Martin Fowler (EastEnders)

1985–2007

Martin is the younger son of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) and Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher). His considerably older brother is Mark Fowler (David Scarboro from 1985 until 1987, then Todd Carty from 1990 until 2003) and his older sister is Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully/Jenna Russell). Martin grows up facing numerous family upsets, including the death of his grandmother Lou Beale (Anna Wing) in 1988, his father's mental breakdown in 1986, his parents' temporary separation in 1993, which Martin takes badly, and his father's wrongful imprisonment in 1995. As Martin ages he becomes surly and increasingly troublesome. Martin is ten years old when his father dies, and he becomes more difficult after this. He befriends a small gang of young criminals from his local school and a series of petty thefts, burglaries and vandalism culminates in him being arrested.

Martin has a brief relationship with Nicky di Marco (Carly Hillman) in 2000, but she refuses to have sex. Martin turns to Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy) after Nicky dumps him. Sonia is feeling vulnerable, and after getting drunk, they sleep together and she becomes pregnant. Sonia gives birth to daughter Chloe on 26 October 2000 and when she names Martin as the father, a feud erupts between the Jacksons and the Fowlers, with Pauline demanding custody of the baby on learning of Sonia's plans to give her up for adoption. This leads to a court hearing where Sonia asks that baby Chloe be returned to her and she will raise her with her boyfriend, Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder), if Martin asks for custody with Pauline to support him. However, the judge rules that the adoption should go ahead when Martin admits that he does not want to be a father. Martin's deviancy continues when he takes drugs provided by Nick Cotton (John Altman), which leads to Martin's brother Mark (now Todd Carty) taking revenge and leaving Nick temporarily paralysed.

Martin receives a six-month prison sentence in February 2003 after driving the car that hit Jamie, and causes his death. However, he only serves two months, being let out early for good behaviour. Once released, Martin resumes his criminal lifestyle by robbing a shop, blackmailing Kareena Ferreira (Pooja Shah) and growing cannabis in his late father's shed, assisted by his best friend, Asif Malik (Ashvin Luximon). This leads to family friend Derek Harkinson (Ian Lavender) taking the blame when the police find out, as Martin cannot risk trouble with the law, due to his previous convictions. It is not until Martin is confronted and forgiven by a bereaved Sonia that he finally begins to feel remorse for his actions and attempts to reform himself.

After a few brief relationships, including a one-night stand with Kelly Taylor (Brooke Kinsella), Martin begins growing close to Sonia, and they fall in love. After Sonia helps him come to terms with the death of his brother, Martin decides to propose marriage. Amidst constant interference from Pauline, Martin and Sonia decide to elope in June 2004. The newlyweds move in with Pauline but she puts constant strain on their marriage with her meddling. Several months later, Martin unwittingly puts his marriage in jeopardy when he encounters Sarah Cairns (Alison Pargeter). After passing out drunk at Sarah's house, she claims that Martin slept with her and begins stalking him. When Martin physically threatens her, she calls the police and has him arrested before revealing their "affair" to Sonia. Sarah's plan is thwarted however, as Sonia refuses to leave her husband. After admitting that their affair is a lie, Sarah stabs Martin with a kitchen knife but Sonia hits her over the head with Pauline's fruit bowl. Sarah is committed to a mental institution and Martin and Sonia put the incident behind them.

Pauline's influence over Martin starts putting a real strain on his marriage. Things worsen when Sonia finds out that Martin and Pauline have been visiting her and Martin's daughter (now named Rebecca) against her wishes in 2005. Early in 2006, their marriage breaks down, due to Sonia's affair with a fellow student, Naomi Julien (Petra Letang) which was discovered in December 2005. Martin is devastated but she soon regrets it when Martin is given custody of their daughter following the death of her legal guardian and they frequently exclude her from Rebecca's life. Martin tries to move on by dating Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley) briefly, stirring up some jealousy in Sonia. Immediately after they divorce in October 2006, they begin to regret it and sleep together. They then secretly reunite and hope to keep it from Pauline but she eventually finds out and they argue. Pauline prepares to leave but the house catches fire, and Martin saves her. Pauline then claims that she is dying from a brain tumour. In fact, she is faking it to make sure that Martin ends his relationship with Sonia, which he eventually does. However, Martin is stunned when it is revealed that Pauline has been lying. When Martin discovers that his mother is leaving for the United States on Christmas Day, he tries to persuade her to stay, but her decision is final. On Christmas Day, Martin proposes to Sonia again and she accepts, but later that day he discovers his mother's dead body in the Square. Martin believes Joe murdered her, but Sonia confesses that she is responsible, as she had hit her earlier. After they fight, the police arrive and Sonia is arrested on suspicion of murder. She is released and he forbids her to see Rebecca. Pauline's post-mortem results are announced and Martin is told that Pauline's death was caused by a severe blow to the head. Sonia goes on the run with Rebecca, leaving Martin devastated. Sonia and Rebecca soon return and Martin calls the police to arrest her. It is later revealed that Joe killed Pauline. When Pauline's will is read, she gives Martin possession of the house but only if he does not live with Sonia. Martin and Sonia reunite anyway and they, Rebecca and Pauline's dog, Betty, leave Walford together on 2 February 2007. It is later revealed they are touring the USA, staying with Martin's sister, Michelle.

