Rosa di Marco
Encyclopedia
Rosa di Marco is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap
opera
EastEnders
, played by Louise Jameson
. She is the mother of Beppe
(Michael Greco
), Gianni
(Marc Bannerman
), Teresa (Leila Birch
) and Nicky di Marco (Carly Hillman
).
(Paul Moriarty) and Peggy Mitchell
(Barbara Windsor
) attends her husband's funeral in January 1998, and later moves to Walford in February 1998 along with the rest of her family. She sets up her own restaurant called Giuseppe's, named after her late husband. George helped to set this up. It was later revealed that she and George had a fling many years ago during the time her husband Giuseppe was in prison. This leads George to believe that Rosa's son Gianni could be his son rather than Giuseppe's. This shock leads to Gianni breaking up with George's daughter Annie Palmer
(Nadia Sawalha
) after fearing they had been having an incestuous affair. DNA tests later confirm that Gianni is Giuseppe's son which relieves both Rosa and Gianni. Jeff Healy (Leslie Schofield
) had a crush on her but Rosa rejects his advances. Nicky later gets food poisoning from the local café and Rosa tries to have it closed down.
Rosa later faces financial trouble with the restaurant and George offers her help, which she accepts. After Nicky claims she was assaulted by her mathematics tutor Rod Morris (Forbes Masson
) and later admits she didn't tell the whole truth (but was still assaulted) and then dissowns the family when they said she was lying, Rosa decides the whole family should leave Walford to move to Leicester and besides Beppe the entire family leaves Walford in August 2000. Rosa dies from a heart attack two years later at the age of 50. Beppe then later joins the rest of his family in Leicester.
, Gianni
, Teresa and Nicky, and Beppe's young son Joe. They were heralded as the "family that would rival the Mitchells
", one of the most successful and long-running families to have been featured in EastEnders.
The di Marcos "landed with an almighty thud in January [1998], turning out in force for the funeral of patriarch Giuseppe", who was Rosa's husband and an old business associate of the character George Palmer (Paul Moriarty). The following month, the family moved to the area in which the soap is set, Walford
, to run an Italian restaurant, which was named Giuseppe's.
However an official BBC spokesperson at the time commented: "These changes…are just part of [John Yorke's] plans to revamp the series and give it a new look." The cuts paved the way for the arrival of the "hugely popular" Slater family. Beppe and Joe remained until 2002, when they were axed too.
Jameson said she was "absolutely gutted" about getting axed from EastEnders. She commented: "I'll really miss Rosa. It's like parting from a lover. I can't help thinking that she's not quite played out. A fling would have been nice with Frank or even Roy when he was on Viagra and rampant."
Matthew Baylis of The Guardian
has commented on their lack of success: "Thank heaven for off-screen uncles. As we saw during the hurried departure of the di Marco family from Albert Square, there's nothing like a fictitious relative when you need to get characters off the screen…The di Marcos' departure had its dodgy elements. A hitherto unheard-of uncle needs help in his restaurant, so the whole family ups sticks. Including Teresa - who'd always fought for independence from her family? Rosa, who presumably owned the house she'd transformed into something resembling an Imperial Palace, is suddenly prepared to leg it with a couple of suitcases? There was plenty that didn't ring true. But few viewers minded. There was, if anything, more sympathy for the programme-makers, trying valiantly to dispose of this singularly unpopular family while retaining an element of drama."
The di Marcos have been dismissed as "unconvincing characters". Baylis goes on to highlight a problem that he feels "dogged the whole family", their occupation as restaurateurs. Baylis believes this kept them "self-contained", and prevented them from establishing meaningful links with other characters. He explains: "[The di Marcos] had an ambiguity, heightened by the job they did. Soapland has no place for grey areas. Bad things happen to bad people. They also happen to good people, of course, but not for very long. To make this predictable universe work on the screen, you need characters who are relatively stable (even if they are unstable). The writers and the viewers buy into a myth that people aren't particularly complex, that the full range of their feelings and actions can be revealed in a few hours on the TV. And a quick, visible way of revealing characters is to mirror them in their occupation. Thus we have Pauline Fowler
, long-suffering drudge and matriarch. What better job than folding pants all day in the launderette? Or Peggy [Mitchell
] - tough but fun-loving and gregarious. So she runs the pub. But what attributes spring to mind when we think of Italian restaurants? Fond of pasta, perhaps? Permanently overworked? The job never provided an easy route into understanding the di Marcos' characters…The most visible jobs tend to be taken by the strongest, most vivid characters. Confined to their restaurant, the di Marcos could only become involved in Walford life when other characters came over to eat a carbonara. And how often do working-class East End people do that? If any di Marco wanted a night out, a pint in the Vic, a clandestine liaison, then an excuse had to be found as to why they weren't working. Transforming Giuseppe's into a daytime sandwich bar, and sending Teresa onto the market were bold rescue attempts, but they came too late. The viewers had already decided they didn't much care…Because of their jobs, the di Marcos became a largely self-contained unit…"
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
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
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 Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson is an English actress, best known for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. Jameson has also appeared on Emmerdale , The Omega Factor Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is an English actress, best known...
