The British acting world is mourning the loss of Derek Martin, the beloved actor who portrayed the iconic London cabbie Charlie Slater in BBC One's EastEnders for over a decade. Martin passed away at the age of 92 following a short illness.
From Albert Square Patriarch to TV Tough Guy
Derek Martin became a household name when he first appeared in Albert Square in the year 2000 as Charlie Slater, the widowed taxi driver and head of the sprawling Slater clan. He arrived with four of his five daughters – Lynne, Kat, Little Mo (Maureen), and Zoe – and his mother-in-law, the formidable Mo Harris.
While Charlie was typically a level-headed and mild-mannered family man, his fierce devotion to his daughters occasionally led to explosive outbursts. In one of the soap's most memorable storylines, Charlie discovered his daughter Kat (Jessie Wallace) was actually the biological mother of Zoe, having fallen pregnant after being raped by his brother, Harry (Michael Elphick), when she was just 13. Upon learning the truth, a furious Charlie confronted Harry in the Queen Vic pub, leading to a violent attack that required other locals to pull him away.
His protective nature also saw him defend Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) on two separate occasions, actions that ultimately resulted in a three-month prison sentence for the character. Martin left the main cast in 2011 after Kat blamed him for neglecting her newborn son, Tommy, but returned for several guest stints before Charlie was killed off by a fatal heart attack in 2016.
A Life of Drama, On and Off Screen
Interestingly, the role of the gentle family man was a stark contrast to the hard-edged characters Martin was known for earlier in his career. In a 2001 interview with The Sun, he noted the similarities between himself and Charlie, stating, "We're both easygoing family men. But if anyone upsets me or mine I could be your worst nightmare."
Born Derek William Rapp in Bow, East London, in 1933, Martin's early life was far from the glitz of television. After leaving school, he worked as an apprentice surveyor and held a string of jobs where he encountered real violence, including having his nose broken with a snooker cue and being stabbed in the leg while working as a club bouncer. He even briefly "looked after" guns for Charlie Kray, elder brother of the notorious twins.
A pivotal moment came when he was acquitted of stealing meat while working as a porter at Smithfield market. "When I got away with that, I realised I could act, and turned my back on crime," he later said. Adopting 'Martin' as his stage name, he bluffed his way into extra work on Z Cars and never looked back.
A Prolific Career Beyond Walford
Before finding fame in EastEnders, Martin had already built a formidable career. His breakthrough came with the starring role of corrupt Detective Inspector Fred Pyall in the groundbreaking 1978 drama Law & Order. He also starred as the bent ex-copper Ronald King in the ITV series King & Castle (1986-88), a role he chose over the eventual part of Frank Butcher in EastEnders.
His television credits are extensive, including roles in The Chinese Detective (1981-82) as DCI Berwick, the short-lived Spanish soap Eldorado (1993) as mob boss Alex Morris, and the prison drama The Governor (1995-96). He also worked as a stunt performer until an injury on the set of Elizabeth R in 1971 made him focus solely on acting.
Derek Martin was married twice, first to Gloria Mitchell in 1961 and then to Christine Rigg in 1971. He is survived by his twin sons, David and Jonathan, from his second marriage. He published his autobiography, An East End Life: My Story, in 2010, chronicling his extraordinary journey from the streets of Bow to the heart of Britain's most famous square.
