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Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
EastEnders newcomer has famous family members who have also starred in BBC soap
EastEnders star Max Murray has been revealed as the son of well known soap and TV drama actress Gina Murray who has appeared in the soap alongside his aunt Mazz Murray EastEnders star Max Murray may have just landed a role on the BBC soap alongside legendary actors but it has now been revealed that he comes from a long-line of established actors and singers in his family. The young actor was announced as Joel Marshall back in February this year. Max is the son of Gina Murray, who has starred in a number of well known programmes including The Bill, Doctors and The Hunt for Raoul Moat. She appeared in the BBC soap in 2014 and played a character called Helen. Helen arrived in Albert Square as a hair specialist to help Carol Jackson, who was struggling with losing her hair as she fought off cancer. It was Helen's role to help Carol find a wig. But Max is also linked to Mazz Murray who is a successful TV and theatre actress. Back in 2004, Mazz starred as a waitress called Miranda who had a brawl with Heather Trott and Shirley Carter. When it comes to the stage, Mazz had starred in Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia and Chicago to name but a few. In 2017, Mazz returned to Walford but this time was playing a character called Julie. Julie played a divorced woman who hired Keanu Taylor as a male escort for a night of fun and frolics. Joel Marshall is the step-son of Vicky Fowler, who returned to the square for the funeral of her uncle Martin Fowler. Her new boyfriend Ross is played by Alex Walkinshaw. At the time Max's new role was announced, he told the Mirror: "It's an absolute privilege and honour to be joining such a wonderful production full of a lovely cast and crew." He added: "I'm really looking forward to introducing Joel to EastEnders viewers and telling his story." Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw went on to say: "We're delighted to have the very talented Alice, Alex and Max with us. Vicky is back under the most tragic of circumstances, representing her distraught mum Michelle, and she's changed a lot since we last saw her. "We're excited to let viewers get reacquainted with Vicky and to introduce Ross and Joel to the Square. It won't be long before Vicky and this new branch of the Fowler family are making waves in Walford."
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
EastEnders star's MUM and aunt are secret soap actors who have both appeared in the show
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EASTENDERS star Max Murray isn't the only soap star in his family. The actor - who plays incel Joel Marshall in the BBC soap - was introduced earlier this year as Vicki Fowler's troubled stepson. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Max Murray's not the only soap star in his family Credit: BBC 4 Max's mum Gina Murray as Helen in EastEnders 2014 Credit: BBC 4 Max's aunt Mazz also appeared in the soap as a client for male escort Keanu Taylor 4 The sisters have had long careers in the West End too Credit: Getty However in real-life he's the son of a former EastEnders star. His mother is actress Gina Murray. She has starred in a number of productions including Doctors, The Bill and The Hunt for Raoul Moat. However most notably she appeared in the BBC soap in 2014 as a character called Helen. She arrived in Walford as a specialist who was there to help Carol Jackson find a wig after she lost her hair during her battle with cancer. But Max and his mum aren't the only EastEnders stars in the family. More than that - Max's aunt also starred in the soap. Actress and singer Mazz Murray also had a role in the long-running show alongside her thriving West End career. She has starred in huge musicals such as Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia and Chicago. But on the small screen she had two stints in Albert Square in two different roles. In 2004 she played a character called Miranda for two episodes. EastEnders fans horrified as incel plot takes very dark twist and Joel's actions are exposed Miranda was a waitress who had a fight with Heather Trott and Shirley Carter. And in 2017 she returned to the soap, but this time played a character called Julie. Julie was a recently divorced woman who booked male escort Keanu Taylor for a night of wild passion.
