| Harry Osborne | |
|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |
| Portrayed by | John Boswall |
| Duration | 1990 |
| First appearance | 23 January 1990 |
| Last appearance | 22 February 1990 |
| Classification | Former; guest |
| Profile | |
| Date of death | 22 February 1990 |
| Occupation | Retired |
In January 1990, a mysterious old man (John Boswall) is seen lingering around Albert Square. He is initially reluctant to divulge his identity, but it is apparent that he knows some of the residents, in particular the Beale family. Café worker Rod Norman (Christopher McHallem) and his girlfriend Hazel take an interest in the man, whose name is later revealed to be Harry Osborne. They discover that he had travelled the world before his recent return to Walford. Hazel — spurred on by Harry's tales — leaves Rod to do some travelling of her own.
Harry is seen regularly over the following weeks, mysteriously enquiring about old faces on the Square and cryptically turning up at the christening of Steven Beale, much to the bemusement of everyone else. Rod finds out that he had once been the boyfriend of Lou Beale's (Anna Wing) sister, Doris. Lou had died in 1988, but Harry is persuaded to pay her daughter Pauline (Wendy Richard) a visit to find out about Doris. He knocks on her door, but fearfully flees before she answers. It soon becomes clear that Harry's past isn't the only thing troubling him, he is also suffering from ill health and is seen clutching his chest in obvious pain. One cold, rainy afternoon, Harry sits in pain on a bench in Albert Square gardens, where he dies. His body is found by Willy, Ethel Skinner's (Gretchen Franklin) dog. Ethel recognises Harry and seems to know a lot about his history.
She reveals that Harry had grown up at number 29 Albert Square and when he was 15 years old he had fallen in love with Doris and vowed to marry her. However when the Second World War broke, he was conscripted into the army and sent to war. Doris promised to wait until Harry returned, but he was later reported missing in action and presumed dead. Doris subsequently married another man named Morris Miller. When Harry returned he managed to find employment working on the docks, where he occasionally got his hands on scarce food items, which he smuggled out and shared with his neighbours. On one occasion he gave some meat to a nine-year-old girl. However the meat turned out to be unsanitary and it accidentally poisoned her. She died and Harry fled the country in shame amidst accusations of murder. He had spent over 40 years in self-imposed exile and it seemed that Harry had only come back to his childhood home to die. Harry's death upsets Rod and he leaves Walford soon after to travel the world.
Read more about this topic: List Of East Enders Characters (1990)
Famous quotes containing the words harry and/or osborne:
“It is now many years that men have resorted to the forest for fuel and the materials of the arts: the New Englander and the New Hollander, the Parisian and the Celt, the farmer and Robin Hood, Goody Blake and Harry Gill; in most parts of the world, the prince and the peasant, the scholar and the savage, equally require still a few sticks from the forest to warm them and cook their food. Neither could I do without them.”
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