Melanie Owen

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EastEnders character

Melanie Owen
Portrayed by	Tamzin Outhwaite
Duration	1998–2002
First appearance	10 October 1998
Last appearance	12 April 2002
Date of birth	15 January 1972
Marital status	Widowed
Family	Alex and Jeff

Kidnapped

Melanie Jane "Mel" Owen (née Healy, previously Beale) was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Tamzin Outhwaite.

[edit] History

Melanie arrived in Walford as the sister of local vicar Alex Healy and daughter of Jeff Healy in October 1998. She soon became a new love interest of Ian Beale. Ian had a twin son and daughter, Lucy and Peter, and cared for his adopted son Steven like his own. Melanie found the presence of three children hard to deal with at first but grew to love Steven, Peter and Lucy. Ian and Mel planned to marry at the same time that Lucy became ill with suspected cancer. Ian overheard Mel admit that she didn't truly love Ian and she'd only wed him if Lucy had cancer. When Lucy had some tests and was given the all clear, Ian lied to Mel and told her Lucy did have cancer to emotionally blackmail Mel into marriage. The pair married on New Years Eve 1999, in a joint double wedding with Barry and Natalie Evans, but at their reception, she discovered the truth and left Ian as the clock stuck midnight and the new millennium began.

Mel leaves Ian hours after they wed.

Mel then had a few flings with the unlikely Billy Mitchell, Phil Mitchell and Dan Sullivan, although it was her on/off flirtation with Steve Owen that lasted, and after becoming a couple, they married in March 2001 despite Steve finding out a day earlier from the wedding day that she had slept with Phil on Christmas Day 2000 in a drunken one-night stand. On the same day of their wedding Phil was shot by a mystery attacker and Steve became the prime suspect. Melanie suspected it might have been him but he protested his innocence. But later Phil recovered from the shooting and confronted the culprit who turned out to be Lisa Shaw. Surprisingly he forgave her and decided to frame his arch nemesis Dan Sullivan.

Dan Sullivan was wrongly imprisoned for trying to kill Phil Mitchell, and after his release, believing that it was Steve who actually shot him, kidnapped Mel in revenge. Dan demanded a large sum of money and Steve grew desperate. During her few days of capivity, Mel was informed about Steve's dodgy dealings and criminal activities. After Phil came to her rescue and Dan fled, she took time out after burning down her and Steve's club, E20, an act which she did to get her own back after Steve's lies. He wooed her over, however, and they planned to flee to the United States with her best friend, Lisa Shaw, her boyfriend, Mark Fowler, and daughter, Louise (who was the daughter of Steve's arch-nemesis, Phil Mitchell). After Mark was unable to go, and was Lisa torn as to what to do, the plan was falling apart close to the day of departure. Steve had to sort a few things out, and Phil was hot on his trail (baby Louise was in the back of Steve's car). Steve swirved and crashed. Phil rushed to get Louise out of the car. He went back for Steve but the car exploded with Steve inside. Mel was heart-broken when a web of deceit and lies was uncovered. She discovered that Steve had been sleeping with Phil's sister, Sam to get final revenge on Phil, and he had secretly sold their club and house behind her back. On her friend Lisa's wedding day to Mark Fowler, Melanie was arrested for drug connections, after some paperwork belonging to Steve was uncovered and it was a cover for drug smuggling, and Mel's signature was signed. She realised that Steve had set her up, and had used her signature for the scam, along with his own (his sister, Jackie, who'd long left Walford, was also involved with the scam and jailed). Facing a long spell in prison, a week of events led to Mel's escape: upon discovering that she was pregnant with Steve's baby, Phil bailed her for £30,000. She discovered that her good friend Lisa was the real culprit for shooting Phil (and that Phil had known all along!), and she had believed that it was Steve all along. She toasted Steve before fleeing to Portgual, so Phil had to pay £30,000.

A few months later, Lisa also fled Albert Square with baby Louise to join Mel after destroying her marriage to Mark by becoming involved with Phil again.

After Lisa disappeared (and was thought to have been tracked down and murdered by Phil), some episodes were shown in Portugal about what really happened (Phil just persuaded Lisa to hand over Louise, and left her in an emotional wreck), and Lisa commented that Mel was in Lisbon giving birth to her daughter. This is the last known fact about Melanie Owen.