| Mehmet Osman | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Haluk Bilginer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1985–1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 34 13 June 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 431 23 March 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Holland and Julia Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Mehmet Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders , played by Haluk Bilginer. Mehmet is portrayed as a charmer, rogue and a serial womaniser, and makes recurring appearances in EastEnders from 1985 to 1987, and then regularly until 1989.
Mehmet is a Turkish Cypriot and the older brother of the original owner of the Bridge street café, Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih). He is first seen in Albert Square in June 1985 when he takes part in one of Ali's regular late-night poker games. Like his brother, Mehmet is a serial gambler and whenever he gambles the stakes are often foolishly high. Unlike his brother, Mehmet doesn't live in Walford but Stoke Newington.
In June 1986 Mehmet and Ali start a cab firm called 'OzCabs' from a corner table in Ali's Café. Mehmet is married with three children, but monogamy is one sanctity of marriage that he is more than willing to overlook. Later that month punk Mary Smith (Linda Davidson) catches his eye, and so he bets his sceptical brother £10 that he can get Mary to have sex with him. Mary is well aware that Mehmet's intentions are dishonourable and initially refuses to have sex with him, but Mehmet persists and she finally relents and spends the night with him. A triumphant Mehmet then collects his winnings and gloats to his brother in the café. However, Mary overhears their entire conversation and she then sets about trying to get revenge on him by hoax calling his cab-firm and vandalising his car. Later in the year Mehmet acts as Pat Wicks's (Pam St. Clement) pimp, setting her up with clients on a regular basis and he even persuades Pat to convince Mary to go prostitute herself too. He also gets involved in Kathy Beale's (Gillian Taylforth) Knitting business, later conning her and disappearing with all her profits. After he gets into more trouble with his customers for overcharging on fares and then trying to seduce Hannah Carpenter (Sally Sagoe) — the wife of his employee — the residents of Albert Square decide to confront him. Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), Pete Beale (Peter Dean) and Tony Carpenter (Oscar James) find him and give him a severe beating which involves having his arms pinned behind his back whilst taking a number of blows to the stomach.
Mehmet proceeds to make things infinitely worse for himself soon after, when he stakes his house and business on a bet, loses and swiftly disappears leaving his wife, Guizin Osman (Ishia Bennison), to face up to the consequences. A then homeless Guzin arrives at Ali and his wife Sue's (Sandy Ratcliff) doorstep with the news that Mehmet had beaten her, and she isn't ever returning to him. Ali and Sue are forced to take Guizin and her three children, Murat, Rayif and Emine (Pelin Ahmet) into their one bedroom apartment. Mehmet returns to Walford in May 1987 and he manages to persuade his long suffering wife to give their marriage another chance. However, his promises to Guizin prove to be hollow as soon after he decides that the barmaid Donna Ludlow (Matilda Ziegler) is to be the next sexual conquest. Donna refuses his advances, but can't resist informing Guizin about his offer and Guizin and Donna nearly fight on New Year's Eve that year. Guizin and Mehmet's marriage is highly turbulent and they are always involved in intense arguments, mainly concerning money and gambling. In 1988 Mehmet and Guzin become partners in Ali's café after Sue gives up working to look after her baby. Mehmet often clashes with his wife about the amount of time he takes off to gamble and the way the café is run. Later in the year Mehmet and Ali run up huge gambling debts to Joanne Francis (Pamela Salem), manageress of Strokes wine bar, and who is also a member of the criminal underworld known as The Firm. Desperate for money the two turn to their café employee, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), for a loan. He agrees, but charges his employers 10 percent interest and later, when they cannot meet the repayments, he demands a stake in the café. The brothers refuse, but the debt eventually leads to Ali losing the café to Ian the following year.
Mehmet's marriage goes through some more trouble in 1989, when Ali's wife, Sue, discovers that her husband had been having sex with prostitute, Donna Ludlow. Sue is traumatised by this news and turns to Mehmet for comfort. Seeing her chance for revenge Sue makes a pass at Mehmet, purposefully kissing him in Ali's view. For once Mehmet is innocent, but Ali refuses to believe this and the brothers have a massive fight. Ali divulges Sue and Mehmet's fabricated affair to Guzin, who is unable to forgive her husband's latest infidelity with her sister-in-law. After viciously attacking Mehmet she leaves Walford to return to Northern Cyprus, taking their three children with her. After another huge argument with Sue, Mehmet decides to return to Northern Cyprus in order to win his wife back. His last appearance is in March 1989.