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
EastEnders star's MUM and aunt are secret soap actors who have both appeared in the show
EASTENDERS star Max Murray isn't the only soap star in his family. The actor - who plays incel Joel Marshall in the BBC soap - was introduced earlier this year as Vicki Fowler's troubled stepson. 4 Max Murray's not the only soap star in his family Credit: BBC 4 Max's mum Gina Murray as Helen in EastEnders 2014 Credit: BBC 4 Max's aunt Mazz also appeared in the soap as a client for male escort Keanu Taylor 4 The sisters have had long careers in the West End too Credit: Getty However in real-life he's the son of a former EastEnders star. His mother is actress Gina Murray. She has starred in a number of productions including Doctors, The Bill and The Hunt for However most notably she appeared in the BBC soap in 2014 as a character called Helen. She arrived in Walford as a specialist who was there to help Carol Jackson find a wig after she lost her hair during her battle with cancer. Read more on EastEnders But Max and his mum aren't the only EastEnders stars in the family. More than that - Max's aunt also starred in the soap. Actress and singer Mazz Murray also had a role in the long-running show alongside her thriving West End career. She has starred in huge musicals such as Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia and Chicago. Most read in Soaps But on the small screen she had two stints in Albert Square in two different roles. In 2004 she played a character called Miranda for two episodes. EastEnders fans horrified as incel plot takes very dark twist and Joel's actions are exposed Miranda was a waitress who had a fight with Heather Trott and Shirley Carter. And in 2017 she returned to the soap, but this time played a character called Julie. Julie was a recently divorced woman who booked male escort Keanu Taylor for a night of wild passion.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Four in a Bed's narrator revealed after 10 years and his very famous wife
It turns out the iconic voice behind Channel 4's Four In A Bed is a rather famous face Four in a Bed is a staple on screens, but who is the narrator of the beloved Channel 4 series? The long-running show premiered way back in 2010, and sees B&B owners visit other's establishments and rate them in a bid to be crowned the 'best B&B'. On the programme, the competitive hoteliers are judged on an array of different things, including the room, cleanliness, food and even the hosts themselves. And at the end of the week, it's revealed how much all four B&B owners think their competition's offering is really worth. The prices are then revealed, usually with dramatic results, before a winner is announced. Since its debut 15 years ago, Four in a Bed has become a hit with viewers thanks to the tense and rather awkward fallouts that happen on-screen. But there is one person in particular who is likely to be integral to its success: the show's long-running narrator. The voice adding colour and detail to Four in a Bed is none other than Duncan Wisbey. The actor and voice artist took on the role of the show's narrator in 2015 and has been at the helm since. Before him, the show was narrated by Mike Adams from 2010 to 2015. Duncan himself has been in the business for years, and has appeared on several CBeebies shows and also BBC soap EastEnders, playing a Celebrant in 2015. He's starred in a Hollywood film too, called Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines, the fifth instalment in the horror franchise. And in 2022, he played Martin on the Netflix comedy Hard Cell, created by and starring Catherine Tate. Away from the TV shows, Duncan is married to actress Rae Baker, and the couple are parents to one child, Hattie born in 2011. Rae is best known for playing Detective Constable Juliet Becker in the long-running ITV drama The Bill. After Rae's exit from The Bill, she went on to appear on BBC's soap Doctors, playing Caroline Garvey. She's also had stints on kids spy drama M.I High and Father Brown.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Axe murderer slayed EastEnders star and sons and buried bodies in shallow grave
The monster partner of a former EastEnders actress will die behind bars after brutally killing her and their two young sons - the detective who worked on the case said it was the lowest point in his career and what the children were subjected to will always sit with him The shocking case of a former successful soap star's horrific murder made headlines when her partner was found guilty of bludgeoning her and their two sons to death and burying their bodies in the garden of their home, before fleeing the country. Sian Blake was a successful actress, with one of her most notable roles as singer Frankie Pierre in the BBC's EastEnders from 1996 to 1997. Her character pursued married cafe worker Alan Jackson. She also had parts in Casualty, The Bill, Skins and Doctors as well as appearing on stage and doing voiceover work. When she retired from acting she became a sign-language teacher and interpreter. READ MORE: 'I was groomed at 14, raped and held captive for 10 years in abuser's house' Behind the scenes, life at home for Sian was troubled. She was in a relationship with former hairdresser and part-time drug dealer Arthur Simpson-Kent and the pair had two sons together, Zachary, eight, and Amon, four. According to reports she was unhappy and wanted to leave her partner. In 2013 she started to show signs of a neurological illness and on 11 December 2015 she was diagnosed with terminal motor neurone disease. Her condition had left her unable to walk unaided and had weakened her arms. Sian, 43, visited her