When a totally legendary character is written out of EastEnders, you can bet your life that they'll be given a very big and very dramatic exit, whether that involves going on the run, going to prison, or going missing. Very rarely are they seen leaving in a black cab. Well OK, Angie did. As did Sharon the first time. And Michelle Flower #1. But the point is the storylines that saw them leaving Albert Square were pretty huge - they didn't leave in a cab to start a training course in Basingstoke! But one things fans hope for after a big-name character exits, is for them to one day make a reappearance. So when the decision is made to kill off a fan favourite, it's like... 'Did that just happen'??? Followed by 'WHY'? Followed by 'WTF!'
Melanie then and now: This is what living in Walford does to you!
When it was announced that actress Tamzin Outhwaite would be reprising the role that made her a household name in the UK, Melanie Owen, viewers were super excited. Yes Mel, of the glamour girl looks, dodgy taste in men, and joint holder of the record for the shortest marriage in Walford history (Ian Beale is the other joint holder!) EastEnders' fans eagerly awaited her return, wanting to know her story and what she had been up to in the intervening years. Compared to other more long-running characters, Mel had been in the soap for a relatively short amount of time but she still had legendary status and was a reminder of the days when EastEnders was absolutely unmissable.
And when actress Tamzin Outhwaite revealed that she was leaving the soap, viewers expected her final scenes as Mel to be nothing short of dramatic. This was Mel Owen after all, who had been popular with viewers since she waltzed into Walford back in 1997 - there was no way she was going to be given such a low key exit a la Robbie Jackson! And while Mel's final scenes were nothing short of explosive drama - literally - viewers were not expecting Mel to be killed off, and fans are still reeling from the shock death of Mel Owen in what was a very unforeseen exit.
'Enders fans were looking forward to Mel sweeping back into the Square one day which will obviously not be happening now. The decision to kill off a big name character is always quite a controversial one, and there's this notion, from a fan's point of view, that a big name character shouldn't be killed off when they leave. But from the show's perspective, killing off an iconic character is the perfect way to boost ratings. In Mel's case it might have been the right thing to do because even though long-time viewers were excited to see her back, there were a lot of people who felt quite underwhelmed by her reappearance. No one can expect a person to be the same after seventeen years, but it seemed as though Mel had lost her sparkle, and whereas she was once fun, flirty and liked a giggle, she was now stomping around the Square like a long-lost Mitchell and a face like a kicked backside. Mel was never a pushover and could give as good as she got, but this bullish demeanour really wasn't her. Perhaps it's just as well she went out on a high when she did.
We take a look at some iconic EastEnders characters for whom when it was time to leave Walford, they were given a one-way ticket out of there much to the amazement - and sometimes dismay - of viewers.
1. DEN WATTS
An original character, a true Walford legend, and the best landlord The Queen Vic ever had, Den Watts is most definitely an iconic EastEnder. Even viewers who were born long after the 'Den n' Ange' years are familiar with the name Den Watts. And so legendary was Mr. Watts that he got a great exit not once but twice! The first time was back in 1989 when the actor who played Den to perfection, the late Leslie Grantham, wanted to leave the show. And leave he did - via a pistol hidden among a bunch of daffodils! As the screen went black and a shot rang out followed by the sound of a splash, viewers were led to believe that Den had been assassinated by the underworld and had taken a tumble into the canal. And when a decomposed body was dredged up from the canal, it was safe to assume that Den really was dead.
Only... he wasn't!
Fourteen years later EastEnders fans rejoiced when they found out that Dirty Den was alive and well and living in Spain, and it wasn't long before he was back where he belonged in Walford. But it wasn't to last long...
Exit two occurred when Den's second wife Chrissie, who he married while living in Spain, decided that she wasn't going to end up the same way as the first Mrs. Watts. So when Den pushed Chrissie too far, she enlisted the help of Zoe Slater and Sam Mitchell - two other women who Den had wronged - in order to exact revenge against Den. For Chrissie, revenge also meant destroying Den's relationship with his daughter, Sharon. That was all too much for Den and in a fit of rage, he flew at Chrissie in front of a terrified Sam and Zoe. But a bang on the head with a doggy doorstop put an end to Den's attack on Chrissie - and his life!
Fans were shocked that Den Watts was being written out of EastEnders a second time - especially as it hadn't been long since he returned. But what shocked viewers most was that Den's exit meant that he could never return. Surely he could have just gone on the run again! Sadly Grantham passed away two years ago which means that even if Den had sailed off into the sunset, he still couldn't return, as no one could play that role as well as he could. EastEnders' executive producer, Louise Berridge claimed that Den Watts was arguably the most iconic EastEnders' character. Lou, there's no argument about it!
2. TIFFANY MITCHELL
When 'that girl from Milan' (and that's the pop trio, not the Italian city!) first appeared in EastEnders as Bianca Jackson's friend, it was only supposed to be for a handful of episodes. But Martine McCutcheon proved to be such a hit as Tiffany Raymond that the character became not only a regular Walford fixture but also a part of the iconic Mitchell clan when she went on to marry Grant and become the second Mrs. Mitchell.
Tiffany was considered a bit of a party girl who liked nothing more than to have fun and attract male attention. But deep down she was a young woman who desperately wanted to be loved and craved a stable family life. And once she'd married Grant and had their daughter, Courtney, Tiffany thought she'd found it - but you don't become a Mitchell if it's stability you're looking for!
