HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Mehmet Osman

OR:

Mehmet Osman on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

Mehmet Osman is a fictional character from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', played by

Haluk Bilginer Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera '' EastEnders'' ...

. Mehmet is portrayed as a charmer, rogue and a serial womaniser, and makes recurring appearances in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1987, and then regularly until 1989.

Storylines

Mehmet is a

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

and the older brother of the original owner of the Bridge street

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

Ali Osman Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original ''EastEnders'' cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly fi ...

(

Nejdet Salih Nej Adamson (born 23 December 1958), also credited as Nejdet Salih, is a British actor. Career Born in London, Adamson is of Turkish Cypriot descent. He played Ali Osman in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', a role he played from the series' ...

). He is first seen in

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location ...

in June 1985 when he takes part in one of Ali's regular late-night

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

games. Like his brother, Mehmet is a serial

gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

and whenever he gambles the stakes are often foolishly high. Unlike his brother, Mehmet doesn't live in Walford but

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

. In June 1986 Mehmet and Ali start a cab firm called 'OzCabs' from a corner table in Ali's Café. Mehmet is married with three children, but monogamy is one sanctity of marriage that he is more than willing to overlook. Later that month

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

Mary Smith (

Linda Davidson Linda Davidson (born 18 June 1964 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian- British former actress and writer. She played the wayward punk Mary Smith in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Mary was one of the serial's original characters; Dav ...

) catches his eye, and so he bets his sceptical brother £10 that he can get Mary to have sex with him. Mary is well aware that Mehmet's intentions are dishonourable and initially refuses to have sex with him, but Mehmet persists and she finally relents and spends the night with him. A triumphant Mehmet then collects his winnings and gloats to his brother in the café. However, Mary overhears their entire conversation and she then sets about trying to get revenge on him by hoax calling his cab-firm and vandalising his car. Later in the year Mehmet acts as

Pat Wicks Pat Evans (also Beale, Harris, Wicks and Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. She was played by Pam St Clement from 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired, until her departure on 1 January ...

's (

Pam St. Clement Pamela Ann Clements (born 11 May 1942), known professionally as Pam St Clement, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Pat Butcher in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from June 1986 until January 2012, with a guest appe ...

) pimp, setting her up with clients on a regular basis and he even persuades Pat to convince Mary to go prostitute herself too. He also gets involved in

Kathy Beale Kathy Beale (also Mitchell and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Gillian Taylforth. Portrayed as "an attractive, bright, caring and highly moral woman", Kathy is one of the serial's original ...

's (

Gillian Taylforth Gillian Taylforth (born 14 August 1955) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Kathy Beale on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and has also appeared as Jackie Pascoe, Jackie Pascoe/Webb on ITV Network, ITV's ''Footballers' Wi ...

) Knitting business, later conning her and disappearing with all her profits. After he gets into more trouble with his customers for overcharging on fares and then trying to seduce

Hannah Carpenter The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by executive producer Julia Smith. The first episode of ''EastEnders'' was broadca ...

( Sally Sagoe) — the wife of his employee — the residents of Albert Square decide to confront him.

Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house ...

(

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germ ...

Pete Beale Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Peter Dean (actor), Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holl ...

( Peter Dean) and

Tony Carpenter Tony Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Oscar James, from 28 February 1985 until 28 May 1987. Happy-go-lucky Tony tries to carve himself a successful business and steady home for his family, bu ...

(

Oscar James Oscar James (born 25 July 1942) is a Trinidadian actor, who is based in the United Kingdom. He has had a long and varied career, but is best known for appearing on British television, in particular the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', where he pla ...

) find him and give him a severe beating which involves having his arms pinned behind his back whilst taking a number of blows to the stomach. Mehmet proceeds to make things infinitely worse for himself soon after, when he stakes his house and business on a bet, loses and swiftly disappears leaving his wife,

Guizin Osman The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by executive producer Julia Smith. The first episode of ''EastEnders'' was broadca ...

(

Ishia Bennison Ishia Bennison is a British actress, best known for her television appearances, although she is also a veteran stage actress. Bennison is originally from Hull in Yorkshire. Career One of her earliest roles was playing a nurse in the 1980 Charl ...

), to face up to the consequences. A then homeless Guzin arrives at Ali and his wife Sue's (

Sandy Ratcliff Alexandra Ratcliff (2 October 1948 – 7 April 2019) was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap o ...

) doorstep with the news that Mehmet had beaten her, and she isn't ever returning to him. Ali and Sue are forced to take Guizin and her three children, Murat, Rayif and Emine (Pelin Ahmet) into their one bedroom apartment. Mehmet returns to

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work ...

in May 1987 and he manages to persuade his long suffering wife to give their marriage another chance. However, his promises to Guizin prove to be hollow as soon after he decides that the barmaid

Donna Ludlow Donna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Matilda Ziegler. She appears between episodes 265 and 437 of ''EastEnders'', originally appearing on screen from 27 August 1987 to 13 April 1989. Donna was sc ...

(

Matilda Ziegler Matilda Ziegler (born 23 July 1964) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Donna Ludlow in ''EastEnders'', Irma Gobb in ''Mr. Bean'', and Pearl Pratt in ''Lark Rise to Candleford''. Television and film career Ziegler's first screen r ...

) is to be the next sexual conquest. Donna refuses his advances, but can't resist informing Guizin about his offer and Guizin and Donna nearly fight on New Year's Eve that year. Guizin and Mehmet's marriage is highly turbulent and they are always involved in intense arguments, mainly concerning money and gambling. In 1988 Mehmet and Guzin become partners in Ali's café after Sue gives up working to look after her baby. Mehmet often clashes with his wife about the amount of time he takes off to gamble and the way the café is run. Later in the year Mehmet and Ali run up huge gambling debts to Joanne Francis (

Pamela Salem Pamela Fortunee Salem (born 22 January 1944) is a British film and television actress of Anglo-Indian descent. She was born in Bombay, India, and educated at Heidelberg University in Germany and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama i ...

), manageress of Strokes wine bar, and who is also a member of the criminal underworld known as The Firm. Desperate for money the two turn to their café employee,

Ian Beale Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the drama's longest-serving main character and, following the departure of Pauline Fowler ( Wendy Richard) in 2006, became the only one ...

(

Adam Woodyatt Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', which he played between 1985 and 2022. Early life and education Woodyatt was born on 28 June 1968 in W ...

), for a loan. He agrees, but charges his employers 10 percent interest and later, when they cannot meet the repayments, he demands a stake in the café. The brothers refuse, but the debt eventually leads to Ali losing the café to Ian the following year. Mehmet's marriage goes through some more trouble in 1989, when Ali's wife, Sue, discovers that her husband had been having sex with

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

, Donna Ludlow. Sue is traumatised by this news and turns to Mehmet for comfort. Seeing her chance for revenge Sue makes a pass at Mehmet, purposefully kissing him in Ali's view. For once Mehmet is innocent, but Ali refuses to believe this and the brothers have a massive fight. Ali divulges Sue and Mehmet's fabricated affair to Guzin, who is unable to forgive her husband's latest infidelity with her sister-in-law. After viciously attacking Mehmet she leaves Walford to return to

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

, taking their three children with her. After another huge argument with Sue, Mehmet decides to return to Northern Cyprus in order to win his wife back. His last appearance is in March 1989.

Character creation and development

Background

Mehmet Osman was conceptualised by the creators of ''EastEnders'',

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...

and Julia Smith. Mehmet, the brother of original character

(

), was part of a well-intentioned attempt to represent the proportion of

s who had immigrated to England and settled in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. Holland and Smith knew that for the soap to succeed there needed to be a varied group of characters, so that several different sections of the audience had someone to identify with. Additionally, if the programme was to be realistic, it had to reflect the cross-section of society that actually existed in the real location. For these reasons, different sexes, ages, classes, religions and races were all included in the original character line-up. Both Holland and Smith had been at the forefront of the move towards 'integrated casting' in television and had encountered an array of ethnic diversities in the process. Even though the ethnic minority groups were deemed the hardest to research, Holland and Smith called upon their social contacts to relay information about their own origins and lifestyles, which they say allowed them to portray Walford's most recent immigrants more realistically.

Casting

Actor

was one of only three

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based, Turkish-speaking actors available at the time of casting in 1984. He was originally put forward for the role of Ali Osman along with another actor,

. Bilginer was Turkish, and Holland and Smith have commented that he "was almost type-casting for the 'peacock' they were looking for', right down to the Bandito moustache and hairy chest!" However, Salih was actually Turkish-Cypriot and had a background "surprisingly similar" to Ali's. Holland and Smith disagreed about which actor should have the part of Ali; Holland preferred Bilginer, while Smith preferred Salih. Holland believed Bilginer possessed the right "look" and that Salih was not tall or tough-looking enough, "he didn't have the sort of physical presence that put you on your guard." He also believed that

, the actress playing Ali's wife Sue, would have "made mincemeat of alih. Additionally, Holland visioned Ali with a moustache, and unlike Bilginer, Salih was unable to grow one. Conversely, Smith felt that Salih was "the genuine article. Not Turkish, but Turkish-Cypriot. He would have so much actual knowledge to bring to the character ..He wouldn't have to act the part, he was the part." Both actors were given a script reading with the actress who would play Ali's wife, Sandy Ratcliff, who arrived for the reading 45 minutes late. Bilginer read with Ratcliff first, and Holland and Smith have commented that he "had obviously thought about the part ..because there was much more physical power in his performance. At one stage Julia and Tony were worried that he might even hit Sandy!" Salih read next, and after being introduced to Ratcliff who apologised for her tardiness, to which Salih replied "Not to worry. Typical bloody woman!" His quip impressed Holland and Smith; they have since commented that Salih almost got the part on the strength of that line alone, as the felt it typified the character perfectly. Salih was eventually given the part of Ali, but as there were only two suitable Turkish speaking actors available, and as Ali would need a brother, Bilginer was given the part of Mehmet Osman.

Development

Mehmet Osman makes his first appearance on-screen in June 1985, four months after the show originally aired. His arrival coincides with a cot death storyline of Sue and Ali's baby,

Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...

. Mehmet appears as a recurring character from 1985–1987, setting up a cab firm named Ozcabs from inside Ali's café; however, he becomes a regular in 1988, when both he and his wife Guizin (

) are made partners in Ali's café, which is renamed Café Osman. Mehmet is portrayed as a charmer, a rogue and a womaniser. Author of ''The EastEnders Handbook'', Hilary Kingsley, has said of him, "he tries it on with every woman he meets and sometimes succeeds through a combination of good looks and sheer audacity." A serial gambler, Mehmet was shown to steer Ali into various money-losing ploys, and had a combustible marriage to Guizin, who put up with his philandering, as in the Turkish community, that's "what a wife was expected to do". Described as "the Terrible Turk", Haluk Bilginer was one of the more popular male cast members on ''EastEnders'' during the 1980s, and he reportedly received sackfuls of fan mail, "despite playing a villain and a womanising snake". Hilary Kingsley has said that what made the character so popular was Bilginer's

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

-style good looks and charm. Following the departure of Holland and Smith, Mehmet was eventually written out of the serial in May 1989, in a storyline that signified the disbandment of the Osman family. On-screen, Mehmet returns to his native Cyprus after a fight with Guizin regarding her suspicions about Mehmet's fabricated affair with Sue. The Osman family were among many characters to leave the serial that year. Writer

Colin Brake Colin Brake (born 1962) is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programmes such as '' Bugs'' and '' EastEnders''. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series '' Doctor Who''. He lives and w ...

has commented, "the pace of comings and going was fast and furious during 1989, as the programme tried to find a new direction." Bilginer went into musical theatre after leaving ''EastEnders''.

References