Soap actor James Alexandrou unveiled his new look during his stage play earlier this year – the production Casserole explored how grief can affect a romantic relationship.
James is most well-known as EastEnders' Martin Fowler, a role which he had between 1996 and 2007 before James Bye took over the role in 2014.
In March 2024, James wrote and starred in his own short play Casserole. On the theatre’s website, the synopsis for the show reads: ‘…Kate’s had another panic attack. She’s convinced her dead mother is sending her signs and needs Dom’s help to understand what it all could mean? Only to find Dom eating the biggest sign yet – the last casserole her mother ever made.’
Louisa Lytton (aka EastEnders’ Ruby Allen) who went to see the play said: “It was an amazing show, I didn’t know what to expect. I’d not seen or read anything about it, I was blown away.”
During James’ EastEnders days, his character got married to Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), the pair welcomed a daughter called Bex.
Martin also developed a crush on Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) and accidentally killed Sonia’s previous fiancé, Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder). Martin was put behind bars for Jamie’s death and began a feud with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).
Poor Martin also had to deal with the death of his brother, Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) and their mum, Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard).
Since his departure from EastEnders, James has worked in a lot of theatre from As You Like It, to Equus - where he replaced Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, to Romeo and Juliet.
James had also had parts in Silent Witness and in 2022 he appeared in Call the Midwife where he played Ronnie Reynolds - and fans were quick to spot him.
Once wrote: One fan joked: "I see Martin Fowler has time travelled back to 1968 #callthemidwife." Another said: "I'd keep an eye on Martin Fowler in that van.. he's got previous for bad driving. #callthemidwife”.
Upon seeing the Tweets, James responded: “Seeing some lovely messages come through about @CallTheMidwife1 with onscreen wife @LydiaLaaaaarson. Lost mum to cancer + this was a fav show of hers so was a tough gig, but one I wanted to do for her."
James Bye took over the role in 2014 - and James Alexandrou revealed at the time that he had been approached to return. According to The Mirror, he said: "They were talking for a while about me going back. They made it very clear that they were bringing the character back and they would really like me to go back, but it just wasn't right for me at the time.
“The attraction in it would be to see some of my old mates and have a bit of nostalgia, and that wasn't enough at the time to do it. I've decided to leave the show to experience other aspects of my industry."
