EastEnders

Julia Smith, creator of Eastenders, had already worked with Bill on "Z-Cars" and "Angels" when she wrote him the part of Arthur Fowler in “Eastenders”. 
Arthur was one of the few lovable characters of Albert Square – a gentle twinkly-eyed chap who just wanted to enjoy life and provide for his family.  But the Fowler family were not your regular family – and Arthur had to cope with long-term unemployment, major money problems, imprisonment (twice!), a nervous breakdown, a pregnant teenage daughter, a son with HIV, and finally a brain haemorrhage that killed him. (God rest his soul).

But Arthur had his comedy moments as well: winning the Cat & Mouse Game show and becoming the local celeb of Walford certainly put a smile on audiences faces, as did his driving lessons, not to mention his brief flirtation with his son’s new motorbike which, of course, ended in comic disaster.  Probably the most unlikely storyline was when Arthur started an affair with Mrs Hewitt.  However, it didn’t last long and Pauline gave him one heck of a whack with a frying pan (early roots of the later haemorrhage problem one asks oneself? Pauline should be arrested for manslaughter!)

The nervous breakdown storyline was certainly the most gruelling and viewing figures reached the highest ever during the Christmas episode of 1986 which featured the now famous scene of Arthur smashing up the Fowler’s living room in a moment of agonising despair. (Incidentally this scene has become such a classic, it is now downloadable from the official BBC website!) The realism and accuracy of Bill's portrayal of mental decline was so powerful, it hit the medical professionals as well as the critics and general public, and it was here that Bill really established himself as a truly talented and versatile actor – not merely another soap “celeb”.

In 1996 Bill asked to be written out of the series and audiences watched in horror as Arthur was framed for the embezzlement of the Flowering Wilderness Campaign funds and wrongfully imprisoned.  There was a public outcry over such a dreadful injustice! A nationwide Free Arthur Fowler campaign was launched and even a single was released (needless to say it didn’t quite make the Top 10 although it was aired on national radio!) 

Eventually the truth came out! The dastardly Willy Roper was the true thief and Arthur was released. However, a gash to the head he had sustained in prison (or maybe an earlier acquaintance with a frying pan?) lead to a brain haemorrhage and, alas, Arthur was no more. There was a genuine feeling of loss and Arthur has been missed ever since.