Reg Cox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| EastEnders character | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Reg Cox | |
| Portrayed by | Johnnie Clayton |
| Duration | 1985 |
| Book appearances | Home Fires Burning, Swings and Roundabouts |
| Date of birth | 1926 |
| Date of death | 21 February 1985 |
| Marital status | Deceased |
| Occupation | Retired |
Reg Cox was a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Johnnie Clayton in the opening episode.
Reg lived alone at 23b Albert Square. On the morning of February 19, 1985 (the first episode of EastEnders), Naima Jeffery, who ran the shop on Bridge Street, became concerned about Reg after he had failed to make his daily milk purchase for the past three days and her husband, Saeed, mentioned this to Den Watts, publican of the pub next door.
Den and Arthur Fowler roused Ali Osman, who lived downstairs from Reg, to let them into the house and the three of them kicked in the door to Reg's room when he failed to answer their knocking.
Den spoke the opening lines of the first episode, "Stinks in here, dunnit?", as they found Reg slumped unconscious in his armchair. Den ran to get Dr. Legg and called for an ambulance. In the second episode (21 February 1985), they would learn that Reg had been severely beaten and died from injuries which had gone unnoticed when he was found. It was eventually revealed that Nick Cotton had killed him when stealing his war medals.
Reg, who was 59 years old when he died, was not a popular figure in Albert Square. He was referred to as a 'cantankerous old git' by Arthur, called a 'miserable so and so' by Ethel Skinner and a 'nasty old man' by his downstairs neighbour, Sue Osman. But despite this, Lou Beale caused havoc around the Square, accusing Sue of neglect for allowing him to lie dying in his flat for days, without checking up on him.
In the past he had gone AWOL and sold dodgy gear in the war.
The character also appeared in the Christmas special EastEnders: Civvy Street, set during World War II, shown on 22 December 1988. He was played by Marc Tufano.
