie exited Walford in 1988 to join her new beau, Sonny, under the Spanish sun before relocating to Miami and remarrying. But she passed away off-screen in 2002 from cirrhosis.
The iconic actress has since gone on to star in a long list of other popular TV shows, including Dangerfield, Ghosts, Sunburn, Hotel Babylon, Holby City, The Bill and The Rebel on Gold.
Anita, who is married to Queen legend Brian May, has also appeared on stage in various productions including musical Chorus Girls, Chicago, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Wicked, and she also took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2011.
Most recently, she starred as Eunice Lytton in Father Brown (2025), and last year alone she played Janine in Generation Z (2024), Janet in Curfew (2024), Mrs Flood in Doctor Who, and Mrs. Mentis in This Time Next Year.
Leslie Grantham – ‘Dirty’ Den Watts
Den Watts. known as Dirty Den, had two stints in Walford from 1985-1988 and then again from 2003-2005. Den was famed for calling daughter Sharon ‘princess’ and came back from the dead 15 years after being famously shot dead next to a canal.
His character was killed off for a second time after he was murdered in The Queen Vic. Off-screen, Leslie died of lung cancer, aged 71, in 2018.
Sandy Ratcliff – Sue Osman
Sandy played café owner Sue Osman between 1985 and 1980 and was at the centre of many hard hitting storylines including the loss of her baby to cot death. Sandy left the show in 1989.
Following her time in Albert Square, the soap star had a string of other TV roles, such as on ITV ’s Maigret as well as the BBC shows A Box of Swan and Men of the Month.
Sadly the beloved actress died in a care home at the age of 70 in April 2019. In October 2019, an inquest heard how the EastEnders actress died after taking an excessive amount of morphine while suffering from two terminal lung conditions. The inquest was also told that she struggled with a heroin addiction for 20 years, reports OK!.
Nej Adamson (Nejdet Silah) – Ali Osman
Along with his wife Sue, Ali ran the Bridge Street Café in Walford, which is now called Kathy’s. Ali eventually turned his back on estranged wife Sue and in 1989 and left Walford for good when his family sent him and Little Ali to Northern Cyprus.
In 1992, Nej played the role of Fayid in film Carry On Columbus which also starred comedy genius Rik Mayall. He has appeared in two episodes of TV comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet, and has also appeared in Doctor Who and Wall of Silence (2004).
Nej has also starred on the big screen as he played a sailor in the hit Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006).
Most recently Nej starred in 2017’s American Assassin, drama Sleep Warm in 2018 and also played a part in horror movie Heckle in 2019.
David Scarboro – Mark Fowler
David appeared in the very first EastEnders episode in February 1985 as Mark Fowler, the son of Pauline and Arthur. The actor was written out of the soap only two months later in April 1985 before making brief returns to the role in 1986 and 1987.
Tragically, his life was cut short and he was found dead at the bottom of Beachy Head in East Sussex in April 1988, at just 20 years old. A documentary on his life was produced by the BBC in 1988 titled My Brother David and was presented by his brother Simon.
Anna Wing – Lou Beale
Anna featured as the opinionated Beale and Fowler family matriarch for three years, alongside Gretchen Franklin as her best friend Ethel Skinner. In July 2013, Anna died aged 98.
During the 1960s and 70s, she starred in a number of TV mini-series and films, including Doctor Who and The Woman in White. Following her role in EastEnders, Wing appeared in The Bill, Casualty and most recently, Silent Witness.
Peter Dean – Pete Beale
Pete Beale, the cockney fruit and veg seller, could be seen on the market from 1985 until May 1993. With Peter slamming the producers in public, his contract was reportedly terminated after irreconcilable differences.
As a result, his character was killed in a car crash off-screen in December that year. Peter, now 85, later made guest appearances in Bo’ Selecta and Little Britain while, in 2018, he also took part in the BBC series, The Real Marigold Hotel.
Wendy Richard – Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler was the no-nonsense mum of Mark, Michelle and Martin Fowler, and married to Arthur before their shocking break-up.
Pauline died on Christmas Day 2006 after collapsing in the middle of Albert Square, with the cause of death later revealed as a brain haemorrhage caused by her then-husband Joe hitting her with a frying pan.
Wendy Richard also starred in other much-loved TV shows including: Benidorm, Here Comes the Queen, Marple, Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time, Are You Being Served and many more. She passed away in February 2009 aged 65 after battling breast cancer.
Bill Treacher – Arthur Fowler
Over the course of his 11 years in the soap, Arthur Fowler suffered a nervous breakdown, went to prison twice and yet still found time for an affair.
However, Bill was told by doctors the long hours were unhealthy, so he left the soap in 1995 and Arthur was killed off. Bill also did spells on The Bill and Casualty.
However, the actor died aged 92 in November 2022 after after suffering declining health for some time.
Andrew Johnson – Saeed Jeffery
Andrew only spent 10 months as shopkeeper Saeed before going on to star in a long list of other TV shows and films.
He reportedly moved to Hollywood and had minor parts in Murder She Wrote and Inspector Morse. His last role was six years ago, playing a thug in The Bold And The Beautiful.
Leonard Fenton – Harold Legg
Local GP, Dr Harold Legg, became a close friend to Dot Cotton (June Brown) and after 12 years on the soap he left in 1997, but Leonard continued to bob in and out for the next 22 years. He also worked as an artist and director and performed radio plays.
His final appearance was in 2019 when Dr Legg passed away from pancreatic cancer. In real-life, Leonard died in 2022, aged 95.
Johnnie Clayton – Reg Cox
Played by Johnnie Clayton, Reg was a pensioner who lived alone on Albert Square, and appeared in the first ever scene of the BBC soap. Den, Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) and Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih) broke down the door of his flat, with Den exclaiming “It stinks in here, dunnit?”.
They found Reg laying unconscious in his chair, and an ambulance was called. But sadly, Reg died from injuries sustained in a beating, which had not been picked up on when he was found.
Johnnie also starred in Little Dorrit, Lucky Feller, Doctor in the House, plus other shows throughout between the 1960s and 70s. According to IMDB, Johnnie passed away in 1992.
EastEnders airs Monday – Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
