Mark Fowler Jnr has had quite a transformation in EastEnders.
Having previously been played by Ned Porteous, who’s currently busy lying and conniving his way around Emmerdale as Joe Tate, Mark returned as a whole new man.
Literally.
Mark is now portrayed by Stephen Aaron-Sipple, who’s no stranger to a transformation himself, having completely overhauled his body, losing seven stone in response to a health scare that caused him to make some enormous life changes.
Stephen Aaron-Sipple’s body transformation
Stephen took to Instagram to display his seriously impressive body transformation with fans and followers after being diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 29.
He previously discussed his health journey with Men’s Health magazine in 2019: ‘I’ve always been a bit of a yoyo in terms of my weight,’ he admitted.
‘When my daughter was born, I piled on the weight very quickly because I suddenly stopped exercising, I was so tired! Life outside of being a dad became about ease. Not exercising was the easy option. Getting takeaway was the easy option. I don’t like saying it about myself, but I chose the lazy option every time.
‘I didn’t realize at the time, but me choosing the easy option when I was tired was me digging myself into a deeper hole mentally and physically.’
He described his diabetes diagnosis as: ‘a serious punch in the face’.
‘I had abused my body so much that a part of it stopped working properly. An early death was the lightbulb moment I needed to really take back control of my health. I read everything and anything to do with fitness and healthy eating, including Men’s Health, and honestly, the simplest way to lose weight is to eat a little less and exercise a little more. I know, shocking, right?’
Joining a gym and tweaking his diet, cutting out sugar to aid his diabetes, Stephen quickly begin to see results.
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‘It feels amazing. I grew up as the fat kid, and then chunky adult, not once did I ever think I would feel comfortable taking my top off.
‘I always convinced myself that being big was just my body type and that abs and muscle definition was just something I wasn’t capable of achieving.
‘Putting the right food in my body and exercising not only has made me feel better physically, but it has also helped me fight off years of anxiety and depression. Life hasn’t got easier, but I just feel better equipped to deal with it now.
‘I’ve been guilty of it in the past: A bad meal turns into a bad week, bad month, and then suddenly I’m back where I started, or worse. But I got told something that helped transform my mindset: When you build a house, and you take a day off, you don’t go back and knock down everything you already built, you just pick up where you left off.’
The latest on Mark Jnr’s return
Speaking out on his casting, Stephen said: ‘Having grown up in East London, EastEnders has been in my life since childhood and I’m excited to be joining not one, but two iconic Albert Square families!
‘I’m looking forward to viewers seeing why Mark is back, and what Walford has in store for him.’
EastEnders’ Executive Producer Ben Wadey added: ‘We are thrilled to welcome Stephen Aaron-Sipple to EastEnders and bring Mark back to Albert Square.
‘Viewers had a glimpse of Mark in the New Years Day flashforward episode, with the circumstances around his upcoming involvement with the Brannings set to unfold throughout the year.’
An EastEnders insider also shared some teasers as to what Mark will be getting up to now he’s back in Walford: ‘It’s been almost a decade since Mark was last in Walford.
‘He seemed to be a chip off the old Mitchell block back then, and still seems to be taking after his dad 10 years later as it transpires he’s hiding a massive secret that could spell serious trouble for his relatives!
‘Mark is acting very strangely indeed, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), he’s clearly in trouble but assures Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) he’s there to support her through Joel Marshall’s (Max Murray) trial. However, it turns out there’s more to the story as he later confides in Phil what’s really going on…’
With it now having been revealed that Mark has fallen into organised crime and is tracking a police informant, we’re waiting to see fireworks between Mark and the grass in question, Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
