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Martin Fowler (EastEnders)
Encyclopedia
Martin Albert Fowler is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by James Alexandrou
from 1996 to 2007.
The role was previously played by Jon Peyton Price
from early life as a baby in 1985 to 1996, just before Martin's teenage years began.
and Arthur Fowler
, born in July 1985. His considerably older siblings are Mark
and Michelle
. Martin is the first baby to be born in the serial. His grandmother Lou
is extremely fond of him, and insists that he is named after her late husband Albert. Pauline and Arthur are against this, and for several months the baby remains unnamed, although Lou continues to refer to him as Albert. The baby's name is finally revealed as Martin Albert Fowler at his christening in October 1985, which satisfies Lou. His godparents are Angie Watts
, Kathy Beale and Simon Wicks
. Martin grows up facing numerous family upsets, including his father's mental breakdown and imprisonment and his parents' temporary separation in 1993, which Martin takes badly. As Martin ages he becomes surly and increasingly troublesome.
As a teenager, Martin leads a somewhat deviant life, believed to be triggered by the premature death of his father. Martin is only eleven years old when his father dies. He befriends a small gang of young criminals from his local school. A series of petty theft
s, burglaries
and vandalism
culminates in his being arrested and enraging various residents of Walford
including Phil Mitchell
. Martin has a brief relationship with Nicky di Marco in 2000, but she dumpes him when he pressures her to have sex with him. Martin ends up losing his virginity to Sonia Jackson
directly after Nicky dumps him. Sonia is feeling vulnerable, and after copious amounts of alcohol, she agrees to sleep with Martin. Their tryst leaves her pregnant.
Sonia gives birth to daughter Chloe on 26 October 2000 and when she names Martin as the father, a feud erupts between the Jacksons and the Fowlers, with Pauline adamant that she should be given custody of the baby. However, Sonia is eventually allowed to give the baby up for adoption when Martin admits that he does not want to be a father. Martin's deviancy continues when he takes drugs provided by Nick Cotton
, which leads to Martin's brother Mark
taking revenge and leaving Nick temporarily paralyzed.
Martin receives a six-month prison sentence in February 2003 after driving the car that hit Sonia's fiancé Jamie Mitchell
, leading to his death. However, he only serves two months, being let out early for good behaviour. Once released, Martin resumes his criminal lifestyle by robbing a shop, blackmailing Kareena Ferreira and growing cannabis
in the shed of his deceased father with the help of his best friend, Asif Malik. This leads to family friend Derek Harkinson taking the blame when the police find out, as Martin cannot risk being in trouble with the law, due to his previous convictions. It is not until Martin is confronted and forgiven by a bereaved Sonia that he finally begins to feel remorse for his actions and he then attempts to reform himself.
After a few brief relationships, including a one-night stand with Kelly Taylor
, Martin begins to grow close to Sonia. Despite their past animosity they end up falling in love and after Sonia helps him come to terms with the death of his brother, Martin decides to propose marriage. Amidst an array of interference from Pauline, Martin and Sonia decide to elope and marry away from Walford in June 2004. The newlyweds move in with Pauline, but their marriage is constantly put under strain by her meddling.
Several months later, Martin unwittingly puts his marriage in jeopardy when he becomes involved with a barmaid named Sarah Cairns. After getting intoxicated, Martin is taken back to Sarah's where he passes out drunk. Sarah becomes obsessed with him, and after pretending that Martin slept with her, she begins stalking him. She threatens to tell Sonia about their imaginary tryst. When Martin physically threatens her, she contacts the police and gets him arrested and then reveals their fabricated affair to Sonia. Sarah's plan is thwarted however, as Sonia refuses to give her husband up. After admitting that their affair is a lie, an incensed Sarah stabs Martin with a kitchen knife and only stops her attack when Sonia hits her over the head with Pauline's fruit bowl. Sarah is committed to a mental institution and Martin and Sonia put the incident behind them.
