Mark Fowler, Jr.

Mark Fowler Jr. was the best‑kept secret Walford never actually managed to keep. Born off‑screen in 1996 after Michelle Fowler’s infamous one‑night stand with Grant Mitchell, Mark entered the world already carrying enough scandal to power the Queen Vic for a decade. Michelle fled to America with Vicki, told only her brother Mark the truth, and left the rest of the Square blissfully unaware. Pauline even flew to the States to meet the baby, proudly returning with photos she showed to Grant without realising she was basically handing him a picture of his own son. Only in Walford could a bombshell like that sit quietly for twenty years.

When Mark finally arrived in 2016, he did so with the confidence of a lad who thought he knew exactly who he was — and the dawning horror of discovering he didn’t. Phil Mitchell had stirred the pot, Sharon and Martin had panicked, and Michelle had told Mark that Phil was lying because he was an alcoholic who hated her. Mark confronted Phil, got nowhere, and decided to stay in Walford to get to know the family he’d been kept from. He slotted into market life with Kathy Sullivan like he’d been raised on stall banter, made fast friends with Shakil Kazemi, and even managed to accidentally flirt with Courtney — blissfully unaware she was his half‑sister. Grant’s furious intervention only added to the chaos, especially once he realised who Mark really was.

The truth about Mark’s parentage unravelled in true Mitchell‑Fowler fashion: messily, loudly, and with everyone giving advice no one had asked for. Mark helped Grant rescue Ben and Jay, Phil finally told Grant the truth, and Grant decided Mark was better off not knowing. Mark, however, worked it out anyway — because subtlety had never been a family trait — and Sharon confirmed it while warning him not to let Grant ruin his life. With more questions than answers and a whole new identity to process, Mark returned to the States to rejoin Michelle and Tim, leaving Walford behind but taking the drama with him.

By the time Michelle returned to the Square later that year, Mark had moved out, found a girlfriend, and stopped speaking to her entirely — largely because she’d been arrested in Florida for her ill‑advised relationship with a 17‑year‑old student. Eventually, Michelle left Walford again to reconnect with Mark and Vicki in Australia, proving that no matter how far the Fowlers scattered, they always circled back to each other.

And now he’s back… unannounced, uninvited and home to stay! But why now? And will anyone else follow?