Storylines
When Matthew arrives in August 1997, he starts out as a sulky teenager. His father, Michael Rose (Russell Floyd), is a market inspector in Albert Square and his mother, Susan Rose (Tilly Vosburgh), arrives later. She and Michael are divorced but he and Matthew take care of her because she has multiple sclerosis. Matthew eventually starts his own market stall, selling CDs. In early 1998, he gets engaged to Sarah Hills (Daniela Denby-Ashe) so he can have sex with her and later breaks off the engagement. He also has a brief relationship with Mary Flaherty (Melanie Clark Pullen). In 1999, Matthew starts working as a DJ for new e20 club owner Steve Owen (Martin Kemp). Steve Owen's past soon catches up with him when his obsessive ex-girlfriend Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor) arrives in the Square and starts stalking him. Steve gets Matthew involved and tells him to keep an eye out for Saskia and not let her into the club.
On 14 February 1999, Saskia sneaks into Steve's office and tries to strangle him with his tie, angry because he had dumped her. Matthew comes in and tries to pull Saskia away but she pushes him away and continues strangling Steve. Steve reaches for the nearest object, an ashtray, and hits her over the head and she is killed instantly from the brutal blow. Matthew witnesses it and tries to run away from the scene but Steve threatens him and tells him he is already involved and can't run now or he will go to prison too. Steve and Matthew dump Saskia's body in Epping Forest. Matthew is worried someone will find out about Saskia but Steve assures him nothing will happen. Over the next few months, Matthew continues to be paranoid and is worried he will go to prison for Saskia's murder. Unknown to Steve, he keeps the CCTV tape showing Saskia's attack on Steve and subsequent death, but does not dare destroy it. When his flat is burgled and the rucksack in which he has hidden the tape is stolen, his fear and paranoia are heightened. Steve tries to keep him in control. The tape is subsequently recovered but useless as it was wiped by the magnetic field of the stereo speaker Matthew had hidden it in.
In June 1999, Saskia's body is discovered and Matthew tries running away from Walford with girlfriend Teresa di Marco (Leila Birch). He and Teresa go to Nottingham to hide, using Steve's credit card to pay their expenses. He plans to go to Italy from there. Steve is hot on their trail and finds them in a hotel. Matthew and Teresa manage to escape but Matthew is arrested on the way to the airport because Steve has told the police Matthew had killed Saskia. Steve is arrested too for helping to dispose of Saskia's body. Matthew finds life tough in prison but his cellmate toughens him up and tells him he must never be scared of anyone. At the trial in October 1999, Matthew pleads not guilty. Steve, meanwhile, puts up an act and tells lies about how Matthew was obsessed with Saskia and killed her. In a cruel twist of fate, Matthew is found guilty of Saskia's manslaughter, and Steve walks away. Matthew's dad, Michael, shouts in court, "He's innocent, my son is innocent!" Matthew is released from prison in December 1999 after the police find the ashtray with Steve's fingerprints on, and he plans revenge on Steve. During January 2000, he stalks Steve - trashing his flat, blocking the toilets in his e20 club and spraying graffiti on his door saying, "DEAD MAN WALKING". Steve tries investigating who is responsible and hires a detective to find out. The detective is unable to find out if Matthew is doing all this.
On 3 February 2000, Matthew finally confronts Steve. He comes for a final showdown with Steve in the club where it all began with Saskia's murder a year earlier. Matthew reveals that he has been in the Square for weeks and that the detective Steve had hired was useless. He demanded £10,000 but Steve tries to bully him and throw him out but Matthew shows him a video of him planting light bulbs in Steve's flat. He makes Steve realise that if his sister, Jackie (Race Davies), arrives home and turns on the lights they will explode. Steve isn't buying it and taunts Matthew about how stupid he is and that is what got him into prison. He pulls a gun on Matthew to try and scare him off. Matthew is one step ahead and had the gun emptied beforehand. Steve is shocked and after a struggle, Matthew hits him with a glass bottle, knocking him unconscious. He ties Steve to a chair and threatened to set the club on fire. Steve is reduced to a helpless and emotional wreck which is what Matthew wants. He reveals that the video was fake and the petrol he used to threaten Steve is actually water. He gets his revenge, which is to see Steve beg for mercy. He leaves the Square for good and is not seen again. When Steve dies in a car crash two years later, flowers from Matthew saying "Dear Steve, rot in hell" are left on his grave.
Read more about this topic: Matthew Rose (East Enders)