. She is the mother of Beppe
Beppe di Marco
Beppe di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Greco.Beppe was his family's pride and joy, so it was a big shock to them when he was fired from the police force for attempting to frame local hardman Grant Mitchell...
(Michael Greco
Michael Greco
Michael Greco is an English actor and poker player. He was educated in Surrey, England at Reigate College. Internet rumours claim he was born in Dunbar, Scotland, but Greco himself states that this is false, and that he grew up in London....
), Gianni
Gianni di Marco
Gianni di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC serial drama EastEnders, played by Marc Bannerman from 1998 to 2000.-Storylines:Gianni arrived in Walford along with the rest of the di Marco family in 1998. Gianni was the younger of the two brothers in the family, the other being Beppe di Marco...
(Marc Bannerman
Marc Bannerman
Marc Bannerman is a UK based actor. His most notable role has been his portrayal of Gianni di Marco in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Bannerman's character was introduced in 1998, but was axed three years later by the executive producer of EastEnders, John Yorke...
), Teresa (Leila Birch
Leila Birch
Leila Birch is an English actress, known for portraying Teresa di Marco in EastEnders.-Background:Birch grew up in South East London. She is of British, Italian and Irish descent...
) and Nicky di Marco (Carly Hillman
Carly Hillman
Carly Hillman is a British actress best known for playing Nicky di Marco in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1998 to 2000...
).
Storylines
Rosa first appears when George PalmerGeorge Palmer (EastEnders)
George Palmer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Moriarty. He appeared between 1996 and 1998, but was one of many characters axed by then Executive Producer Matthew Robinson.-Storylines:...
(Paul Moriarty) and 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...
(Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
) attends her husband's funeral in January 1998, and later moves to Walford in February 1998 along with the rest of her family. She sets up her own restaurant called Giuseppe's, named after her late husband. George helped to set this up. It was later revealed that she and George had a fling many years ago during the time her husband Giuseppe was in prison. This leads George to believe that Rosa's son Gianni could be his son rather than Giuseppe's. This shock leads to Gianni breaking up with George's daughter Annie Palmer
Annie Palmer
Annie Palmer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nadia Sawalha. Annie was portrayed as a hard-nosed businesswoman, who wasn't averse to dabbling on the wrong side of the law...
(Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha is an English actress and television presenter.Sawalha is perhaps best known for her role as Annie Palmer in the BBC soap opera EastEnders during the 1990s, although most of her television work is now as a presenter rather than an actress...
) after fearing they had been having an incestuous affair. DNA tests later confirm that Gianni is Giuseppe's son which relieves both Rosa and Gianni. Jeff Healy (Leslie Schofield
Leslie Schofield
Leslie Schofield is an English actor who is most famous in the UK for his role as Jeff Healy in the popular soap opera, EastEnders where he played Jeff from 1997 to 2000. His character was famous for unsuccessfully proposing to Pauline Fowler...
) had a crush on her but Rosa rejects his advances. Nicky later gets food poisoning from the local café and Rosa tries to have it closed down.
Rosa later faces financial trouble with the restaurant and George offers her help, which she accepts. After Nicky claims she was assaulted by her mathematics tutor Rod Morris (Forbes Masson
Forbes Masson
Forbes Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is best known for his classical theatre roles and comedy partnership with Alan Cumming...
) and later admits she didn't tell the whole truth (but was still assaulted) and then dissowns the family when they said she was lying, Rosa decides the whole family should leave Walford to move to Leicester and besides Beppe the entire family leaves Walford in August 2000. Rosa dies from a heart attack two years later at the age of 50. Beppe then later joins the rest of his family in Leicester.
Casting
The Italian di Marco family were introduced early in 1998 by Series Producer Jane Harris. The di Marcos were a family of eight, consisting of grandparents Bruno and Luisa, their daughter-in-law Rosa, her children BeppeBeppe di Marco
Beppe di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Greco.Beppe was his family's pride and joy, so it was a big shock to them when he was fired from the police force for attempting to frame local hardman Grant Mitchell...
, Gianni
Gianni di Marco
Gianni di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC serial drama EastEnders, played by Marc Bannerman from 1998 to 2000.-Storylines:Gianni arrived in Walford along with the rest of the di Marco family in 1998. Gianni was the younger of the two brothers in the family, the other being Beppe di Marco...
