Eddie Royle

**Edward "Eddie" Royle** was the honest, loyal landlord of The Queen Victoria between July 1990 and September 1991 and the son of John Royle.

First arriving in the Square in 1990, Eddie took over as landlord of The Vic from former owners Frank and Pat Butcher. In November 1990, it transpired that Eddie was formerly a police detective, but was forced to leave the police when he was involved in an evidence scandal.

Eddie took a shine to Kathy Beale in 1990 which resulted in the pair beginning to grow close, but when Kathy caught Eddie kissing ex-girlfriend Eibhlin O'Donnell in 1991, their relationship did not progress. In April 1991 Eddie hinted he wanted like a relationship with Sharon Watts. This made Sharon uncomfortable and she confided in Grant Mitchell, who beat Eddie up so badly he required surgery.

After eventually being released from hospital, Eddie sought revenge on Grant, by having an old police colleague, D.S. Manning, check in on Grant's dodgy dealings. Sharon later found out what Eddie was up to and was disgusted. By July 1991, Eddie decided to fire Sharon from working at The Vic, feeling he could not work with someone who was entangled with Grant. Sharon took Eddie to an industrial tribunal to regain her job and was successful, but this did not stop Eddie preventing her returning to work. In September 1991, Eddie was stabbed to death after witnessing Nick Cotton attempting to steal from a resident.

## Biography

### Backstory

Eddie was born in Ireland in 1948 and moved to Britain when he was a young boy. He aspired to be a police officer in his teenage years - a dream which one day came true. Working his way up the ranks, Eddie loved his career, but he was later forced to take early retirement from the police force when it transpired he was involved in an evidence scandal with several other police officers. Eddie moved to Albert Square to start a new life when he realised he would not be able to return to the police force.

### 1990-1991: Friends and enemies

Arriving in Albert Square in July 1990, Eddie took over The Queen Victoria from former owners Frank and Pat Butcher. He was different from the former owners of The Vic as he was straightforward and serious-minded. He decided to keep Sharon Watts working at The Vic and also employed Clyde Tavernier to work as a barman alongside him. Sharon was allowed to continue to lodge at The Vic with Eddie and he also allowed Roly to live with them too.

As time went on, Eddie developed a close friendship with local resident Kathy Beale. The pairs friendship blossomed and Eddie patiently waited for them to become more than just friends. However, when Eddie's ex-girlfriend paid him a visit, he could not resist temptation and kissed her. Kathy caught the pair kissing and terminated any potential they had of a future together.

In April 1991, a saddened Sharon confided in Eddie about her irritation towards Grant Mitchell, who she deeply fancied. Eddie jokingly suggested he would act as a replacement for Grant, but Sharon misconstrued Eddie's intentions and told Grant about what he said. Grant was furious with Eddie for making a pass at Sharon and severely beat him up. Eddie was rushed to hospital and required emergency brain surgery to save his life. The surgery was a success and he soon recovered. Eibhlin returned to the UK from Ireland to be by Eddie's bedside during his recovery and the pair soon got engaged. However, fed up of Grant thinking he can get away with things, Eddie decided to teach him a lesson and called upon an old police colleague, D.S. Manning, to check in on Grant's dodgy dealings at the Arches.

Soon becoming fed up of Sharon and her loyalty to Grant, Eddie felt he could no longer work with her and fired her. Sharon was appalled at Eddie's actions, while the local residents were also against Eddie's decision to unfairly dismiss her. Sharon took Eddie to an industrial tribunal where she was victorious and Eddie was forced to reinstate her. However, he did not, instead paying her off and advising her to stay away.

In August 1991, Eibhlin returned to the Square and moved in with Eddie. Eddie was soon caught up in a scandal of his own when D.S. Manning learnt that the Mitchell brothers were involved in a betting scam involving Clyde, who had recently taken up boxing again. Manning demanded that Eddie confronted Clyde over his next boxing match, telling him to lose in order to scupper the Mitchell brothers scam. Eddie confronted Clyde about losing the match which resulted in Clyde having a big row with Eddie. Grant's tension with Eddie also resurfaced when he discovered that it was Eddie who tipped him off to the police over his dodgy dealings, while Phil confronted Eddie in The Vic on the day of his death, warning him that he would see him out of Walford for good.

On the evening of 10th September 1991, whilst walking Roly through the Square, Eddie was stabbed to death. Clyde found Eddie's body and foolishly picked up the knife used to kill him. Clyde was later imprisoned by the police but released when it was later revealed that it was Nick Cotton who stabbed Eddie to death because he had witnessed Nick attempting to steal.

## Background information

* Michael Melia was axed from his role as Eddie Royle in 1991 in order to aid Nick Cotton's heroin addiction storyline.

## First and last lines

"Eddie." (First line, to Frank Butcher)

"Hey, just a minute..." (Final line)