Pauline's influence over Martin eventually becomes too much for Sonia to bear, and the two women began arguing regularly. Martin finds it hard to take sides, and a rift begins to grow between him and Sonia. Things worsen when Sonia discovers that Martin and Pauline have been seeing her adopted daughter (now named Rebecca) against her wishes. Sonia begins spending more and more time away from Martin and early in 2006, their marriage breaks down, due to her lesbian affair with a fellow student, Naomi Julien
. Sonia leaves Martin devastated, but she soon regrets it when Martin is given custody of their daughter following the death of her legal guardian. Sonia is frequently excluded from her daughter's life by Martin and Pauline.
After a while brooding, Martin attempts to move on by dating Carly Wicks
, which stirs up some jealousy in Sonia. Martin takes the relationship more seriously than Carly does and she eventually ends it. Immediately after Martin and Sonia's divorce is finalised in October 2006, they begin to regret their separation. A heartfelt toast to the end of their marriage leads to them sleeping together. They secretly reunite and hoped to keep it from Pauline, whose hostility towards Sonia has only increased. However, Pauline eventually finds out about their reunion when she overhears Martin venting his frustrations in the Fowler household. Martin confesses that he is losing his love for Pauline because of her stubbornness. After they leave, Pauline prepares to leave Walford but the house catches on fire after her cigarette falls out of the ashtray. Martin realises she is in the house and manages to save her. Martin is confused as to why Pauline did not call out to him during the fire. He is devastated when she tells him that she is dying from a brain tumour. In fact, she is faking it to make sure that Martin ends his relationship with Sonia, which he eventually does. Martin decides to devote himself to caring for his mother.
Martin has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his mother will die, and cannot stand to hear Peggy Mitchell
slandering her. In order to silence her, he stuns everyone in The Queen Victoria
public house by announcing that his mother is seriously sick with a brain tumour, and everyone, including Peggy, is deeply saddened by the news. Pauline's second husband Joe Macer
inquires into her treatment for her illness and finds out that she is lying. Pauline admits everything to Martin, who along with Joe and Rebecca leave the house to stay with Sonia, Dot Branning
and her husband Jim
. When the residents of Walford begin to raise money for Pauline on Peggy's request, Martin is shocked and feels that everybody has a right to know the truth. He reveals everything to Peggy who in turn reveals it to a crowded pub. Everyone turns against Pauline, so she stuns Martin by deciding to sell the family's market stall back to the council.
When Martin discovers that his mother is leaving for the United States
on Christmas Day, he tries to persuade her to stay, but her decision is final. He leaves the house in tears. On Christmas Day, Martin proposes to Sonia again and she accepts. Dot tries to convince him to make up with his mother but he realises it is no use. After a night of fun in The Queen Victoria, the residents go outside to enjoy the snow but to Dot's horror she finds Pauline's lifeless body under the Christmas tree. Martin rushes over to his mother and desperately tries to wake her up but realises that she is dead. Initially, Martin shows little grief over Pauline's death, but when he listens to a message that she left on his phone minutes before her death, apologising for everything including her treatment of Sonia, Martin is moved to tears.
He is devastated when the funeral is interrupted by the police after Dot rings them, telling them she believes that Pauline had been murdered. Martin believes it was Joe, but when he attacks him, Sonia confesses that she killed Pauline. After a much heated argument with Martin, with revelations of keeping Rebecca quiet so she will not tell, and Martin trying to get Sonia to show him how she hit Pauline, Sonia tries to keep matters under control, after Jim interrupts the fight. Whilst Sonia makes some tea for them, Martin slips out and takes Rebecca from the Brannings'. On his way there he calls the police. Sonia finds Rebecca missing from her bedroom, only to then find her and Martin back in the Fowler household.
Martin tells Sonia that since she took someone away from him (Pauline), he will take someone away from her (Rebecca). In a blind rage, Sonia finally slaps Martin, who takes this to be the amount of force used on Pauline, then resulting in Martin lunging at Sonia and throwing her out into the street. The police arrive and Sonia is arrested on suspicion of murder. Most of the residents feel that Sonia is innocent but Martin is convinced that she is guilty. When she is released he forbids her to see Rebecca and argues with Phil because he provided her with the lawyer that enabled her to be released. Pauline's post-mortem results are announced and Martin, in the presence of Phil, is told that Pauline's death was caused by a severe blow to the head. Martin rushes to the Brannings (where the police were searching for Sonia) and demands to see Sonia. Phil in the meantime phones her and tells her that she is being charged with murder. He hides her in his garage and makes preparations for her to leave Walford.
The next day Martin, Ian Beale
, Dot and Jim go to Pauline's funeral while Rebecca and Jane Beale remain behind. Sonia uses this as an opportunity to meet Rebecca one last time as she is going to hand herself in. Martin returns from the funeral to get Rebecca but she is not there. Jane tells him that Sonia was there. Martin runs after Sonia and Rebecca who jump in a car but he is too late and watches helplessly as the car speeds off out of sight. While Phil celebrates his birthday on 19 January 2007, the alarm on his car sounds twice during the day. The second time,he goes to turn the alarm off and finds the windscreen smashed with a hole showing up on the passenger side. Shortly after, Martin shows up accusing Phil of letting Sonia off, before running away.
Out of desperation Martin kidnaps Phil's son Ben and takes him to the railway bridge. He demands that Phil give him any information of Sonia and Rebecca's whereabouts. He eventually lets Ben go but Martin is left a broken man. Sonia returns the same day with Rebecca, so Martin calls the police to arrest her. It is later revealed that Joe was the one who killed Pauline. After seeking forgiveness from Sonia he asks her to consider them getting back together. Martin, Ian and Sonia are present when Pauline's will is read. She gives Martin possession of the house but he has to forfeit it if he chooses to live with Sonia.
Sonia decides to leave Walford for good thinking it will be better for Martin and Rebecca. Just as Sonia is leaving in the taxi, she sees Martin and Rebecca sitting on the road in front of it. After some convincing and tears, the three, with Pauline's dog Betty, leave Walford together on 2 February 2007. It is later revealed they are touring the USA.
In January 2010, Sonia's sister Bianca
invites Martin and Sonia to her wedding. Sonia confirms they will attend the wedding, by a text message. Sonia returns to Walford without Martin and Rebecca in February 2010. Sonia says Martin and Rebecca are fine, but she rejects a call from Martin later on after Bianca's hen party. Sonia later confides in Carol and Phil that she and Martin are having problems in their marriage. Martin does not attend Bianca's wedding, but Sonia returns home to him to give things another shot for Rebecca, as advised by Carol. Off screen, Martin and Sonia split up and Sonia moves to London with Rebecca.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by James Alexandrou
James Alexandrou
James Alekos Alexandrou is an English actor of Greek Cypriot descent, best known for playing Martin Fowler in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Early life:...
from 1996 to 2007.
The role was previously played by Jon Peyton Price
Jon Peyton Price
Jon Peyton Price is a British actor.He played Martin Fowler in EastEnders from the character's birth in 1985 until 1996, when the role was recast, and he was replaced by James Alexandrou.He also appeared as himself on RI:SE in 2003.-External links:...
from early life as a baby in 1985 to 1996, just before Martin's teenage years began.
Storylines
Martin is the younger son of PaulinePauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
and Arthur Fowler
Arthur Fowler
Arthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Bill Treacher.The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man, but he made some foolish choices and he always ended up paying dearly for them, also being bossed to the brink of insanity by...
, born in July 1985. His considerably older siblings are Mark
Mark Fowler
Mark Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark was an original regular character in the series starting February 1985 but became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made...
and Michelle
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
. Martin is the first baby to be born in the serial. His grandmother Lou
Lou Beale
Louise Ada "Lou" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, Civvy Street, set during the Second World War....
is extremely fond of him, and insists that he is named after her late husband Albert. Pauline and Arthur are against this, and for several months the baby remains unnamed, although Lou continues to refer to him as Albert. The baby's name is finally revealed as Martin Albert Fowler at his christening in October 1985, which satisfies Lou. His godparents are Angie Watts
Angie Watts
Angela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out....
, Kathy Beale and Simon Wicks
Simon Wicks
Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another character, Mark Fowler; Mark's actor David Scarboro had left...
. Martin grows up facing numerous family upsets, including his father's mental breakdown and imprisonment and his parents' temporary separation in 1993, which Martin takes badly. As Martin ages he becomes surly and increasingly troublesome.
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
s, burglaries
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
and vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
culminates in his being arrested and enraging various residents of Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
including Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
. Martin has a brief relationship with Nicky di Marco in 2000, but she dumpes him when he pressures her to have sex with him. Martin ends up losing his virginity to Sonia Jackson
Sonia Fowler
Sonia Ann Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on 21 December 1993 and she made her final appearance on 2 February 2007...
directly after Nicky dumps him. Sonia is feeling vulnerable, and after copious amounts of alcohol, she agrees to sleep with Martin. Their tryst leaves her pregnant.
Sonia gives birth to daughter Chloe on 26 October 2000 and when she names Martin as the father, a feud erupts between the Jacksons and the Fowlers, with Pauline adamant that she should be given custody of the baby. However, Sonia is eventually allowed to give the baby up for adoption when Martin admits that he does not want to be a father. Martin's deviancy continues when he takes drugs provided by Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in February 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of Ashley and...
, which leads to Martin's brother Mark
Mark Fowler
Mark Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark was an original regular character in the series starting February 1985 but became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made...
taking revenge and leaving Nick temporarily paralyzed.
Martin receives a six-month prison sentence in February 2003 after driving the car that hit Sonia's fiancé Jamie Mitchell
Jamie Mitchell
Jamie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jack Ryder, who made his first appearance on 9 November 1998. Ryder decided to leave in 2002, and his final episode aired Christmas Day 2002, when Jamie was killed off....
, leading to his death. However, he only serves two months, being let out early for good behaviour. Once released, Martin resumes his criminal lifestyle by robbing a shop, blackmailing Kareena Ferreira and growing cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
in the shed of his deceased father with the help of his best friend, Asif Malik. This leads to family friend Derek Harkinson taking the blame when the police find out, as Martin cannot risk being in trouble with the law, due to his previous convictions. It is not until Martin is confronted and forgiven by a bereaved Sonia that he finally begins to feel remorse for his actions and he then attempts to reform himself.
After a few brief relationships, including a one-night stand with Kelly Taylor
Kelly Taylor (EastEnders)
Kelly Taylor is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Brooke Kinsella. The character was introduced by executive producer John Yorke, in 2001...
, Martin begins to grow close to Sonia. Despite their past animosity they end up falling in love and after Sonia helps him come to terms with the death of his brother, Martin decides to propose marriage. Amidst an array of interference from Pauline, Martin and Sonia decide to elope and marry away from Walford in June 2004. The newlyweds move in with Pauline, but their marriage is constantly put under strain by her meddling.
Several months later, Martin unwittingly puts his marriage in jeopardy when he becomes involved with a barmaid named Sarah Cairns. After getting intoxicated, Martin is taken back to Sarah's where he passes out drunk. Sarah becomes obsessed with him, and after pretending that Martin slept with her, she begins stalking him. She threatens to tell Sonia about their imaginary tryst. When Martin physically threatens her, she contacts the police and gets him arrested and then reveals their fabricated affair to Sonia. Sarah's plan is thwarted however, as Sonia refuses to give her husband up. After admitting that their affair is a lie, an incensed Sarah stabs Martin with a kitchen knife and only stops her attack when Sonia hits her over the head with Pauline's fruit bowl. Sarah is committed to a mental institution and Martin and Sonia put the incident behind them.
