1. Bill Treacher was best known for portraying the role of Arthur Fowler in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 1996, having been the first person to be cast for the show.
20 Facts About Bill Treacher
1. 2.
Bill Treacher was born in Dagenham, one of eight children of roofer and tiler William Perks Bill Treacher and Minnie.
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Bill Treacher grew up in Hackney, Bethnal Green, Mile End, and Waltham Cross, and was evacuated to Gloucestershire during the Second World War.
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Bill Treacher attended Kings Road JMI School in Waltham Cross and worked as a porter at Waltham Cross station.
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Bill Treacher then moved into television drama, making appearances in a number of classic series of the 1970s including Grange Hill, Bless This House, Minder, The Professionals, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars and The Agatha Christie Hour.
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In 2006, Treacher had a guest-starring role in the ITV police drama The Bill.
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Bill Treacher appeared as a security guard in an episode of Casualty in December 2007.
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In late 1984, Bill Treacher was the first actor to be cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985, as Arthur Fowler, a role he played for the next eleven years.
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Bill Treacher said in 2015 that he was initially reluctant to sign up for the show as it meant long hours and a sizeable commute from his family home in Suffolk, but that he relented due to the chance of a steady income.
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Bill Treacher received much critical acclaim for the role, especially for his portrayal of his character's mental decline and subsequent nervous breakdown.
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Bill Treacher said the stress of a gruelling schedule working long hours on the show was affecting his health and that doctors told him that if he did not leave the job soon and relax, it would kill him.
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Bill Treacher appeared in several films, most notably Pop Pirates, The Musketeer, Tale of the Mummy, and George and the Dragon.
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Bill Treacher was an accomplished radio actor and appeared in a BBC Radio 4 play of the day, Bringing Eddie Home by John Peacock, based on a true story of the fight by East End couple Edna and Jack Wallace to get their son's body brought home from Aden, and the ensuing fight for the rights of British service personnel.
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Bill Treacher played the role of the older Jack Wallace and the play included other ex EastEnders actors Tilly Vosburgh, Edna Dore, Todd Carty and Joe Absolom.
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In 1973, Bill Treacher appeared in a British television commercial for the Austin Allegro motor car.
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Bill Treacher was married to the Australian actress Katherine Kessey; they had two children: Jamie, who is an actor, and Sophie, a production assistant.
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In 2015, Bill Treacher told the press that he suffered from ataxia, a degenerative disease that involves poor muscle control, hindering his balance and ability to walk.
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Bill Treacher said that as a result of this he had fully retired and he sometimes had to rely on a wheelchair for mobility.
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Bill Treacher said that he no longer watched EastEnders, calling it "a load of old rubbish these days".
20.
Bill Treacher died from pneumonia in hospital in Ipswich, Suffolk, on 5 November 2022, aged 92.