EastEnders fans break down in tears as Sharon and Martin pay tribute to legendary late character

MARTIN Fowler was given a job opportunity while his daughter Lily Slater made a decision about her pregnancy.

However, EastEnders fans were in tatters when the market trader and Sharon Watts paid tribute to an iconic character.

BBC ONE

Martin Fowler paid tribute to a character he was one close to[/caption]

BBC ONE

It all began when Sharon Watts told him she’d received photos of Mark Fowler[/caption]

PA:Press Association

Mark passed away in 2004[/caption]

Many residents have come and gone from Walford over the years but most are never forgotten and sometimes even celebrated as Dot Cotton’s lavish funeral proved.

During last night’s instalment of the BBC One soap, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) told Martin (James Bye) that she’d received snaps of one late and missed character – Mark Fowler.

The gym owner revealed she had been in touch with their sister Michelle, much like Martin has been in the past about their late brother.

Michelle had sent these photos as Mark would have celebrated his birthday on Thursday, February 2, as any diehard EastEnders fans would remember.

Viewers immediately rushed to Twitter, touched by the unexpected tribute to the legend.

“Such lovely memories photo of Mark”, one of them commented as another jumped in, adding a crying face emoji: “Michelle sending Sharon a picture of Mark.”

“Michelle sending photos of Mark”, a third viewer penned alongside a broken heart emoji.

EastEnders bosses have recently decided to pay tribute to Mark Fowler through a hard-hitting HIV storyline involving Zack Hudson.

As viewers will remember, Mark himself died of an AIDS-related form of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2004, after leaving the Square a year earlier, soon after his birthday.

Mark was portrayed by Todd Carty from 1990 to 2003, who had replaced David Scarboro (who passed away after being fired from the London-based show).

The emotional moment was cut short, however, when Martin announced he had been offered a few weeks of well-paid work in Turkey.

But he was concerned about accepting the offer as it would mean he wouldn’t be able to support Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) with her pregnancy.

The 12-year-old recently made the decision to keep her baby and received the support of Ricky Mitchell – although Martin and Jack Branning are both unhappy about her decision.

However, Martin Fowler actor James Bye teased that his character would be present for his stepdaughter in whatever way he could bring her support.

This could even push him closer to another Walford resident…

EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.

BBC

EastEnders bosses are paying tribute to Mark Fowler with a hard-hitting HIV storyline[/caption]

BBC

Zack Hudson was recently diagnosed with the illness[/caption]