It’s finally here – EastEnders ‘ long-awaited 40th anniversary week, when the hit BBC soap reaches the peak of its celebrations. A special live episode on Thursday, 20 February, will see Denise Fox (Diane Parish) finally choose between her husband, Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), and her lover, Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), in a decision that will be made – in a first for the show – by the voting public.
The cast and crew have been preparing for the huge anniversary milestone for a while now, with several iconic cast members returning, including Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves), Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi) and Phil Mitchell’s infamous brother Grant, played by Ross Kemp. Meanwhile, in attempt to give some insight into Phil’s complicated back story, he’s come face-to-face with his ‘ mum’, Peggy (Jamie Winstone), in a disturbing series of hallucinations.
But two characters who aren’t thought to be returning to join the festivities are Ali Osman and his brother, Mehmet, played in the 1980s by Nejdet Salih and Haluk Bilginer. Haluk, who played Mehmet from 1985 to 1989, was a member of Haluk’s EastEnders cast early on. Tony Holland and Julia Smith, the writers who were bringing his character to the young soap to represent London’s expanding Turkish Cypriot community.
At the Queen Vic pub, where the lively Turkish song Oy Oy Emine was performed, Mehmet and Ali had one of the most memorable moments in Albert Square. According to OK!, he was struck by Mary the Punk in a different scene at the Vic when attempting to kiss her. Unfortunately, when the writers left the show, both stars were abruptly cut out of the happenings in Albert Square.
While Nejdet’s acting career seemed to plateau after leaving EastEnders, Haluk’s didn’t. When he returned to TV last year in the lead role of The Turkish Detective, he continued to act and appeared completely unrecognizable from his Walford days. Stepping into the shoes of Detective Cetin Ikmen in the new BBC2 series last July, he sported a bushy, grey beard and starred alongside Yasemin Allen, who played Cetin’s female counterpart, Detective Ayse Farsakoglu.
Haluk’s Instagram profile also presents him in a completely different light from EastEnders’ young Mehmet. In one image, taken back in 2021, he has long, wild hair and the same grey beard, with a photo that he captioned: “IS BALLET A SPORT??”? He appears to be in New York in another photo, which was taken shortly before Christmas last year, as he poses for a selfie with a group of people there.
American production company Miramax created The Turkish Detective for television, which was based on Barbara Nadel’s The Cetin Ikmen Crime Novels, an English-language novel. While Nadel’s version stretches across 24 novels, the tale was condensed into eight episodes for viewers. The cast also included Ethan Kai, who is renowned for his roles in Emmerdale’s 2016 and BBC’s spy thriller Killing Eve.
Haluk’s acting credentials after EastEnders are impressive. In 1992, he and his then-wife Zuhal Olcay secured roles in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. They even built their own theater after returning to Turkey and staring in numerous movies there. Despite taking a break from English-language films for some time, Haluk made a comeback in 2009 with the American thriller The International, where he took on the role of high-tech missile guidance system dealer, Ahmet Sunay.
He also featured as Dr Ranbir Sartain, the new psychiatrist of Michael Myers, in the 2018 horror sequel Halloween. He won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 for his role in the crime drama Sahsiyet (Persona), and in 2018, he won an Emmy for Best Actor in a Leading Actor for his portrayal of Agah Beyoglu.
Source: Mirror
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