Steve Owen (EastEnders)

Steve Owen
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Martin Kemp
Duration	1998–2002
First appearance	Episode 1716 28 December 1998 (1998-12-28)
Last appearance	Episode 2264 1 March 2002 (2002-03-01)
Classification	Former; regular
Introduced by	Matthew Robinson
Book appearances	Steve Owen: Still Waters (2001)
Spin-off appearances	Pudding Lane (1999)
In-universe information Occupation Career criminal Nightclub owner Businessman Father Richard Owen Mother Barbara Owen Sisters Jackie Owen Wife Mel Healy (2001–2002) Sons Hunter Owen

Steve Owen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Martin Kemp. He first appeared onscreen from 28 December 1998 and remained in the series until 1 March 2002. Introduced by series producer Matthew Robinson, the character Steve was a shady businessman who originally came into Albert Square to buy the local Market Cellar club – which he then renovated and later renamed the E20. He soon became one of the show's primary villains when the character's first major storyline saw Steve kill his old flame Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor) during the opening night of his E20 nightclub on Valentine's Day 1999, after which he ended up framing his DJ employee Matthew Rose (Joe Absolom) for the crime. The eventual episode in which Matthew enacted revenge on Steve drew in outstanding viewing figures and brought a storyline that had gripped the nation^{[citation needed]} to a close.

Afterwards, Steve embarked on a dangerous feud with his arch nemesis: Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). The ensuing conflict between them grew intensifying as Steve later became sworn enemies with Phil's best-friend-turned-hardman adversary, Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass), which had continued to develop in the case of both Dan and Phil having respective connections to Steve's girlfriend and future wife: Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite). Additionally, Steve contributed to his significant interaction with other members of the Mitchell family by establishing an antagonistic business partnership with Phil's brother Grant (Ross Kemp); sleeping with their younger sister Sam (Kim Medcalf); employing the siblings' cousin, Billy (Perry Fenwick), to work for him as his errand boy; clashing with Phil's adolescent godson Jamie (Jack Ryder); and sparking a quarrel with the family's matriarch, Peggy (Barbara Windsor), over his managing stake of her public house called The Queen Victoria.

In 2001, the character was involved in the "Who Shot Phil?" storyline when he became a prime suspect. The whodunit scenario began with Steve marrying Mel on the day of Phil's shooting and ultimately concluded with Dan kidnapping Mel for ransom against both Steve and Phil, after the pair had worked together to implicate Dan behind the shooting – even though the culprit was earlier revealed to be Phil's ex-girlfriend and Mel's closest companion: Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin). Martin Kemp soon quit the series after his contract to the show had expired, and his final scenes were aired on 1 March 2002 – the first anniversary of both Steve's wedding and Phil's shooting. In that episode, Steve made a last-ditch attempt to settle his score with Phil by fleeing the country and starting anew in America with his and Lisa's infant daughter Louise — which triggered a fierce car chase between the two archenemies that ended with Steve being killed after he crashed his car and consequently died in a vehicle explosion, though not before he helped Phil save Louise in his last moments; the character's funeral aired on 11 March 2002 and his onscreen wife Mel later departed a month later on 12 April that year in light of Steve's death.

It was thereafter alleged that producers had intentionally killed-off Steve as "revenge" for Martin Kemp leaving the show to make the transition from the BBC to rival station ITV. Nevertheless, Kemp received multiple award nominations and victories for his critically-acclaimed portrayal of Steve Owen.