Where are EastEnders’ biggest stars of the ’90s now?

If you’ve found yourself intrigued by classic episodes of EastEnders over the last two unusual years we’ve been living through, don’t worry, you aren’t the only one.

The thin brows, oversized blazers and questionable haircuts all scream 1990s, as do some of the show’s most memorable characters. From Steve Owen’s murderous rampages to Ian Beale’s heartbreak and (very near) assassination, many of the figures of Walford are still living legends to this day.

Read more: BBC Inside The Factory: Gregg Wallace’s extreme weight loss, body transformation, four divorces and marriage to caterer wife 21 years younger

We took a look at some of The Square’s most widely-recognised and best-loved faces who made weekday evenings the best time of day. See how many you remember.

Todd Carty – “Mark Fowler”

British/Irish actor Todd Carty took over the role of Mark Fowler London soap all the way back in 1990, after the original star of the role, David Scarboro, passed away. Playing one of the show’s central protagonists and fan favourites for 13 years, he featured in some of the most prominent storylines, including his character’s HIV diagnosis which caused the delinquent former-teen have to grow up quickly.

Carty made his final appearance as Mark in February 2003, riding out of the Square on his motorbike with his character subsequently being killed off behind the scenes.

The same year that he left the East End, he took up the role of PC Gabriel Kent in popular ITV cop drama The Bill, which he continued for two years. He has also since featured in much-loved series’ such as Heartbeat, Holby City, and Grange Hill, as well as having starred in various on-stage and pantomime productions.

Tamzin Outhwaite – “Melanie Owens”

Tamzin Outhwaite rose to national fame when she was cast as feisty youngster Melanie Healy in EastEnders back in 1998. During nearly four years in Walford, her plucky character was pivotal in various explosive storylines, including the ‘Who Shot Phil?’ mystery and her drug connection allegations.

She left the show in 2002 following the departure of her on-screen husband Martin Kemp, who played Steve Owen, however she explicitly never ruled out a potential return, eventually coming back in 2017 with a more villainous streak.

Outhwaite departed the soap for a second and final time in November 2019, after her character was killed off by being hit by a lorry. She later landed roles in various television series’ including ITV drama The Fixer, sci-fi crime show Paradox, and popular comedy New Tricks.

Having previously dabbled in the world of theatre, she appeared on 2010’s talent show Over The Rainbow in the hope of attaining a role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz production. The same year, she took a place on the judging panel of similar Channel 5 series, Don’t Stop Believing. In 2021, Outhwaite then appeared on The Masked Singer as ‘Scarecrow’ being unmasked in the final and finishing in fourth place.

Paul Nicholls – “Joe Wicks”

When he was cast for the show as troubled heartthrob Joe Wicks back in 1996, actor Paul Nicholls was unaware that he would soon be a part of one of Walford history’s most dark and disturbing storylines. He arrives on the Square following the death of his sister due to a car crash, but begins to blame himself for it as the two had had an argument over who would sit in the front seat of the car. The character developed schizophrenia, demonstrating increasingly strange behaviour and later, attempting suicide.

The distressing storyline prompted thousands of telephone calls to the National Schizophrenia Fellowship from sufferers and their families, who agreed that the plot broke the UK’s taboo on discussing mental illness and praised the sensitive way that schizophrenia was portrayed. The role saw Nicholls nominated for ‘Most Popular Newcomer’ in the 1996 NTA’s as well as ‘Most Popular Actor’ the following year.

The character’s exit from EastEnders, which was viewed by 22 million people, led to the actor bagging several theatre roles as well as parts in popular television dramas such as in ITV’s Harley Street, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Law and Order: UK, as well as in BBC’s The Passion and Holby City. In 2017, he was cast in one of Ackley Bridge’s lead roles, Steve Bell.

Last year, Nicholls revealed that he suffered a stroke two years earlier which caused him to fall into a deep depression and triggered an addiction to cocaine. He recently told The Sun that he was currently attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings but that if he were to relapse again, he “would die”.

Martine McCutcheon – “Tiffany Mitchell”

Christmas movie fans might recognise Martine McCutcheon as PM Hugh Grant’s doting ‘tea-lady’ Natalie in Richard Curtis’ Love Actually. The actress reached national fame prior to this however, when in 1994 she was offered the small role of Tiffany Mitchell on EastEnders.

As her character’s prominence on the show began to increase, so did McCutcheon’s popularity, with 22 million viewers having tuned in to see her final Albert Square scenes just four years later when she was killed off in a special New Years Eve episode. She was reportedly unhappy with the BBC’s decision to murder her character as she had intended to return one day, however she quickly turned her attention to a pop career.

McCutcheon released numerous singles with her debut album ‘You Me & Us’ reaching the No. 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart, and following her appearance in Love Actually – for which she won the MTV Movie Award for Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough Performer – she starred in several episodes of BBC drama Spooks as well as the Agatha Christie’s Marple series.

2016 then saw her announced as a panellist on the ITV daytime show Loose Women having made several guest appearances on the show earlier in the year. Five years later, In 2021, she also took part in The Masked Singer as Swan, being the contestant to be unmasked.

Dean Gaffney – “Robbie Jackson”

One of EastEnders’ iconic characters of the ’90s was Robbie Jackson, played by Dean Gaffney after he was cast for the role in 1993. He remained in the Square for over 11 years before he and his on-screen girlfriend Nita Mistry (played by Bindya Solanki) were axed. Gaffney did however make one further appearance on the show, returning for a brief visit in 2004 for the wedding of his on-screen half-sister Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy).

