Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made brief returns to the role in 1986 and 1987. Scarboro died by suicide in April 1988 and subsequently Mark was recast two years later on his return, with former Grange Hill regular Todd Carty taking on the role. From this point the character was a permanent fixture in the series and Carty remained in the role until the character was written out of the series in early 2003. Initially a delinquent teenager, he became a changed man when he returned to Albert Square as a 22-year-old in 1990. Following his return, Mark became one of the show's central protagonists was featured in some of the most prominent storylines during his tenure on the soap. Arguably his biggest and most prolific storyline saw the character announce that he had been diagnosed with HIV, which forced him to grow up fast and accept his responsibilities. He frequently found it difficult to accept the restrictions of the illness, which finally caused his death in April 2004. Mark had embarked on three marriages with Gill Fowler (Susanna Dawson), who had also contracted HIV and died the day after their wedding; Ruth Fowler (Caroline Paterson), which ended in adultery; and Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin), which became the most circumstantial out of all his marriages. Other storylines involved feuds with his archnemesis Nick Cotton (John Altman) and love rival Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), an unlikely friendship with Phil's aggressive brother Grant (Ross Kemp), a close companionship with family friend Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), becoming a suspect in the Who Shot Phil? scenario, coping with the death of his father Arthur (Bill Treacher), and helping out with family crisis that can sometimes test his relationship with his mother Pauline (Wendy Richard) in the process.