mum, who she was very close to, shortly after to discuss the possibility of the family moving in with her. Just days later she was reported missing when the children had also failed to turn up to school. Officers visited their dilapidated home in Erith, southeast London and were met by 49 year old Arthur who told them his partner was "fed up" with her family and had "gone to Cambridge to see a friend". Minutes after police left he fled the house, dumping Sian's car in east London and going to a friend who thought he was in trouble because of his cannabis dealing. He then tried to get a flight out of the UK that night but when he failed to do so, his friend told him he couldn't go back to his house. So he sent another pal a chilling message, which read: "I need your help tonight. I can't go into details about what I have done but I only have 2 choices. Go to Ghana one way or die." Using his friend's card he got a coach from London to Glasgow then a flight to his native Ghana via Amsterdam, arriving in Accra on December 19. Police returned to the family's home hours after their first visit to find Arthur gone and the house deserted. When they examined inside in more detail they found attempts had been made to cover over blood splatters on the wall with paint. Texts had also been sent from Sian's phone to relatives, including her sister Ava, saying that she had "gone away for a few weeks" and was "taking time to myself and my children". They were sent from the house. After Sian's car was found in Bethnal Green an excavation of the garden at the home took place where the bodies of Sian and her two sons, who were aged just eight and four, were found in a shallow grave. Former Met Police detective Steve Keogh featured in TRUE CRIME's documentary series Secrets of a Murder Detective where viewers were taken behind the scenes of a murder investigation. He worked on some of the country's biggest crimes but says when Sian and her boys were discovered, it was one of the hardest moments in his long career. "I was in the office, and when it fed back from the scene that actually no, it's a grave and there's three of them in there, that was a real low point in my career," he told Metro last year. "It was just a very sad moment for the whole team. The way Sian and her boys were murdered at the hands of their father is probably the one murder investigation I've had that has affected me the most and I will always carry with me." Post mortem examinations revealed all three victims had suffered serious head injuries and were then stabbed in the neck. "The fact Zachary had defensive injuries gives me the chills," Steve said. "The fact he wasn't asleep, and he saw it coming - that's one of the things that will always sit with me." Determined to make the killer of the innocent boys and their loving mother face justice for his heinous crimes, Steve and his team set about finding Simpson-Kent. He was tracked down to Ghana and a few days later, on January 9, local police there arrested him on a beach where he was found sipping from a coconut. He told police there was an agreement with Sian to kill her and the kids as she had "no meaningful life" left. Simpson-Kent pleaded guilty to all three murders and was handed a rare whole life sentence, meaning he will die behind bars. The court heard how he used a small axe to hit Sian and their two young children on the head and knock them unconscious. All three were then stabbed in the neck or throat before he wrapped their bodies in plastic and buried them in shallow graves in the garden. The court heard that Simpson-Kent told psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph, "something just snapped in me". He added: "I felt as if I had just been pushed off a diving board and was falling. I grabbed hold of a small axe that was kept on a ledge in the kitchen. Sian's head was bent low down and she was bent over looking at the floor. "I approached her from the side and hit her at the back of the head as hard as I could and she fell unconscious at the first blow. After that I hit her repeatedly on the head. My mind was blank and I was focusing on doing and not thinking. It was like I was there but not there." There were tears in the public gallery as Mr Justice Singh handed down the whole life sentence and told the court: "The evidence is inconsistent with any thoughts Sian Blake wished to have her life terminated or agreed for Arthur Simpson-Kent to take her life. The manner in which the defendant killed his victims is truly horrific. "In my judgment this was indeed a case where each murder involved a substantial degree of premeditation or planning. At the very least that must be true of the murder of each of the two little boys individually, and in turn after the defendant had already killed Sian Blake. He continued: "Each of the victims was particularly vulnerable because of age or disability. There was an abuse of position of trust. There was concealment of the bodies. He made efforts to remove evidence of his crimes at the house, including repainting. He sought to lay a false trail by using Sian Blake's mobile phone. He lied to the police and others about the whereabouts of the family." Mr Justice Singh said he rejected Simpson-Kent's claim that he was depressed and planned to also kill himself, before bottling it. Steve agreed saying there was no mercy in the way he killed Sian. "Looking back, we don't know 100 per cent why he did it. The injuries were horrific. It was cruel. It was wicked. It was barbaric. "How can you get yourself in the mind of someone as evil as that? A long time ago I realised you can't put yourself in the mind of these people because they don't think or act in the way that we would."
