Matthew Rose (EastEnders)
Encyclopedia
Matthew Rose is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

, played by Joe Absolom
Joe Absolom
Joseph Absolom is an English actor best known for playing Matthew Rose in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders and Al Large in Doc Martin.-Biography:...

. He was introduced in 1997. In a deviation from typical casting protocol, the role of Matthew was constructed for Absolom after he auditioned for the production team; they were looking for new, raw talent and developed the character after they saw him perform. Matthew's most prominent storyline surrounded him being framed for murder and his wrongful imprisonment. The storyline captivated public interest with various newspapers starting nationwide campaigns for the character's release. Absolom decided to leave the soap believing that the storyline could not be advanced further or bettered. He made his final appearance in February 2000 after taking revenge on Steve Owen, the man who framed him for murder. Matthew was not killed off in the serial and producers at the time suggested that the door had been left open for a possible return.

Storylines

When Matthew arrived in August 1997, he started out as a sulky teenager. His father, Michael Rose, was a market inspector in Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...

 and his mother, Susan Rose, arrived later. She and Michael were divorced but he and Matthew took care of her because she had multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

. Matthew eventually started his own market stall, selling CDs
CDS
-Computing and electronics:* Cadence Design Systems, American Electronic Design Automation software company* Chromatography data system, software to control chromatography instruments* Cockpit display system* Compact Discs...

.

In early 1998, he got engaged to Sarah Hills
Sarah Hills
Sarah Hills is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Daniela Denby-Ashe.-Storylines:Sarah was rather troublesome when she arrived on Albert Square, shoplifting from various market stalls. This was noticed by Alistair Matthews, a shop manager and religious cult leader...

 so he could sleep with her and later broke off the engagement. He also had a brief relationship with Mary Flaherty
Mary Flaherty (EastEnders)
Mary Flaherty is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Melanie Clark Pullen.Mary is the granddaughter of Maggie Flaherty, Pauline Fowler's long-lost sister. Her parents are Conor and Geraldine Flaherty...

.

In 1999, Matthew started working as a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 for new e20 club owner Steve Owen. Steve Owen's past soon caught up with him when his obsessive ex-girlfriend Saskia Duncan arrived in the Square and started stalking
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...

 him. Steve got Matthew involved and told him to keep an eye out for Saskia and not let her into the club.

On 14 February 1999, Saskia sneaked into Steve's office and tried to strangle him with his tie, angry because he had dumped her. Matthew came in and tried to pull Saskia away but she pushed him away and continued strangling Steve. Steve reached for the nearest object, an ashtray
Ashtray
An ashtray is a receptacle for ash and butts from cigarettes and cigars. Ashtrays are typically made of fireproof material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or rock....

, and hit her over the head and she was killed instantly from the brutal blow.

Matthew witnessed it and tried to run away from the scene but Steve threatened him and told him he was already involved and couldn't run now or he would go to prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 too. Steve and Matthew dumped Saskia's body in Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....

. Matthew was worried someone would find out about Saskia but Steve assured him nothing would happen. Over the next few months, Matthew continued to be paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...

 and was worried he would go to prison for Saskia's murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

. Unknown to Steve, he kept the CCTV tape showing Saskia's attack on Steve and subsequent death, but did not dare destroy it. When his flat was burgled and the rucksack in which he had hidden the tape was stolen, his fear and paranoia was heightened. Steve tried to keep him in control. The tape was subsequently recovered but was rendered useless as it was wiped by the magnetic field of the stereo speaker Matthew had hidden it in.

In June 1999, Saskia's body was discovered and Matthew tried running away from Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...

 with girlfriend Teresa di Marco so he wouldn't go to prison. He and Teresa went to Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 to hide, using Steve's credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...

 to pay their expenses. He planned to go to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 from there. Steve was hot on their trail and found them in a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

. Matthew and Teresa managed to escape but Matthew was arrested on the way to the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 because Steve told the police Matthew had killed Saskia. Steve was arrested too for helping to dispose of Saskia's body. Matthew found life tough in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 but his cellmate toughened him up and told him he must never be scared of anyone.

At the trial in October 1999, Matthew pleaded not guilty. Steve, meanwhile, put up an act and told lies about how Matthew was obsessed with Saskia and killed her. In a cruel twist of fate, Matthew was found guilty of Saskia's manslaughter, and Steve walked away. Matthew's dad, Michael, shouted in court, "He's innocent, my son is innocent!"

Matthew was released from prison in December 1999 after the police found the ashtray with Steve's fingerprints on and planned revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...

 on Steve. During January 2000, he stalked Steve - trashing his flat, blocking the toilets in his e20 club and spraying graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....

 on his door saying, "DEAD MAN WALKING". Steve tried investigating who was responsible and hired a detective to find out. The detective was unable to find out if Matthew was doing all this.

On 3 February 2000, Matthew finally confronted Steve. He came for a final showdown with Steve in the club where it all began with Saskia's murder a year earlier. Matthew revealed that he had been in the Square for weeks and that the detective Steve had hired was useless. He demanded £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

10,000 but Steve tried to bully him and throw him out but Matthew wanted to show him something. Matthew showed him a video of him planting light bulbs in Steve's flat. He made him realise that if his sister, Jackie, arrived home and turned on the lights they would explode. Steve wasn't buying it and taunted Matthew about how stupid he was and that is what got him into prison.

He pulled a gun on Matthew to try and scare him off. Matthew was one step ahead and had the gun emptied beforehand. Steve was shocked and after a struggle, Matthew hit him with a glass bottle, knocking him unconscious. He tied Steve to a chair and threatened to set the club on fire. Steve was reduced to a helpless and emotional wreck which is what Matthew wanted. He revealed that the video was fake and the petrol he used to threaten Steve was actually water. He got his revenge, which was to see Steve beg for mercy. He left the Square for good and was not seen again.

When Steve died in a car crash two years later, flowers from Matthew saying "Dear Steve, rot in hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

" were left on his grave.

Creation and Development

Absolom was asked to attend an audition for EastEnders by the producers at the time in 1997, despite there being no set part available at the time. He commented, "I got a telephone call out of the blue asking me whether I would like to go in and see them. They didn't have a role for me but were looking for Looking for new faces and were keen for me to come on board." According to Absolom the producers were looking for someone who was "new, raw, unaffected". Absolom was initially uncertain about taking the role: "I really had to think long and hard about it. Once you take on something like this, it really does change your life. After I'd auditioned, they told me to go away and think things through. My parents said it was only me who could decide and my younger sister was no help. She tried to put me off. She said "don't do it Joe, 'cos we'll have all the fans parked outside our house." However he accepted the role and made his first appearance on-screen in August 1997 as the son of already established character Michael Rose (Russell Floyd
Russell Floyd
Russell Floyd is a British actor. He played Michael Rose in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1996 to 1999, and DC Ken Drummond in the ITV police drama, The Bill, from 2002 to 2005...

).

Matthew's most prominent storyline spanned a year and began on the Valentine's day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...

 episode in February 1999. After developing a friendship with club owner Steve Owen (Martin Kemp
Martin Kemp
Martin Kemp may refer to:* Martin Kemp , British musician and actor* Martin Kemp , professor of the history of art in the University of Oxford...

), Matthew was present to witness Steve accidentally killing his ex-girlfriend Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor) by hitting her on the head with a marbel ashtray following her jealous attack on him. Saskia's death was screened in a lengthened 45-minute episode on a Sunday evening, deviating from EastEnders typical broadcasting weekday slots. Executive producer Matthew Robinson alleged that Saskia's death scene had to be reshot because it was deemed too violent: "When we played back the film, it was fantastic - too fantastic. It looked so real that I knew we couldn't broadcast it. EastEnders goes out before the nine o'clock watershed, children watch it - and we can't show outright scenes of graphic violence. We had to do the whole thing again. It took almost two hours and the three actors were emotionally and physically exhausted. In the end we got what we wanted." After the killing, Steve fearing that police would not believe it was an accident, convinced Matthew to help him cover-up the death and they bundled Saskia's body into a bin liner and buried it in a wood. Robinson said, "This is an exciting plot and it'll keep us occupied for much of the next year."

The storyline advanced throughout 1999 with a police investigation, the discovery of Saskia's body and Steve framing Matthew. In episodes that aired in October 1999, a court trial was screened, with both Matthew and Steve on trial for manslaughter. Throughout the court scenes different verdicts were insinuated as evidence swang to and fro against the two accused. The eventual verdict ended in a miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...

; Steve was exhonerated and Matthew was found guilty of manslaughter and imprisoned. A spokeswoman for EastEnders said: "We are expecting a huge public reaction over the storyline. Joe has already been sent T-shirts by two viewers that say 'Free Matt'."

Absolom announced he was quitting the role in October 1999. Absolom stated that he had enjoyed his time on the soap but believed it was the right time to move on, suggesting that the storyline airing at the time, his wrongful imprisonment for murder, would have been difficult to advance. He commented, "I think people are getting quite bored of it. I've cried so many times on telly, that people just go, `he's crying again', it's not like anything new now." Absolom remained on-screen until February 2000. Executive producer of EastEnders, Matthew Robinson, said of the actor, "Joe Absolom has made a huge contribution to EastEnders, culminating in the huge success of the recent trial and verdict storylines" and he added that the door would be left open for a future return. Absolom commented in 2000, "I've been told the door is always open for me, so you never know. Also, I hope to still see some of the cast, so I like to think it won't be my last visit."

Matthew's final episode was a showdown of revenge against his enemy Steve Owen, the real culprit of the murder Matthew was framed for. Absolom described the episode as tough and intense. Two versions of the episode were filmed after the BBC decided that the initial version was too violent. In the broadcast version, Matthew held Steve hostage at gunpoint and terrorised him with mind games, threatening to kill him and forcing Steve to beg for his life. Finally, Matthew emptied a petrol can and pulled out a lighter, but in a final twist he revealed that the can was only filled with water." After humiliating Steve, Matthew departed. Of his leaving storyline, Absolom said, "I wanted it to be a totally blow-your-mind storyline. This is why I knew it was the right time to move on. I really felt I couldn't top recent scenes and wanted to go out on a high and be remembered for work that I'm proud of."

Reception

Absolom was touted as one of the BBC's rising stars due to his stint in EastEnders. Viewers were reportedly shocked and angered when the character was wrongly imprisoned for murder in 1999. Several newspapers began a campaign to free Matthew, whom was dubbed the Walford One by the popular press. During Matthew's time in prison, Absolom received what he described as zany fanmail such as chocolate "from people who thought it would sustain me in jail" and an audio-taped copy of the episode in which Saskia was murdered by Steve "So I could show it to the police and clear my name".

Absolom was nominated in the 'Most Popular Actor' category at the 1999 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...

 for his performance as Matthew. In 1998 he won 'Best Soap Actor' award at the TV Quick
TV Quick
TV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...

 awards. In 2000, Absolom was awarded 'Best Actor' at the British Soap Awards
British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event took place in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to...

.
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