EastEnders Eddie Royle star 35 years after ‘whodunnit’ including rival soap role
Michael Melia played Queen Vic landlord Eddie Royle who was m.u.r.d.e.r.e.d in the iconic 1991 whodunnit storyline
Eddie Royale took over The Queen Vic from Frank Butcher in EastEnders (Image: BBC)
EastEnders fans adore a gripping “whodunnit”, and the enigmatic demise of Eddie Royale had viewers hooked back in 1991.
The Queen Vic landlord arrived on the BBC One soap in the summer of 1990 following his purchase of the pub from Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), and as a former police officer, he brought a distinctly no-nonsense approach.
Indeed, Eddie was miles apart from previous proprietors of The Vic, including Dirty Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). However, due to his abrasive manner, the residents took an instant dislike to him, and his time in Walford proved remarkably brief.
Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) became his arch-enemy after the hardman attacked him for making advances towards his then-partner, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean). Eddie constantly antagonised those around him, and eventually it proved fatal.
Actor Michael Melia as Eddie Royle in EastEnders(Image: BBC)
Eddie’s turbulent romance with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) became even more tangled when his father reconnected him with his former love, Eibhlin O’Donnell (Mary Conlon), reports OK!.
In September 1991, Eddie departed The Vic for a brief stroll to send a letter, with his dog Roly by his side, when he was confronted by an unknown assailant. Minutes afterwards, he lay fatally stabbed and was found by neighbourhood busybody Dot Cotton (June Brown), with numerous potential culprits identified.
Clyde Tavernier (Steven Woodcock) was originally blamed for Eddie’s k.i.l.l.i.n.g and jailed, before it emerged that local criminal Nick Cotton (John Altman) was responsible. Nick stabbed Eddie during an attempted robbery.
He was arrested but famously found ‘not guilty’ at his 1993 trial due to a lack of evidence.
Eddie Royle’s reign was short lived as he was stabbed to d.e.a.t.h by Nick Cotton
What is Eddie Royale star Michael Melia up to now?
Actor Michael Melia, now 80, portrayed Eddie Royle in EastEnders between 1990 and 1991.
Following his departure from the soap, Michael built an impressive acting career and appeared in numerous hit television programmes, including Casualty and The Detectives, before securing the part of DI Frank Dagley in Dangerfield between 1996 and 1997.
He subsequently took on the role of Jerry Block in Sky One’s Dream Team from 1998 until 2002.
In 2007, Michael appeared as businessman Colin MacFarlane in Emmerdale for two episodes. The character made his entrance at a luxury hotel where he encountered and spent the evening with Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter).
Chas Dingle found the businessman dead, the morning after meeting him in Emmerdale (Image: ITV)
Yet when Chas awoke the following morning, Colin had died after passing away overnight. In a surprising development, Colin’s wife Brenda (Judy Holt) turned up in the Dales and expressed gratitude to Chas, despite her husband’s infidelity and d.e.a.t.h from natural causes.
Brenda also became embroiled in Dingle family chaos when an intended nightclub heist backfired, vanishing after just four episodes.
Throughout the years, Michael has also featured in The Bill, Doctors, Coronation Street, and New Tricks, amongst other programmes.
Michael’s latest role was as Grandad in the children’s comedy Dani’s House between 2010 and 2012, and it appears he has now stepped away from acting.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer
