Fans worry that this week might be Martin Fowler’s last appearance after his first season with Eastenders, which he’s been a part of since the beginning.
The iconic Queen Vic caught fire inside last night’s episode, with Martin among the other nearly every other Albert Square resident inside. Martin, whose first appearance was in 1985, has been involved in a love triangle with his two ex-wives, Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
Stacey confessed her love to her ex-husband moments before the explosion as the two grew closer together in the previous months. One of the soap’s most enduring characters is now being debated on social media whether this is the end.
But who is the actor who is playing him right now, and what will his future look like if he actually leaves the square? James Bye, 40, is actually the third actor to play Martin Fowler, taking the role in 2013. The first was Jon Peyton-Price, but James Alexandrou, who was 11 years old, truly took on the role.
Before making his decision to leave to pursue other opportunities, Martin was snagged out of the soap by traveling with wife Sonia, who portrayed the market stallholder in the seasons 1996 and 2007.
Bye stepped into Martin’s shoes when they made the decision to return him. Born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, Bye appeared in The Bill and The Great Train Robbery before taking the EastEnders role in 2014. Since then, he’s appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, Pointless Celebrities, Richard Osman’s House of Games and The Wall.
Away from the small screen, he leads a bustling life with his wife Victoria and their four sons Edward, 10, Louis, eight, Hugo, five, and Rufus, one, in a beautiful home in Buckinghamshire, with their lively exploits regularly shared on social media.
The couple’s romance began 16 years ago in an unanticipated location in a Sainsbury’s parking lot, where James was “handed Victoria a fruit jelly” and distributed promotional items, according to What to Watch. After he invited her to a date at a nearby pub, their romance blossomed.
The couple renewed their wedding vows in St Lucia in January 2023 to commemorate their 10-year marriage by renouncing their vows in the year. The pair commemorated the occasion with a sunset photo shared on their family Instagram account, captioning it: “Happy 1 year anniversary to us…. (again)”.
Victoria runs a life-filled Instagram blog called Life With The Byes, giving followers a peek into the daily routine of a five-person family. She once openly discussed parenting difficulties while in the public eye.
In her words, “We finally settled in beautiful Bucks, and the boys have grown up in our messy, noisy home, where everything is normal,” she writes. But it’s still a worry. “.
When Louis arrives home from school and enquires about being “known”? Or when Hugo believes that sharing a selfie with his father is normal.
Bye and Lacey Turner, who plays his onscreen wife, are close friends, and have a son named Hugo, their youngest son, are also close friends. Five-year-old Hugo also enjoys playdates with Lacey’s daughter, Dusty.
Recalling the moment he invited Lacey to become a godparent, the 38-year-old said: “I took Lacey out for lunch to ask her. I was getting too scared to ask her, and I was. She was truly taken aback and described it as an honor, so bless her.
James also extended the honour to another co-star, Davood Ghadami, who plays Kush Kazemi, having previously revealed the pair are “so close, like each other’s shadows”.
Source: Mirror
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