A new romance may be on the horizon for EastEnders favourite Martin Fowler (James Bye) as he returns to the Square after two months away.
Back in January, Martin discovered that his sister Michelle Fowler (Jenna Russell) was having an operation and decided to fly to Australia to join her and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) so he could support them in the aftermath of Michelle's surgery.
In real life, James took a break from the soap to star as the Prince in the Christmas pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre.
Now, Martin is making his way back to Walford, with an EastEnders teaser spoiler revealing that he may have a new love interest. But who is the lucky lady?
In the teaser spoiler for Thursday, March 21, it reads: "Penny is on a mission to help Lauren, Ravi tries to take control, and Martin has a new lady in his sights."
The charming fruit and veg man has had a rather disastrous dating history throughout his time on the Square.
Martin's bad luck in love has seen him get married four times to three different women. He married Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) twice and the pair share a daughter, Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield). After the breakdown of their marriage, he later married Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
However, Martin got caught up in the Mitchell family's criminal antics and he was forced to end his relationship with Stacey to ensure she would stay away from Walford after Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) threatened to hurt Stacey and his children if he did not continue working for him.
Not long after, Stacey filed for a divorce and left him devastated, but it wasn't long before he had another lady in his life as he married Stacey's best friend Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton). Their short marriage ended in disaster when it was revealed that Ruby framed his ex-wife Stacey for pushing her down the stairs and wrongfully sent her to prison.
In revenge for her destruction against the Slater family, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) accused Ruby of being behind the cannabis farm that had been grown by Big Mo Harris (Laila Morse) and got her sent to prison.
In a cruel twist, Martin and the kids were left homeless and jobless after Ruby emptied their bank account and sold their house from under him following her arrest.
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