Pauline's influence over Martin eventually becomes too much for Sonia to bear, and the two women began arguing regularly. Martin finds it hard to take sides, and a rift begins to grow between him and Sonia. Things worsen when Sonia discovers that Martin and Pauline have been seeing her adopted daughter (now named Rebecca) against her wishes. Sonia begins spending more and more time away from Martin and early in 2006, their marriage breaks down, due to her lesbian affair with a fellow student, Naomi Julien
Naomi Julien
Naomi Julien is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Petra Letang. She first appeared in the show in the episode broadcast on 15 August 2005. The character was axed in January 2007 and her final scenes were broadcast on 24 May 2007...
. Sonia leaves Martin devastated, but she soon regrets it when Martin is given custody of their daughter following the death of her legal guardian. Sonia is frequently excluded from her daughter's life by Martin and Pauline.
After a while brooding, Martin attempts to move on by dating Carly Wicks
Carly Wicks
Carly Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kellie Shirley, and by Michaela Stephen in a home movie the Wickses watched on 23 April 2007. She made her first appearance on 17 February 2006. Carly was axed from the serial after Phil Daniels quit. Carly is...
, which stirs up some jealousy in Sonia. Martin takes the relationship more seriously than Carly does and she eventually ends it. Immediately after Martin and Sonia's divorce is finalised in October 2006, they begin to regret their separation. A heartfelt toast to the end of their marriage leads to them sleeping together. They secretly reunite and hoped to keep it from Pauline, whose hostility towards Sonia has only increased. However, Pauline eventually finds out about their reunion when she overhears Martin venting his frustrations in the Fowler household. Martin confesses that he is losing his love for Pauline because of her stubbornness. After they leave, Pauline prepares to leave Walford but the house catches on fire after her cigarette falls out of the ashtray. Martin realises she is in the house and manages to save her. Martin is confused as to why Pauline did not call out to him during the fire. He is devastated when she tells him that she is dying from a brain tumour. In fact, she is faking it to make sure that Martin ends his relationship with Sonia, which he eventually does. Martin decides to devote himself to caring for his mother.
Martin has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his mother will die, and cannot stand to hear Peggy Mitchell
Peggy Mitchell
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in the series on a recurring basis over several weeks. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast and was then played by...
slandering her. In order to silence her, he stuns everyone in The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
public house by announcing that his mother is seriously sick with a brain tumour, and everyone, including Peggy, is deeply saddened by the news. Pauline's second husband Joe Macer
Joe Macer
Joseph "Joe" Macer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ray Brooks. He made his first appearance on 19 August 2005 and left the show on 26 January 2007.-Storylines:...
inquires into her treatment for her illness and finds out that she is lying. Pauline admits everything to Martin, who along with Joe and Rebecca leave the house to stay with Sonia, Dot Branning
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
and her husband Jim
Jim Branning
James Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999 and has remained in the series right up to 2011....
. When the residents of Walford begin to raise money for Pauline on Peggy's request, Martin is shocked and feels that everybody has a right to know the truth. He reveals everything to Peggy who in turn reveals it to a crowded pub. Everyone turns against Pauline, so she stuns Martin by deciding to sell the family's market stall back to the council.
When Martin discovers that his mother is leaving for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Christmas Day, he tries to persuade her to stay, but her decision is final. He leaves the house in tears. On Christmas Day, Martin proposes to Sonia again and she accepts. Dot tries to convince him to make up with his mother but he realises it is no use. After a night of fun in The Queen Victoria, the residents go outside to enjoy the snow but to Dot's horror she finds Pauline's lifeless body under the Christmas tree. Martin rushes over to his mother and desperately tries to wake her up but realises that she is dead. Initially, Martin shows little grief over Pauline's death, but when he listens to a message that she left on his phone minutes before her death, apologising for everything including her treatment of Sonia, Martin is moved to tears.
