Who is Vicki Fowler in EastEnders and who plays her? Recast and history explained

Vicki is back in Walford after two decades, ahead of the funeral of her uncle Martin Fowler (James Bye), and she comes flanked by her partner Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw) and his son Joel (Max Murray).

So, just who is Vicki Fowler and what is her history in EastEnders? Here's everything you need to know about the character.

Who is Vicki Fowler in EastEnders?

Vicki Fowler is the daughter of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully, Jenna Russell) and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).

As a result, Vicki is Sharon Watts's adopted half-sister and the biological half-sister of both Mark Fowler Jr (Ned Porteous) on her mother's side and the late Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) on her father's side.

This means that Vicki is related to the Beale-Fowler family by blood, being the niece of the late Martin Fowler (James Bye) and the cousin-once-removed of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).

What happened to Vicki Fowler in EastEnders?

Vicki was the result of a major teen pregnancy storyline in 1985 when Michelle became pregnant by a mystery man, revealed in a whodunnit-style storyline to be Den Watts, the philandering married and much older father of Michelle's best friend Sharon.

Raised by Michelle - and also her first husband, Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt), for a time - Vicki had a mostly happy childhood with the Fowlers and Sharon.

Sharon did not find out the truth about Vicki's paternity until a two-hander episode in 1989 following Den's apparent death, but soon accepted this truth and remained close with Michelle and Vicki.

It was Sharon who would later reveal her blood relation to Vicki when the latter was a child.

A young Vicki left Walford with her mother in 1995 when Michelle decided to move to the US following the departure of Sharon earlier in the year and some other big changes in her life.

Off-screen in the US, Vicki would grow up alongside a younger half-brother, Mark, and also get a step-dad named Tim.

Vicki would become a major character in her own right - and at least initially with an American accent - when she returned to Walford in 2003 as a teenage tearaway, having argued with her mother Michelle and initially coming to stay with her strict grandmother Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard).

However, Vicki's repeated clashes with the stern Pauline - memorably mocking Pauline's fashion sense when she ditched plans for a day out with her - led her to move in with sister Sharon.

Vicki later learned that she had a biological half-brother on her dad's side, Dennis Rickman, whom she persuaded to come and live in Walford.

In another storyline, when Vicki became pregnant from a sexual encounter with love interest Spencer Moon (Christopher Parker), she considered selling her baby to Sharon, who at the time believed she was infertile.

However, despite Spencer's own desire for parenthood, Vicki chose to terminate the pregnancy. The pair's romance also came to an end.

Later, after discovering that Den was alive, Vicki engineered his return to Walford to reunite with his children, to the shock of an unsuspecting Sharon.

However, Den's return also coincided with the discovery that Sharon and Dennis had begun a passionate romantic relationship.

Despite the couple having no blood relation to each other, Vicki and Den detested the idea of Sharon and Dennis being together, contributing to the brief end of their romance.

Following this, Den soon engineered the Watts family's status as the first family of Walford for a time, installing them back in the Queen Vic.

However, Vicki's second stint in Walford came to an abrupt end during a tumultuous Christmas 2004 for the Watts clan, which saw Dennis and Sharon reveal their secret romantic reunion, shocking the family and Dennis's then-girlfriend Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan).

A controlling Den persuaded Zoe to lie about being pregnant to split up Dennis and Sharon, and it initially succeeded as Sharon decided to flee to the US.

When the possessive Den tried to stop Sharon from going, he revealed that he loved Sharon more than Vicki. A horrified Vicki overheard Den's words and, feeling the sting of rejection, then decided to leave Walford with Sharon in the back of a cab and reunite with Michelle in America, cutting ties with her dad and never seeing him again.

Not unlike her mother, Vicki did not return for many subsequent important family events, including: the wedding of Dennis and Sharon, the funeral of Den after he was murdered by Chrissie, the funeral of Dennis when he was murdered under orders of the gangster Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), the funeral of her grandmother Pauline, the wedding of Sharon to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), the wedding of Ian Beale to Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), the wedding of her uncle Martin Fowler to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), and the funeral of Sharon and Dennis's son Denny (Bleu Landau) following the birth of Sharon's son Albie Watts.

Following her departure, however, Vicki was revealed to have romantically reunited with Spencer Moon in Australia and they opened a bar together there, later being visited by Spencer's brother Alfie Moon (Shane Richie).

Vicki was also absent from Walford when her mother made a controversial return stint to the Square from 2016 to 2018 and has never been seen on-screen with her half-brother Mark Fowler Jr, the son Michelle sired from a one-night-stand with Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).

Fans will have to wait and see why Vicki and Spencer's long-term relationship came to an end...

Who plays Vicki Fowler in EastEnders? Recast explained

Vicki Fowler is now played by actress Alice Haig in EastEnders.

The character was previously played as an infant by Emma Herry from 1986 to 1988, then as a child by Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995.

In 2003, British actress Scarlett Alice Johnson was cast to portray Vicki and stayed with the soap until she quit in 2004.

Speaking to The People at the time of her exit, the actress said: "I don't think the producers were very happy when I said I wanted to leave.

"I was still very new and they had just set up the new Watts dynasty, but no one could have made me change my mind.

"When I said to the producers I wanted to go they told me they might have to recast Vicki. I don't mind."

When bosses decided to bring Vicki back in 2025, a spokesperson for Johnson said that the actress was asked to reprise the role but she declined.

A spokesperson for Johnson told The Sun: "Scarlett was approached, and was flattered to be asked to return, but the timing wasn’t right for her to step back into the role.

"She wishes Alice Haig and the show all the very best."

RadioTimes.com reached out to the BBC for further comment on this.

Who is Alice Haig?

Alice Haig is a British actress and has appeared in numerous television and stage productions.

Haig has had guest roles in This Is Going to Hurt, Rain Dogs, Andor, and The Day of the Jackal.

Speaking about being cast in the role of Vicki, she said: "I am so excited. I have always watched the show, and I was born in February 1985, so I’m the same age as EastEnders!

"It's so cool to be playing a character like Vicki - we think we know her, but a lot has changed. I can’t wait for all the Albert Square drama ahead."

Read more:

• EastEnders at 40: Best ever scandals from Pat and Frank to Sharongate
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever villains from Nick Cotton to Nish Panesar
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever whodunnits – From who shot Phil to who killed Archie?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated Soaps page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.