A cast member on EastEnders has revealed how show bosses tried to keep Martin Fowler’s death a secret.
The BBC show killed off the character – played by James Bye since 2014 – on last night’s live episode, as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations this week. Following an explosion at the Queen Vic, Martin was the latest fatality.
The episode featured a metal beam falling on Martin inside the pub after he first appeared on EastEnders in 1985, the year it first aired. He died after it was lifted off his legs by paramedics, with his “true love” Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) by his side at the end.
In an ostensible attempt to keep their identities a secret, it has since been revealed that Martin and Stacey were in “code names” in the script in a number of scenes during the live episode, culminating in his death. The news was shared by cast member Kellie Bright, 48, who plays Linda Carter.
She shared behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram this afternoon, including two photos of colleagues James, 40, and Lacey, 36, together. They were seen wearing pair-specific personalized green t-shirts that matched. The front featured “#startin” – a combination of Stacey and Martin.
Alongside a pink love heart, matching text on the back of the t-shirts read: “TODD &, WINNIE 4 EVA”. Todd and Winnie were given their names in the recent live episode’s script, suggested Kelly.
Kellie, who also shared other photos in the post, wrote in part about the episode’s theme: “I have to give some special love and respect to @laceyturner and @jimmybye who gave the most beautiful and heartbreaking performances last night. It’s SO hard to say goodbye to your co star after ten years (I should know) but to do that LIVE!!?!?!! I’m in awe of both of them because it was so special. She continued, “The matching t-shirts were purchased by James and they are the code names that they were given in the script,” in addition to a laughing emoji. Why?? I have no idea”.
In the post, Kellie also confirmed that not every character had a code name, and in a subsequent post, she also shared a screenshot of her script. In Kellie’s depiction of their relationship, Linda and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) were given their first names by her script.
Martin had been spotted struggling to breathe as the emergency services attempted to lift him out of the beam during the live broadcast. While he and Stacey waited, they discussed their future together. After the beam was removed, she was informed that there was a chance of cardiac arrest due to crush syndrome. Later, when the restraint was finally lifted off his legs at the end of the episode, Martin passed away, leaving some fans heartbroken. Prior to the anniversary celebrations, there had been a concern that Martin would pass away during the gatherings, with it being suggested that there were signs that suggested the possibility was imminent.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., EastEnders airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Monday.
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Source: Mirror
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