Sonia returns to Walford alone in February 2010 for Bianca Jackson's wedding. Initially Sonia says that Martin and Rebecca are fine, but then tells her mother Carol Jackson that she and Martin are having problems in their marriage. Sonia reveals in 2011 that she and Rebecca are living in Dagenham and that Martin now has a new girlfriend in Manchester. Sonia returns to Walford in January 2014 and admits that she and Martin still have marital problems.

2014–

Martin returns to Walford to support Sonia on the evening of her Fat Blasters' Christmas party, but arrives late and discovers she has collapsed due to complications with a gastric band she got in Bulgaria. Sonia tells Martin that she had the operation as she felt he was not attracted to her any longer and he later recognises that they do not love each other and they separate, with Martin returning to Dagenham. Martin returns to Walford for the wedding of his cousin Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). He, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) discover Nick's dead body at number 23 (recreating the first ever scene in EastEnders). After agreeing not to speak of the matter, they discover that Dot has called the police and confessed that she has killed him. After walking Stacey home, he tries to kiss her but she rejects him. He later returns while Ian and his wife Jane (Laurie Brett) are on their honeymoon, staying at their house and catches Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene) having sex with Liam Butcher (James Forde and decides to keep an eye on her. He manages to convince his and Sonia's daughter, Bex (Jasmine Armfield) to come to Walford, where she reveals her new look as a Goth. He also attends Donna Yates's (Lisa Hammond) birthday party with Kush and their friends from football. He tries to kiss Donna for a bet but ends up getting into a fight with Fatboy (Ricky Norwood). He also confides in Kush that he thinks he and Sonia could get their marriage back on track but then spots Sonia kissing her new girlfriend, Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White). He later argues with Sonia in The Vic after revealing the truth about her and Tina and tells Bex that Sonia is a lesbian, making her reject Sonia. After Martin and Sonia have a meaningful conversation about their relationship, he sends Bex to live with Sonia. It is later revealed that Martin is homeless and sleeping in the back of his van. Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) tells Ian of Martin's troubles and Martin moves in with Ian and later tells Sonia that he has lost their house in Dagenham. After filing for divorce, Martin rents a flat with Stacey and her daughter Lily Branning (Aine Garvey) and they start dating, which gets serious despite Stacey's lingering feelings for Kush. Their relationship progresses as Martin and Sonia's divorce comes through and Martin researches bipolar disorder.

When Martin finds out that Stacey is pregnant, he initially wants her to book a termination but later supports her decision to keep the baby. She discovers he is planning to propose and says she does not want to marry again, so he proposes a commitment without marriage, and she accepts. Stacey is electrocuted by a faulty socket that Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) failed to repair properly so Martin punches him and threatens to kill him if the baby dies as a result. At the hospital, Martin finds out she is okay and the baby is a boy. When Stacey is discharged, Martin announces tells everyone in the Queen Vic that the baby is a boy and invites Lee and Whitney to join him, Stacey, Kush, and Shabnam Masood (Rakhee Thakrar) for lunch. He apologises for hitting Lee and forgives him for the incident. Shabnam discovers that Martin is not the father of Stacey's baby, but she and Kush decide not to tell Martin. When Stacey's son is born on Christmas Eve, Martin names him Arthur Fowler, after his father. Two weeks later, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) discovers that Martin is not Arthur's father and when Stacey and Arthur go missing, Martin and Kush grow concerned and try to find her. Martin eventually finds Stacey on the roof of the Queen Victoria. She claims that Arthur is the son of God and that God will rescue them from what she thinks are demons. Martin, believing it is a symptom of her unmedicated bipolar, goes along with what her and convinces her to come home with him. On the day of Charlie's funeral, Stacey is upset that she did not get to the church so God could give her a message. She does not allow Martin near Arthur and smashes glass cups to protect them. When Stacey goes to Kush and Shabnam's for safety, Martin persuades her that she is safe with him. He takes her to hospital and after Stacey speaks to a psychologist, Martin learns that there are no mother and baby units and that Stacey will have to be sectioned. Martin breaks the news to Stacey and is later informed Stacey is suffering from postpartum psychosis. When Martin visits Stacey, he realises that she needs to see Arthur and tries to find a hospital with a mother and baby unit. Kush convinces Martin to have a night out and deliberately leaves his phone behind. When Martin returns, he discovers he missed a call about a mother and baby unit and has missed out. Martin punches Kush and they fight, leading Kush to admit that he has ruined everything. Martin travels to find another mother and baby unit the following day, taking Arthur with him while doing so. Sonia and Bex learn that Martin and Arthur were involved in a car crash on their way home.

