EastEnders' Mark Fowler's HIV diagnosis, sad death & Square connection

20 April 2023 , 18:00

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Mark Fowler was one of the original characters created by EastEnders and as he gets a mention on the BBC soap, we take a look at his story on the show, his HIV diagnosis and emotional death (Image: BBC)

EastEnders' Mark Fowler joined the BBC soap as a delinquent teenager.

However, when he returned to Albert Square in the early 1990s as a 22-year-old, he was much more grown up and a completely different person. The change had come as a result of his HIV diagnosis, which had meant he had to focus on his health.

Throughout his time in the Square, he found it difficult to cope with the illness and the restrictions it gave him, before he decided that he would leave Walford to live out his final days and enjoy the trip of a lifetime before his untimely death.

Mark and Pauline Fowler

His exit scenes aired in 2003, when Mark - played by Todd Carty - decided to bid an emotional farewell to his family and friends.

In January of that year, he was given the news by his doctor that his body was starting to reject the medication that he had been given to allow him to slow down the onset of AIDs. He decided he didn't want his family to 'watch' him die and so made a plan to head on the trip he always wanted to do for the last few weeks, or months of his life - however long it may be.

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He left the Square in February 2003, and remained in contact with his family throughout.

In 2004, his brother Martin was given the news that Mark had passed away from an AIDS-related form of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, as they organise a special funeral and celebration of his life in his hometown.

Pauline, Arthur and Mark Fowler (BBC)

The storyline was ground-breaking at the time, as Mark struggled with the ignorance of those around him.

Peggy Mitchell led the furore against Mark, who had his fruits and vegetable stall boycotted as people wrongly feared they would catch the virus. Elsewhere, his house was graffitied with the words 'AIDS scum', as his mum Pauline tried to step in to defend him.

In a famous scene, he heads to the Queen Vic, where he expels the myths about his own diagnosis and the wider virus and how it can affect people, before shutting down most of their incorrect claims.

The storyline was a huge success for the BBC, with them paving the way - as Mark was the first mainstream soap character to have a HIV-positive diagnosis. It raised huge awareness about the topic, across the country.

The mentions of Mark have become more prevalent after Zack Hudson's own diagnosis.

Jasmine Allday