When Julia Smith and Tony Holland created the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders in 1984, they conceived the character of Arthur Fowler, the “henpecked” husband of Pauline, played by Wendy Richard, as: “Rock-solid and reliable. Has an instinctive (unintellectual) wisdom ... He cries openly at funerals, loves his wife, is strict with his children, doesn’t drink a lot, supports Arsenal, votes Labour and would never walk down the street carrying flowers. He worked in a factory – but was made redundant, and has been unemployed for a year.”
Bill Treacher, who has died aged 92 of pneumonia and Covid-19, was cast as Arthur in the soap when it was launched the following year, bringing to the part his own London East End background.
