EastEnders stars pay tribute to Arthur Fowler actor Bill Treacher, who has died aged 92

Virgin Radio

9 Nov 2022, 08:20

Tributes have been pouring in to Bill Treacher, who played Arthur Fowler in EastEnders, following his death at the age of 92.

In a statement yesterday (8th November), his family confirmed that he died on Saturday (5th November), and that his health had been "declining for some time".

The statement said: “He was much loved by his wife, Kate, his son, Jamie and his daughter, Sophie. Bill was a brilliant actor and a wonderful husband and father, plus a very fine human being. He will be hugely missed.”

The actor was best known for playing long-running character Arthur Fowler in EastEnders, having appeared in the first episode in 1985. He was an integral part of the soap opera until 1996.

The official EastEnders account posted: “It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Bill Treacher. Bill & his character, Arthur Fowler, will forever be held in great affection by everyone at EastEnders. Rest in peace, Bill.”

EastEnders stars have been paying tribute to their friend. Adam Woodyatt, who played Ian Beale in the show, said: "So many memories of working with Bill, most of them involving him making us corpse. He would get this twinkle in his eye, you'd start laughing and he never got the blame. I used to love it when he was trying to remember his lines in rehearsal and he would just blunder and bluster until the correct word came out."

Letitia Dean (Sharon Watts) said: “Bill really was the life and soul of the set. As an actor, he was meticulous and he went to great lengths to portray Arthur, from the smallest scenes to the heartbreaking stories. Bill was an utter professional, a wonderful man.”

Gillian Taylforth, (Kathy Beale) described him as a “wonderful, wonderful man” said: “I have so many happy memories of Bill, in fact we were only sharing stories of him at work the other day, about how he always had a sparkle in his eyes, usually before he mischievously set us off laughing during scenes.”

Todd Carty, who played Mark Fowler, has said: “I’m so sorry to hear about Bill passing, I absolutely loved working with him. He was not only an amazing actor but a kind and sincere man. My thoughts are with his family at this time. He’ll be sadly missed, I will never forget him. May he rest in peace.”

Chris Clenshaw, EastEnders executive producer said: “To this day, Arthur Fowler is still so fondly remembered by the audience and that is due to the character that Bill created and the reason why the Fowler name is still very much alive in Albert Square, as are the great memories of those that worked with Bill.”

After his time in EastEnders, Bill also appeared in The Bill and Casualty, along with films such as The Musketeer and Tale Of The Mummy.

The thoughts of everyone at Virgin Radio are with Bill’s family and friends.