Patsy Palmer has penned an emotional post following the exit of James Bye from EastEnders, saying he "will be missed so much by everyone".
Bye's character Martin Fowler died of cardiac arrest after he and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) confessed their love to each other and got engaged during the explosive live episode, as the Queen Vic crumbled around them.
Martin, born in August 1985 in the first year the BBC soap was broadcast, had been played by several actors before Bye took over the role in 2014.
His character died on Thursday after being trapped by a beam as the show celebrates its 40th anniversary.
On Instagram, Palmer, who plays Bianca Jackson, wrote that she wants "to say you will be missed so much by everyone". Giving a clue at what's next for James Patsy added: "You will go on to be the leading man that you deserve to be".
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No credit)She went on: "Your performance was amazing tonight and just gorgeous for all the years as Martin Fowler," she added. Patsy also said "for the rest of you and you all know who you are, I think you are all such a beautiful bunch of actors and friends", and congratulated the director and writer of the live episode. I can honestly say hand on heart that I loved every second of tonight."
"Doing a live episode of Eastenders again after so many years was spectacular. I loved how we had the comedy too amongst so much heartbreak. It was a beautiful mix of emotions."
The live episodes saw the results of viewers' votes on storylines, including who Denise Fox (Diane Parish) picked to be with, and the name of Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) baby.
Denise reunited with her estranged husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Martin's ex-wife Sonia welcomed Julia, named after EastEnders' co-creator Julia Smith, after giving birth in the rubble of the Queen Vic.
Sonia's villainous former partner Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) died in Wednesday's episode after being crushed by a bathtub, after he fell over in a confrontation with Bianca who he had previously kidnapped.
The previous EastEnders live episode was broadcast on the 25th anniversary in 2010 and revealed Stacey had killed Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb).
Martin's father Arthur, played by Bill Treacher, appeared in the first scene of the first EastEnders episode on February 19 1985, when he broke in to elderly neighbour Reg Cox's house with Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih).
Bye said: "It's an honour to leave on a story of this magnitude. A huge thank you to all the fans of the show, EastEnders wouldn't be what it is without you, and to the BBC and EastEnders team for trusting me with this role for so many years."
"This fruit and veg man will always hold a special place in my heart. It's time to look forward, and I'm incredibly excited for what the future holds."
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