And indeed Tiffany found that life as a Mitchell wasn't always a barrel of laughs and put up with a lot from Grant. But discovering that Grant had slept with her mum, Louise, was the last straw for a devastated Tiffany who made plans to flee Walford with Courtney. So after a tearful goodbye to best friend Bianca, Tiffany returned to the Vic to pick up Courtney - and found her with Grant who had cottoned on to the fact that Tiffany was going to leave and take his daughter without telling him. Well he wasn't having that, so while everyone in The Vic was seeing in the new year, Grant ran out onto the Square with Courtney. Tiffany frantically raced after them - and was knocked over by Frank Butcher. The sight of Tiffany's tear-stained face as she lay dying has got to be one of the most haunting scenes ever. But what we want to know is... why, out of all the people gathered around her as she lay on the road, did no one think to call an ambulance???
Most people know the story behind Martine McCutcheon's departure from the soap. Wanting to take some time out for other acting roles, Martine asked the show's bosses for some time off which they agreed to. But one morning as Martine drove to work, she heard it announced on the radio that Tiffany was to be killed off. Nice of them to tell her in person! No one knows why things turned out the way they did and why the decision was made to kill the character off. Naturally fans believe it was the wrong decision. It would have been great for such a well-remembered character to pop back up in Walford from time to time - and imagine how fab it would have been for Tiffany to have been reunited with Bianca when she made a return back to Walford. During Bianca's second stint on the show, she became very pally with Kat Slater - but no way were they anything like B and Tiff!
3. NICK COTTON
Hurricane Nick breezed in and out of Walford for thirty years. You never knew when he was going to hit but he arrived with his trademark "Ello Ma" greeting to his mother, Dot, and was guaranteed to be leaving a trail of destruction by the time he breezed out of The Square again. And Nasty Nick really was as nasty as they came. Every time he turned up like the proverbial bad penny, you could be certain it wasn't because he was doing missionary work - although there was that one time he turned up claiming he'd 'found Jesus'.
And while Dot always tried to see the best in her son, everyone else saw Nick for exactly what he was: an evil, lying, manipulative sociopath who took advantage of his mother's good nature and Christian values, and would hurt anyone without a second thought. Theft, blackmail, attempted murder, murder, pretending to be at death's door... there's nothing Nick wouldn't try his hand at. Even his daughter, Potty Dotty, who wouldn't have looked out of place in The Shining, proved to be a chip off the old block when she tried to scam and kill Grandma Dot. Is anyone surprised that a now grown-up Dotty a.k.a Kirsty has been welcomed into Grandma Dot's home? Of course not!
Nick Cotton was more infamous than iconic but still viewers were stunned by the decision to kill him off as part of a subplot for EastEnders' thirtieth anniversary. For thirty years, we'd watched Nick waltz in and out of Walford, wreaking all kinds of havoc and we just took it for granted that he'd continue to do so for another thirty years. The scene in which Nick's body was found after he'd died from an overdose was a reenactment of the very first EastEnders' scene where Reg Cox's body was found...
…after he'd been murdered by Nick Cotton.
4. CINDY BEALE
Cindy was known for having affairs the way Dot is known for quoting chapter and verse. Had Cindy been alive and living on the Square it would have been interesting to see who she'd have set her sights on. Kush? Mick? Definitely one or both of the Branning brothers. Probably not Billy though! But she'd have had a field day, that's for sure!
Like Tiffany, Cindy was known for being fun-loving, flighty, and flirty. But deep down Cindy was very insecure and just wanted to be happy, loved and have a man to worship her. And she had that in husband, Ian. Except he wasn't really her cup of tea. The Wicks Brothers were more her type - but they both bailed on her whenever the going got tough. But did Cindy ever learn? Of course not! She went on to repeat the same mistake with Nick Holland, who dumped her after she was arresting for trying to have Ian killed.
And it was while she was in prison that Cindy died - off-screen - shortly after giving birth to Nick's daughter, who Ian named Cindy in her memory. Killing of such a ratings-grabbing character did come as a bit of a shock to viewers. When Michelle Collins had been asked about the decision to kill off Cindy, she responded that it was probably a case of out with the old and in with the new. While Adam Woodyatt who plays Ian Beale felt that she couldn't possibly return yet again.
Why not? Nasty Nick had been doing that for years!
5. ROLY
Roly did for poodles what Lassie did for Collies - except Roly didn't experience the glamour of Hollywood. Instead he went one better - Walford! The beloved, pampered poodle who belonged to the Watts family and was probably the only one who Den truly loved and never let down, EastEnders' fans loved watching Roly onscreen along with his other doggy colleague, Ethel's little Willy! And when Den died, sorry 'died', Roly was all that Sharon had left of her dad (well, him and her half-sister Vicki!)
A firm favourite right back to when the show started, viewers were shocked by Roly's sudden death. Not wanting to walk Roly, Sharon's husband Grant paid conniving Mandy Salter to do it. But Mandy also couldn't be bothered and just let Roly roam freely. And roam freely he did - right into the path of an oncoming lorry. Mandy then returned back to the Square minus Roly, to explain what had happened to Grant and a devastated Sharon, without revealing her role in it all.
And Sharon wasn't the only one who was distraught - viewers were too. But because the incident took place off-screen, there was hope that this was just another one of Mandy's tricks, and that Roly was hidden somewhere, alive and well. But alas it was not to be. Roly really had been killed off as the doggy actor who played him was getting on a bit. It was a sad day for canines...
Photos from YouTube
Word cloud by Angel Noire