, Teresa and Nicky, and Beppe's young son Joe. They were heralded as the "family that would rival the Mitchells
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
Grant Anthony Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. Grant first appeared in 1990, introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show. Kemp remained until 1999 when he opted to leave...
", one of the most successful and long-running families to have been featured in EastEnders.
The di Marcos "landed with an almighty thud in January [1998], turning out in force for the funeral of patriarch Giuseppe", who was Rosa's husband and an old business associate of the character George Palmer (Paul Moriarty). The following month, the family moved to the area in which the soap is set, 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...
, to run an Italian restaurant, which was named Giuseppe's.
Departure
The di Marcos remained with the show as a unit until 2000, when the new executive producer, John Yorke, decided to cull the majority of the family. All except Beppe (Michael Greco) and his son Joe (Jake Kyprianou) were written out. They were reportedly "slaughtered because of a shortage of ideas for what to do with them". A source allegedly told The Mirror: "It's always unpleasant having to say goodbye to people who have given loyal service to the show for a number of years. But John Yorke feels it's time to make his mark on the show. Every new producer likes to do the same. John wants to introduce a new family later this year and felt the Di Marcos had nowhere else to go. Their storylines were beginning to feel tired and that's a good time to make such a drastic change...There is a lot of sympathy for actress Louise Jameson because her character was two-dimensional from the start. Nagging, moaning mums are not viewer-friendly. There was nothing sexy or appealing about Rosa through no fault of Louise."However an official BBC spokesperson at the time commented: "These changes…are just part of [John Yorke's] plans to revamp the series and give it a new look." The cuts paved the way for the arrival of the "hugely popular" Slater family. Beppe and Joe remained until 2002, when they were axed too.
Jameson said she was "absolutely gutted" about getting axed from EastEnders. She commented: "I'll really miss Rosa. It's like parting from a lover. I can't help thinking that she's not quite played out. A fling would have been nice with Frank or even Roy when he was on Viagra and rampant."
Reception
The di Marcos are now deemed as something of a failure for EastEnders. Since their departure, the family has even been mocked in an EastEnders official book, entitled EastEnders 20 Years In Albert Square. In the book, the author, Rupert Smith, writes :"Nobody really knew what to do with the di Marco family, who had been languishing in the pizza restaurant without a decent storyline between them. Finally, there was nothing else for it: the di Marcos would have to go. All of them…it was as if they'd never been".Matthew Baylis of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
has commented on their lack of success: "Thank heaven for off-screen uncles. As we saw during the hurried departure of the di Marco family from Albert Square, there's nothing like a fictitious relative when you need to get characters off the screen…The di Marcos' departure had its dodgy elements. A hitherto unheard-of uncle needs help in his restaurant, so the whole family ups sticks. Including Teresa - who'd always fought for independence from her family? Rosa, who presumably owned the house she'd transformed into something resembling an Imperial Palace, is suddenly prepared to leg it with a couple of suitcases? There was plenty that didn't ring true. But few viewers minded. There was, if anything, more sympathy for the programme-makers, trying valiantly to dispose of this singularly unpopular family while retaining an element of drama."
The di Marcos have been dismissed as "unconvincing characters". Baylis goes on to highlight a problem that he feels "dogged the whole family", their occupation as restaurateurs. Baylis believes this kept them "self-contained", and prevented them from establishing meaningful links with other characters. He explains: "[The di Marcos] had an ambiguity, heightened by the job they did. Soapland has no place for grey areas. Bad things happen to bad people. They also happen to good people, of course, but not for very long. To make this predictable universe work on the screen, you need characters who are relatively stable (even if they are unstable). The writers and the viewers buy into a myth that people aren't particularly complex, that the full range of their feelings and actions can be revealed in a few hours on the TV. And a quick, visible way of revealing characters is to mirror them in their occupation. Thus we have Pauline Fowler
Pauline 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...
, long-suffering drudge and matriarch. What better job than folding pants all day in the launderette? Or 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...
] - tough but fun-loving and gregarious. So she runs the pub. But what attributes spring to mind when we think of Italian restaurants? Fond of pasta, perhaps? Permanently overworked? The job never provided an easy route into understanding the di Marcos' characters…The most visible jobs tend to be taken by the strongest, most vivid characters. Confined to their restaurant, the di Marcos could only become involved in Walford life when other characters came over to eat a carbonara. And how often do working-class East End people do that? If any di Marco wanted a night out, a pint in the Vic, a clandestine liaison, then an excuse had to be found as to why they weren't working. Transforming Giuseppe's into a daytime sandwich bar, and sending Teresa onto the market were bold rescue attempts, but they came too late. The viewers had already decided they didn't much care…Because of their jobs, the di Marcos became a largely self-contained unit…"
External links
- Rosa di Marco at BBC Online