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Privacy Notice Albert Square has been graced by many faces since the BBC’s flagship soap EastEnders first hit our screens in 1985. However, only a handful of those actors have gone on to achieve national acclaim, let alone international success. Among the few who’ve managed to bag small roles in Hollywood blockbusters are some well-known personalities, such as Ben Hardy (who played Peter Beale) and Michelle Ryan (Zoe Slater). But there’s one former EastEnders star whose career really took off after leaving Walford in 1989, yet his success remains largely unknown in the UK. Haluk Bilginer was an early addition to the EastEnders cast, playing Mehmet Osman from 1985 to 1989. His character, the brother of Ali Osman (played by Nejdet Salih), was introduced by soap writers Tony Holland and Julia Smith to represent London’s growing Turkish Cypriot community. However, their characters were abruptly written out when the writers left the show.
Actor Haluk Bilginer played Mehmet Osman in EastEnders from 1985 to 1989
(Image: BBC EastEnders)
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One of Haluk’s most memorable moments in Albert Square was undoubtedly his duet with Nejdet at The Queen Vic pub, where they performed the lively Turkish song Oy Oy Emine, reports MyLondon. In another scene at the Vic, he was hit by Mary the punk after he tried to kiss her. While Nejdet’s acting career seemed to stall after leaving EastEnders, Haluk’s continued to soar. In 1992, Haluk and his then-wife Zuhal Olcay landed roles in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. After relocating back to his homeland of Turkey and starring in numerous films there, Haluk Bilginer and his wife Zuhal even established their own theatre. Despite being absent from English-language films for a while, Haluk made a return in 2009 with the American thriller The International, where he played the role of high-tech missile guidance system dealer Ahmet Sunay. Haluk also appeared as Dr Ranbir Sartain, the new psychiatrist of Michael Myers, in the 2018 horror sequel Halloween. In 2014, he bagged the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Winter Sleep, and in 2018, he scooped an Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for his portrayal of Agah Beyoglu in the Turkish crime drama Sahsiyet (Persona).
Haluk Bilginer’s career reached some great heights after he left the set of Albert Square
(Image: Getty Images)
The Turkish Detective’s Ayse Farsakoglu (plyed by Yasemin Kay Allen) alongside Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer) and Mehmet Suleyman (Emmerdale’s Ethan Kai)
(Image: BBC / Paramount / Steve Schofield)
Now, he’s appearing as Detective Cetin Ikmen in a new BBC2 series beginning on Sunday, 7 July. He’s taking on the lead role in The Turkish Detective, alongside Yasemin Allen, who portrays Cetin’s female counterpart, Detective Ayse Farsakoglu. And with a bushy grey beard, Haluk looks a far cry from his EastEnders days. The series, produced by American film company Miramax, is based on English author Barbara Nadel’s The Cetin Ikmen Crime Novels. While Nadel’s version spans across 24 novels, the story is into eight episodes for viewers. Also joining the cast is Ethan Kai, known for his role as Kasim in Emmerdale from 2016 to 2017 and his appearance in BBC’s spy thriller Killing Eve. The series is directed by Niels Arden Oplev, the director behind the Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The Turkish Detective starts on Sunday 7 July at 9pm on BBC2, with the second episode available on Monday 8 July at 9pm and on BBCiPlayerStory SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEastEndersEmmerdaleDramaThe Queen
