'Mel is on a mission'
On New Year’s Day, Mel Owen is planning to get revenge on her fiancé Ray in EastEnders. It’s officially their wedding day – but unofficially Mel’s hoping the day will be anything but a happy-ever-after for her and Ray, who she’s learned is already married to two other women!
It’s been a huge storyline for actress Tamzin Outhwaite who returned to play Mel at the beginning of 2018 after a 16-year absence.
But Tamzin doesn’t think man-magnet Mel is devastated over Ray’s betrayal.
“Mel doesn't spend much time heart-broken,” said the actress. “She tends to move on. And now she's on a mission. I don't even know if it is to bring him down. It's more of a female thing. She wants all of the women to get together and to come out on top.”
She continued: “Our first reference was [the film] The First Wives Club because it felt a bit like that, only a little more bitter, less jovial. The bond they form would probably be enough to bring anyone down, but then they get this plan...”
The night before the wedding, Mel’s desperately trying to keep everything and everyone in line. Ray’s other wives Maddie and Nicola are getting antsy, Mel’s worried undercover cop Ray could smell a rat and then there’s her son Hunter, who arrives home to catch his mum ranting at herself about Ray…
On the big day itself, as the guests gather for the church wedding ahead of the reception in The Vic, none of them have a clue what lies ahead.
But what exactly does Mel have planned?
“Ray needs to be behind bars or dead or in another country, that's the only way that it's going to work,” explains Tamzin. “It's not just about humiliating him in front of loads of people, there's got to be an end so he doesn't do it again. So the only option Mel really has is, as she's not going to kill him, is to try to put him in prison.”
However, as the bride puts the last pieces of her plot together, she comes to a disturbing realisation, and events spiral before turning explosive…
Said Tamzin: “There’s a lot of danger. It’s got danger all over it!”
Mel and Ray’s explosive wedding day plays out on EastEnders on BBC1 on 1 January 2019 from 8pm.
