User:EEfamilytrees/Hassan Osman
| Hassan Osman | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Michael Evangelou | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1985 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 1 "Poor Old Reg" 19 February 1985 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 36 20 June 1985 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Holland and Julia Smith | ||||||||||||||
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Hassan Osman (credited as Baby Hassan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Michael Evangelou. Hassan is one of EastEnders' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith.[1] He first appeared in the first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985 as the infant son of Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih) and Sue Osman (Sandy Ratcliff). He made his last appearance only four months later on 20 June 1985.
Storylines
[edit]Hassan was the first son of Ali (Nejdet Salih) and Sue Osman (Sandy Ratcliff), who he lives with, in Albert Square. Hassan dies in his sleep of cot death on 20 June 1985; no official causes of death were given. Sue is left in a state of shock after her infant son's death. She remains in a trance-like state for weeks, refusing to eat, sleep, cry or acknowledge her grief. She leaves the cafe, which her and her and Ali own, in a tip, and did not cook customers food properly. She later begins to blame herself unfairly for her son's sudden and unexplainable death. Sue's mental health continues to deteriorate, and she becomes depressed towards Ali, and their marriage disintegrates in a welter of depression. Sue eventually manages to come to terms with Hassan's death with the help of Harold Legg (Leonard Fenton), who takes the desperate measure of placing Mary Smith's (Linda Davidson) baby, Annie Smith (Zara Posener), in her lap, finally allowing her to acknowledge her pent-up sadness.
Creation and development
[edit]Hassan was one of EastEnders' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith.[1] Before EastEnders initially aired, Holland and Smith had already decided that Sue (Sandy Ratcliff) and Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih) would be parents to a young baby named Hassan.[2] However, as further characters were invented they realised that there would be a total of four babies in the show: Annie Smith (Zara Posener), Martin Fowler (Jon Peyton Price), Vicki Fowler (Emma Herry) and Hassan. It was decided that it would be impossible for the studios to cope with four babies and so they invented a storyline to eliminate one from the cast. During this time, the topic of sudden infant death syndrome was prominent in the British press, partly due to an increase in casualties, but also because a doctor had gone public with the accusation that parents were to blame for the tragic occurrence.[2] Holland and Smith decided that covering this issue in the soap would be a good way of 'setting the record straight', and so it was decided that Sue and Ali's baby would die from cot death in the early months of the show.[3] This was the first of many controversial storylines in EastEnders' history. The British Cot Death Foundation initially feared that a soap opera would trivialise the subject and frighten new parents.[3] They tried to stop the episodes from airing, but in the end they were pleased with the way the subject was handled, and provided back-up support after transmission to many viewers who wanted more information on the subject.[3]
Reception
[edit]After the storyline, where Hassan died, aired in June 1985, the show was praised by audience and press alike for the sensitive and unsensational way this harrowing subject was treated.[3] The sudden tragedy came as a surprise to the audience, especially since the bereaved parents were a couple whose feuding, fighting ways had made them appear rather comic in the early episodes of the show.[3] ATV Today described the storyline as "hard-hitting".[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Who was in the first EastEnders episode and how many episodes have there been?". Metro. 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ a b Smith, Julia; Holland, Tony (1987). EastEnders – The Inside Story. Book Club Associates. ISBN 0-563-20601-2.
- ^ a b c d e Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2.
- ^ Lambert, Doug (2008-12-13). "A look back at some of the issues covered by EastEnders - ATV Today". Retrieved 2024-12-20.
Category:EastEnders characters Category:Television characters introduced in 1985 Category:English male characters in soap operas Category:Fictional Turkish Cypriot people