{"id":391656,"date":"2026-01-26T18:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/391656\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T18:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:02:10","slug":"eastenders-reveals-mark-fowler-jrs-secret-and-surprise-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/391656\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders reveals Mark Fowler Jr&#8217;s secret and surprise connection"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A mystery has been cleared up in <a href=\"http:\/\/radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a>, as Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) explained his sudden return and the injuries he&#8217;d sustained.<\/p>\n<p>The legacy character, son of Michelle Fowler and Grant Mitchell, burst through his uncle Phil&#8217;s (Steve McFadden) door on Thursday evening, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-surprise-early-return-major-character-10-years-bbc-iplayer-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">badly beaten and seeking refuge. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Eagle-eyed viewers will know that this isn&#8217;t the first time we&#8217;ve seen him, as Mark appeared <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-mystery-man-flash-forward-stephen-aaron-sipple-mark-fowler-jr-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">partially uncredited<\/a> during a flash-forward episode to 2027 on New Year&#8217;s Day.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/545876-3ba4941.jpg\" alt=\"Sam and Vicki sit over Mark, who has a bloody face and lying on Phil's sofa, in a scene from EastEnders\" data-item-name=\"Sam and Vicki sit over Mark, who has a bloody face and lying on Phil's sofa, in a scene from EastEnders\" title=\"545876,TITLE:Eastenders\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.6666666666666666;object-fit:contain\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"466.66666666666663\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Vicki (Alice Haig) wanted to know why her brother was back.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n<p>Having not visited Albert Square in a decade, sister Vicki (Alice Haig) had a lot of questions at the start of today&#8217;s instalment. Mark had spent the night on the sofa and was nursing his injuries, and soon realised that the Mitchell house was incredibly busy.<\/p>\n<p>He was introduced to his aunt Sam (Kim Medcalf), who wanted him never to call her &#8216;auntie&#8217;, and his dad&#8217;s old school mate Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), who is living with Phil amid his young-onset dementia diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=radiotimes.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google<\/a><br \/>\nKeep up to date on what\u2019s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times \u2013 see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cropped-RT-logo-2-164db38.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-item-name=\"\" title=\"cropped-RT-logo-2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.9087301587301587;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"272.6190476190476\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mark explained that he&#8217;d turned up to support Vicki ahead of vile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-spoilers-next-week-mark-fowler-jr-returns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joel Marshall&#8217;s (Max Murray) trial<\/a>, but that clearly wasn&#8217;t the full story. In her absence, he told Phil that he&#8217;s on the run from some heavies, who have incorrectly identified him as a police informant.<\/p>\n<p>He was desperate for his uncle to put in some calls and save him, but with Phil preparing to flee to Portugal with Nigel that night, it just wouldn&#8217;t be possible.<\/p>\n<p>Later, in the caf\u00e9, Mark clocked Joel&#8217;s dad Ross (Alex Walkinshaw). He rushed over and thumped him, enraged that he allowed his son to abuse Vicki. She was forced to deliver an awkward apology and ordered him home, unaware of the danger that was potentially looming for her.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769450529_918_545873-cfdf8d3.jpg\" alt=\"An angry looking Phil watches Vicki and Mark hugging in his living room in EastEnders\" data-item-name=\"An angry looking Phil watches Vicki and Mark hugging in his living room in EastEnders\" title=\"545873,TITLE:Eastenders\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.6667444574095682;object-fit:contain\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"466.72112018669776\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mark Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) was seeking help from his uncle Phil (Steve McFadden).\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barns\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n<p>An unknown assailant had sent Mark a picture of her working, and he knew that time was ticking for him to enlist Phil.<\/p>\n<p>At No. 55, Sam mistakenly divulged Phil&#8217;s departure plot, explaining that Nigel&#8217;s wife Julie (Karen Henthorn) was in Scotland selling their family home to fund his care and had no idea. Mark decided to use this to his advantage, and when she made a surprise early return, he spilled what he knew.<\/p>\n<p>She was furious, and began to tear strips off Phil for behaving so recklessly. Julie then decided it might be time for her and Nigel to move on, and booked them into Peacock Palace for the foreseeable.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/531147-0529215.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Thiara as Ravi Gulati in EastEnders\" data-item-name=\"Aaron Thiara as Ravi Gulati in EastEnders\" title=\"531147,TITLE:Eastenders\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.6666666666666666;object-fit:contain\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"466.66666666666663\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ravi (Aaron Thiara) is the real informant.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barns\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n<p>With Phil now pushed in a corner, Mark pleaded for his assistance once again. He was adamant to track down the real informant, and when he did &#8211; they&#8217;d be a &#8220;dead man&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>As he spoke, a tell-all cutaway scene revealed that the man in question is none other than Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), who saved himself from a life behind bars by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-ravi-gulati-fate-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">agreeing to help Walford cop shop<\/a> shut down London&#8217;s drug dealing gangs.<\/p>\n<p>Should Ravi be worried, or will the shoe be on the other foot?<\/p>\n<p>Read more:<\/p>\n<p>Visit our dedicated <a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" data-outlook-id=\"407a7332-d02c-42a9-a1ac-e105b2f5e691\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n<p>Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/download-the-app\/?af_xp=custom&amp;pid=website&amp;c=editorial_content&amp;is_retargeting=true&amp;af_reengagement_window=30d\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n<p>Check out more of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0CQWGoiSAYvZvTD1dZ4eAs\">Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw32C9VRDQ0MNT5CInEGyMAm\">TV Guide<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2_j9koCLWjp1srEzK9td3T\">Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what&#8217;s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to <a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3wbAcSTIv74D2RLzOpEtYE\">The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mystery has been cleared up in EastEnders, as Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) explained his sudden return&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-391656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}