Martin discharges himself from hospital, worried that he will miss Stacey's medical review but he has already missed it. He visits Stacey after discovering she has chosen to stay in hospital, where she says that everyone is better off without her, asking him to raise Arthur and Lily the way she wanted. He realises she feels that way because she is in hospital, and vows to break her out. Stacey refuses and the doctor tells him to go home and rest. Martin finds a mother and baby unit for Stacey in Essex and takes her and Arthur there. A nurse hands him a letter Stacey left behind and he reads it at home, discovering that Arthur is Kush's son. He visits Stacey and tells her he knows the truth. She begs for his forgiveness, but he leaves and goes to America, returning a few weeks later. He sees Kush and immediately punches him. He tells Sonia he is only collecting his belongings. When under pressure by those denouncing him for abandoning Arthur, Martin publicly reveals that Kush is Arthur's father. As Martin is about to leave for the airport, Kush promises to be a good father but assures Martin that he will always be the real father no matter what, Martin goes to the mother and baby unit and reunites with Stacey and Arthur. During Stacey's first home visit, Martin is annoyed when Stacey's half-brother Kyle Slater (Riley Carter Millington) returns but after Kyle tells Stacey he is transgender, she invites Kyle to live with them and Martin, not knowing the truth, reluctantly agrees. When Martin and Stacey reconcile, Stacey proposes to Martin and he accepts. They also tell Kush that he can be a part of Arthur's life, but Kush later says he no longer wants this.

When Kat stops paying Stacey's rent, Martin sets up his own market stall but some of his merchandise is faulty and he is forced to issue refunds, though is unable to get a refund himself. Andy Flynn (Jack Derges) assists Martin by getting him some work in Sunderland for two weeks. Martin accepts this, but when he returns, Stacey is underwhelmed with the funds he has collected; he insists more is being transferred soon. Andy later tells Martin he knows he was fired from the job and is lying to Stacey. Andy tells Stacey, so Martin explains that he was underqualified for the position. Martin asks Andy for more work, so Andy says that 40 toilets were delivered in error to the flats he is renovating and they could sell them and split the profits. Martin agrees and with Stacey and Kyle's help, they successfully steal them. When Stacey learns her cousin Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris) is trying to sell them back to Jack, Martin, Stacey, Kyle and Belinda put them back. Following Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) death, Stacey tells Martin she cannot get married, but she changes her mind. Martin and Stacey marry at the registry office. When Sonia moves away, Bex moves in with Martin and Stacey and the family then move into Sonia's old house, but Kyle and Belinda then both move away. Later, Martin is furious when he finds out that Bex's boyfriend and Kush's younger brother, Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) has ended his relationship with Bex immediately after having sex with her. He attacks Shakil in the market and announces his actions to everyone but this humilates Bex. He apologises to Bex and Stacey and later comforts Bex.

Martin is unhappy when Stacey's former flame Max Branning (Jake Wood) returns to Walford after being wrongly accused of murdering Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) and he and Stacey grow close. Martin tells Stacey he is worried about Max's motives for coming back and informs her that Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) bribed the juror of Max's trial to find him guilty, which Stacey later tells Max. Martin discovers that the market is being moved and attempts to get the market traders to strike. A bus crashes into the market and Martin is trapped under it. He tells Stacey he loves her, presuming he will not survive, but is rescued by a group of people who lift the bus so he can be moved. At the hospital, Martin agrees to having a baby with Stacey.

In the new year, a Walford bus crashes into the square when the driver suffers a heart attack - Martin is caught in the crash and badly injured underneath the bus. He is eventually rescued and taken to hospital, luckily suffering no critical injuries and making a full recovery. At Ian Beale's birthday party in the Vic in March 2017, Steven Beale finds a video created by Shakil's friend Keegan, which depicts Bex photoshopped to appear naked, created using a video she had uploaded of herself singing. A drunk Martin looks at the video after hearing it's bizarre sounds, and upon realising Bex is in it, demands her to tell him who made it. He visits the school and speaks to the head teacher, though Bex continues to refuse to unveil the culprit after threats issued by those involved. Martin is called to the school a second time days later, where the police are now involved, as the video can be classed as child pornography. However, it is here he discovers Bex also possessed a picture of a naked Shakil on her phone, which ended up being shared around by Louise. As this could also be branded child pornography, Bex's phone is confiscated and an investigation begins into her actions as well. Martin later bumps into Carmel and Shakil as they are also called to the school, branding Shakil dirty and threatening violence against him if he ever sees his face again. Martin then grounds Bex due to her actions, which have also left her with poor exam results, adding to his frustration. Following these events, Martin refuses to let Carmel see Arthur due to Shakil's behaviour, prompting a fight between him, Kush, Carmel, and Stacey at their house. The police then arrive, and reveal the news that Bex also had naked selfies of herself on her phone, which she had also shared with Shakil. Martin's phone is also confiscated as a result. Devastated, he insists that Bex will not be allowed to have her phone back and that she is banned from all forms of social media.

Development

On 12 October 2014, it was announced that James Bye has taken over the role. Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins explained that the recast took place with Alexandrou's blessing. He also said, "Our casting executive Julia Crampsie has found a genuine relatable London bloke in the talented James Bye—we are sure that viewers old and new will soon warm to Martin Fowler's charms as he returns home to Walford."