Mehmet Osman was conceptualised by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. Mehmet, the brother of original character Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), was part of a well-intentioned attempt to represent the proportion of Turkish Cypriots who had immigrated to England and settled in the East End of London. Holland and Smith knew that for the soap to succeed there needed to be a varied group of characters, so that several different sections of the audience had someone to identify with. Additionally, if the programme was to be realistic, it had to reflect the cross-section of society that actually existed in the real location. For these reasons, different sexes, ages, classes, religions and races were all included in the original character line-up. Both Holland and Smith had been at the forefront of the move towards 'integrated casting' in television and had encountered an array of ethnic diversities in the process. Even though the ethnic minority groups were deemed the hardest to research, Holland and Smith called upon their social contacts to relay information about their own origins and lifestyles, which they say allowed them to portray Walford's most recent immigrants more realistically. [1]
Actor Haluk Bilginer was one of only three London-based, Turkish-speaking actors available at the time of casting in 1984. He was originally put forward for the role of Ali Osman along with another actor, Nejdet Salih. Bilginer was Turkish, and Holland and Smith have commented that he "was almost type-casting for the 'peacock' they were looking for', right down to the Bandito moustache and hairy chest!" However, Salih was actually Turkish-Cypriot and had a background "surprisingly similar" to Ali's. [1]
Holland and Smith disagreed about which actor should have the part of Ali; Holland preferred Bilginer, while Smith preferred Salih. Holland believed Bilginer possessed the right "look" and that Salih was not tall or tough-looking enough, "he didn't have the sort of physical presence that put you on your guard." [1] He also believed that Sandy Ratcliff, the actress playing Ali's wife Sue, would have "made mincemeat of [Salih]". Additionally, Holland visioned Ali with a moustache, and unlike Bilginer, Salih was unable to grow one. Conversely, Smith felt that Salih was "the genuine article. Not Turkish, but Turkish-Cypriot. He would have so much actual knowledge to bring to the character [...] He wouldn't have to act the part, he was the part." [1] Both actors were given a script reading with the actress who would play Ali's wife, Sandy Ratcliff, who arrived for the reading 45 minutes late. Bilginer read with Ratcliff first, and Holland and Smith have commented that he "had obviously thought about the part [...] because there was much more physical power in his performance. At one stage Julia and Tony were worried that he might even hit Sandy!" [1] Salih read next, and after being introduced to Ratcliff who apologised for her tardiness, to which Salih replied "Not to worry. Typical bloody woman!" His quip impressed Holland and Smith; they have since commented that Salih almost got the part on the strength of that line alone, as the felt it typified the character perfectly. Salih was eventually given the part of Ali, but as there were only two suitable Turkish speaking actors available, and as Ali would need a brother, Bilginer was given the part of Mehmet Osman. [1]
Mehmet Osman makes his first appearance on-screen in June 1985, four months after the show originally aired. His arrival coincides with a cot death storyline of Sue and Ali's baby, Hassan. Mehmet appears as a recurring character from 1985 to 1987, setting up a cab firm named Ozcabs from inside Ali's café; however, he becomes a regular in 1988, when both he and his wife Guizin (Ishia Bennison) are made partners in Ali's café, which is renamed Café Osman. [2]
Mehmet is portrayed as a charmer, a rogue and a womaniser. Author of The EastEnders Handbook, Hilary Kingsley, has said of him, "he tries it on with every woman he meets and sometimes succeeds through a combination of good looks and sheer audacity." A serial gambler, Mehmet was shown to steer Ali into various money-losing ploys, and had a combustible marriage to Guizin, who put up with his philandering, as in the Turkish community, that's "what a wife was expected to do". [3]
Described as "the Terrible Turk", Haluk Bilginer was one of the more popular male cast members on EastEnders during the 1980s, and he reportedly received sackfuls of fan mail, "despite playing a villain and a womanising snake". [3] Hilary Kingsley has said that what made the character so popular was Bilginer's Omar Sharif-style good looks and charm. [3] Following the departure of Holland and Smith, Mehmet was eventually written out of the serial in May 1989, in a storyline that signified the disbandment of the Osman family. On-screen, Mehmet returns to his native Cyprus after a fight with Guizin regarding her suspicions about Mehmet's fabricated affair with Sue. The Osman family were among many characters to leave the serial that year. Writer Colin Brake has commented, "the pace of comings and going was fast and furious during 1989, as the programme tried to find a new direction." [2] Bilginer went into musical theatre after leaving EastEnders. [3]
In 2022, Luke Weir from Surrey Live called Mehmet a "Serial womaniser". [4]
Walford is a fictional borough of East London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is the primary setting for the soap. EastEnders is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work is filmed in nearby Watford, which was chosen for many of the exterior scenes due to its close proximity and the town's name being so similar to Walford. Thus, any stray road signs or advertising boards which are accidentally filmed in the back of shots will appear to read Walford. Locations used in Watford include most interior and exterior church scenes of various churches, the snooker club, the County Court and Magistrates' Courts courtrooms, and the cemetery.
Vicki Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Emma Herry from the character's birth in 1986 to 1988, Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995, and Scarlett Alice Johnson from 2003 to 2004. She is the daughter of Michelle Fowler and Den Watts. The character is born in the serial, conceived in a controversial storyline about teenage pregnancy. Exploiting a whodunnit angle, at the time of the first showing, viewers were not initially told who was the father, and press interest in the fledgling show escalated as journalists attempted to guess. The audience finally discovered his identity in October 1985 in episode 66. Written by series co-creator and script editor Tony Holland, and directed by co-creator and producer Julia Smith, it was considered a landmark episode in the show's history. Early suspects were Ian Beale and Kelvin Carpenter, but then four possible suspects are seen leaving Albert Square early in the episode: Tony Carpenter, Ali Osman, Andy O'Brien, and Den Watts. As Michelle waits by their rendezvous point, a car pulls up and the fluffy white legs of the soap landlord's poodle Roly leap out of a car to give it all away: Den Watts is the father of Michelle's baby. After this storyline the programme started to appear in newspaper cartoons as it moved more and more into the public mainstream. Vicki's character was written out in October 1995, after Susan Tully, who played Vicki's mother Michelle, decided to leave the soap.
Kathy Cotton is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Taylforth. Portrayed as "an attractive, bright, caring and highly moral woman", Kathy is one of the serial's original characters, appearing in the first episode of EastEnders on 19 February 1985. She is created as the second wife of Pete Beale and mother of their son Ian Beale. Taylforth was originally dismissed for the role of Kathy due to her young age, but was reconsidered when she impressed show bosses. The actress opted to leave the serial in 1997 and Kathy departed on 10 April 1998 after deciding to move to South Africa with her second son Ben. Kathy returned for two separate guest stints in 1999, making her departure on 6 January 2000. Despite reports that Taylforth would be returning to the serial, Kathy was supposedly killed off-screen in a road collision in 2006 to facilitate Ben's reintroduction to the serial. Taylforth reprised the role for a charity special in 2014. In the episode broadcast on 19 February 2015 to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary, Kathy made a surprise return to the serial - despite being presumed dead. It was confirmed that Kathy would be making a permanent return, and – after a guest appearance on 19 May 2015 – Kathy returned permanently on 17 August 2015. Taylforth was initially hesitant about her reintroduction storyline, which was inspired by the John Darwin disappearance case. In May 2019, it was announced that Kathy would open Walford's first gay bar. Taylforth appeared in her 2,000th episode on 22 May 2023. On 29 July 2024, it was announced that Taylforth would be going on a temporary break in the episode aired that night. Kathy returned to the serial on 19 August, after just three weeks off-screen.
Mary Smith, also known as Mary the Punk, is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Linda Davidson, from 5 March 1985 to 26 May 1988. Punk Mary is Walford's original wild child. She often makes life difficult for herself due to her stubborn, defensive nature and she tends to feel that everyone around her is out to get her. In fact, Mary is her own worst enemy and most of her misfortune is down to her irresponsible behaviour and her inability to heed good advice. Davidson's return to the soap for a single episode was announced in December 2018. She returns for the funeral of Doctor Legg in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019. Davidson reprised the role of Mary again in 2022 for the funeral of Dot Cotton.
Sue Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sandy Ratcliff. She is one of the serial's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 19 February 1985 and departing on-screen in May 1989. Created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, Sue is portrayed as argumentative, insecure and tragic. A pivotal storyline in the character's narrative is the cot-death of her son, which was one of the show's first controversial plots. During her four years on-screen, the character contends with a phantom pregnancy, marital breakdown and finally insanity. Ratcliff left the role in 1989.
Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original EastEnders cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly five years afterwards, making his last appearance on 10 October 1989. Ali was scripted as happy-go-lucky, which was in stark contrast to his highly strung wife, Sue. Central to his storylines were his penchant for gambling, his tempestuous marriage, and the loss of his son to cot death, which was one of the first controversial storylines covered by the soap. He was created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland, the creators of EastEnders.
Marge Green is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Pat Coombs. from 9 May 1989 to 8 February 1990. Introduced in 1989, elderly Marge is scripted as comical and timid. The character was one of many to be axed in 1990 when Michael Ferguson took over the role as executive producer from her introducer Mike Gibbon.
Alexandra Ratcliff was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap opera EastEnders in the 1980s. She portrayed the role of Sue Osman but left the role in 1989. In 2010, she revealed that she had retired from acting to train as a counsellor.
Donna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Matilda Ziegler. She appears between episodes 265 and 437 of EastEnders, originally appearing on screen from 27 August 1987 to 13 April 1989. Donna was scripted as a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her. In her storyline, after finding out she was conceived from rape and then rejected by her mother, Donna sets herself on a path of self-destruction. She turns to manipulation, blackmail and prostitution to fund her drug-habit, before choking to death on her own vomit in 1989.
Nihat Haluk Bilginer is a Turkish actor. For his role in Şahsiyet (2018), Bilginer won the Best Actor award at the 47th International Emmy Awards. His film Kış Uykusu won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera EastEnders during the 1980s. He has also starred in Hollywood movies as a character actor. He often plays villains and unsympathetic characters.
Nej Adamson, also credited as Nejdet Salih, is a British actor.
Tony Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Oscar James, from 28 February 1985 until 28 May 1987.
The Karims are a fictional family that appear in the BBC soap opera EastEnders between July 1987 and June 1990.
Carmel Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Judith Jacob from 5 June 1986 to 24 August 1989. Carmel, a health visitor, was initially introduced in a recurring, minor role in 1986, when she is credited as "health visitor". Producers saw potential in the character, and script writers were asked to develop more prominent storylines, and Carmel became a regular character. She is portrayed as a well-meaning, caring individual who is forever getting everyone's problems dumped on her. She is featured in storylines about domestic violence and various family and career upsets. Jacob remained in the role until 1989, when she opted to leave. Off-screen, the character was the subject of criticism regarding the portrayal of her profession from the Health Visitors Association.
Roly is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Roly is an apricot coloured standard poodle, who appears in the first episode of the programme on 19 February 1985 and remained in the show until 19 October 1993.
Julie Cooper is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Louise Plowright from 1989 to 1990. The character was one of Mike Gibbon's introductions, but she was axed in 1990 at the start of Michael Ferguson's reign as executive producer. Julie is portrayed as a bubbly, big haired Salford girl, who has a hungry appetite for men.
Trevor Andrew Short is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Phil McDermott from 1 June 1989 to 1 March 1990.
Laurie Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Gary Powell. Laurie was introduced by producer Mike Gibbon in September 1989 as a rival to the long-established character Pete Beale – he opens up a business in direct competition to him and then dates his estranged wife Kathy. Laurie Bates was one of many characters to be axed early in 1990, following the introduction of the serial's new executive-producer, Michael Ferguson. He makes his last appearance in March 1990, lasting roughly six months on-screen.