He is devastated when the funeral is interrupted by the police after Dot rings them, telling them she believes that Pauline had been murdered. Martin believes it was Joe, but when he attacks him, Sonia confesses that she killed Pauline. After a much heated argument with Martin, with revelations of keeping Rebecca quiet so she will not tell, and Martin trying to get Sonia to show him how she hit Pauline, Sonia tries to keep matters under control, after Jim interrupts the fight. Whilst Sonia makes some tea for them, Martin slips out and takes Rebecca from the Brannings'. On his way there he calls the police. Sonia finds Rebecca missing from her bedroom, only to then find her and Martin back in the Fowler household.
Martin tells Sonia that since she took someone away from him (Pauline), he will take someone away from her (Rebecca). In a blind rage, Sonia finally slaps Martin, who takes this to be the amount of force used on Pauline, then resulting in Martin lunging at Sonia and throwing her out into the street. The police arrive and Sonia is arrested on suspicion of murder. Most of the residents feel that Sonia is innocent but Martin is convinced that she is guilty. When she is released he forbids her to see Rebecca and argues with Phil because he provided her with the lawyer that enabled her to be released. Pauline's post-mortem results are announced and Martin, in the presence of Phil, is told that Pauline's death was caused by a severe blow to the head. Martin rushes to the Brannings (where the police were searching for Sonia) and demands to see Sonia. Phil in the meantime phones her and tells her that she is being charged with murder. He hides her in his garage and makes preparations for her to leave Walford.
The next day Martin, Ian Beale
Ian Beale
Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the longest-serving character and the only remaining original character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 19 February 1985...
, Dot and Jim go to Pauline's funeral while Rebecca and Jane Beale remain behind. Sonia uses this as an opportunity to meet Rebecca one last time as she is going to hand herself in. Martin returns from the funeral to get Rebecca but she is not there. Jane tells him that Sonia was there. Martin runs after Sonia and Rebecca who jump in a car but he is too late and watches helplessly as the car speeds off out of sight. While Phil celebrates his birthday on 19 January 2007, the alarm on his car sounds twice during the day. The second time,he goes to turn the alarm off and finds the windscreen smashed with a hole showing up on the passenger side. Shortly after, Martin shows up accusing Phil of letting Sonia off, before running away.
Out of desperation Martin kidnaps Phil's son Ben and takes him to the railway bridge. He demands that Phil give him any information of Sonia and Rebecca's whereabouts. He eventually lets Ben go but Martin is left a broken man. Sonia returns the same day with Rebecca, so Martin calls the police to arrest her. It is later revealed that Joe was the one who killed Pauline. After seeking forgiveness from Sonia he asks her to consider them getting back together. Martin, Ian and Sonia are present when Pauline's will is read. She gives Martin possession of the house but he has to forfeit it if he chooses to live with Sonia.
Sonia decides to leave Walford for good thinking it will be better for Martin and Rebecca. Just as Sonia is leaving in the taxi, she sees Martin and Rebecca sitting on the road in front of it. After some convincing and tears, the three, with Pauline's dog Betty, leave Walford together on 2 February 2007. It is later revealed they are touring the USA.
In January 2010, Sonia's sister Bianca
Bianca Jackson
Bianca Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character...
invites Martin and Sonia to her wedding. Sonia confirms they will attend the wedding, by a text message. Sonia returns to Walford without Martin and Rebecca in February 2010. Sonia says Martin and Rebecca are fine, but she rejects a call from Martin later on after Bianca's hen party. Sonia later confides in Carol and Phil that she and Martin are having problems in their marriage. Martin does not attend Bianca's wedding, but Sonia returns home to him to give things another shot for Rebecca, as advised by Carol. Off screen, Martin and Sonia split up and Sonia moves to London with Rebecca.