He later reprised his legendary role in both 2009 and 2015, and then in 2017, he returned to Walford full-time before being written out of the soap in two years later amid concerns over his off-screen behaviour.

His other television ventures included appearing as a guest star on the long-running ITV cop drama The Bill, whilst he also dabbled in the world of theatre, having toured with the Agatha Christie Theatre Company in their performance of The Unexpected Guest.

Nadia Sawalha – “Annie Palmer”

You might recognise our next ’90s icon from the lunch-time chat-show Loose Women, where she has featured as a lead panellist since 2013, but you might be surprised to know that Nadia Sawahla made her on-screen debut in 1997 when she was cast as businesswoman Annie Palmer on EastEnders and continued in the role for a further two years.

Her character’s traits could not have been further away from that of the lovely Loose lady however, as she was regularly involved with money laundering and illegal gambling during her time on the Square. Sawalha eventually left the show in 1999 when her character’s turf-war with Steve Owen (Kemp) came to an fiery end, forcing her to sell-up shop and flee.

Her other acting television credits included medical/cop dramas Casualty and The Bill, however she had also starred in movies prior to her EastEnders career, such as Clockwise (1986), Which Way to the War (1994), Slave of Dreams (1995), The Vanishing Man (1996), as well as BBC period dramas Station Jim and Caught in the Act.

In recent years, she and Loose Women co-panellist Kaye Adams set up a YouTube channel, for which they record weekly vlogs, cooking videos, film and TV programme reviews.

Martin Kemp – “Steve Owen”

One of British soap opera history’s best-loved villains was shady businessman Steve Owen, who was portrayed by former Spandau Ballet bass-player Martin Kemp.

Kemp had previously starred alongside his brother Gary in popular British movie The Krays, in which they played the notorious gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie, as well as in TV series’ The Outer Limits, Highlander, and The Bill.

His 1998 appearance on the Walford soap was marked by numerous dark storylines, with his first seeing Steve murder ex-girlfriend Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor) on Valentine’s Day during the opening night of his nightclub, for which he the DJ. He also embarked on a two year long dangerous feud with his arch nemesis for which he ended up being a suspect in the great and memorable ‘Who Shot Phil?’ storyline.

In his final moments, Steve was killed in an explosive car crash, however it was later alleged that producers had killed Kemp’s character off on purpose as “revenge” for him make the transition from the BBC to broadcasting rival ITV.

After winning five British Soap Awards, amongst numerous others, Kemp starred in several television dramas including The Brides in The Bath, Can’t Buy Me Love. Along with his radio DJ son, Roman, he has since hosted weekend breakfast show Martin & Roman’s Sunday Best, its spin-off Martin & Roman’s Weekend Best, and the two also regular appear together on Celebrity Gogglebox.

Michelle Collins – “Cindy Beale”

While she was filming for an upcoming BBC play back in 1988, Michelle Collins was hunted by an EastEnders producer, who asked her to audition for the role of market stall seller Cindy. Despite initially being contracted for 11 episodes of the soap, the actress soon excelled in her role of manipulative, reckless Cindy leading her to become one of the show’s most renowned villains. She cheated on husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) before hiring a hit-man to kill him and fleeing with their children.

Following her departure from the soap back in 1999, Collins’s career flourished with a series of drama roles, including in Real Women, Sunburn, Daylight Robbery, The Sleeper, Two Thousand Acres of Sky and many more.

2011 saw Michelle Collins join EastEnders’ main rivalling soap, Coronation Street, as new landlady of the Rovers Return, Stella Price, with her first episode gaining a rating of 8.4 million. Just three years later however, she left the Wetherfield soap amid claims she was “unhappy” over her lack of air time.

After Corrie, she had various guest roles in television drama including in Casualty as Samantha Kellman (2014), in Death in Paradise as Annette Burgess and in Midsomer Murders as Nadine Campbell.

Michael Greco – “Beppe de Marco”

Michael Greco became recognised nationwide for his role as Beppe Di Marco in the East End, joining the cast back in 1998 when his character was developed as part of the show’s introduction of the Di Marco family, the majority of whom featured until in 2000 when remainders Beppe and his son Joe were axed from the show.

In 2005, the actor, who is also a professional poker player on the side, appeared as himself on popular television shows such as Celebrity Love Island, Soapstar Superstar and as a police officer in Casualty.

This year, Greco became a first time dad at 50 with girlfriend Helen Harris, presenting his new born son on Loose Women earlier this week.

Patsy Palmer – “Bianca Jackson”

In 1993, Patsy first appeared in her iconic role of feisty Bianca Jackson. Bianca’s on-screen marriage to Ricky Butcher in 1997 drew an audience of 22 million, which is one of the biggest ever soap audiences. She remained in her role for six years, but quit in 1999 to move on to other things.

After quitting EastEnders, Patsy worked on the debut series of OK TV with Fiona Phillips in 1999. She starred in a Sky miniseries in 2001 and has also released numerous workout DVDs. She has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, The Masked Isnger, and Celebrity Bake Off.

Patsy currently lives in Malibu after moving to the US in 2014. In 2020 she rebranded herself as a lifestyle guru and launched her own wellness Instagram page Good and Proper. She was appointed as the wellness editor of 90265 magazine in 2021. She also works as a DJ.

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