Melanie "Mel" Owen (also Healy and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Tamzin Outhwaite. Mel was introduced by executive producer Matthew Robinson and made her first appearance on 19 October 1998. Outhwaite made her departure on 12 April 2002. Outhwaite's return to the series was announced in October 2017 and she returned on 9 January 2018. The actress chose to leave the soap again in July 2019 and her final episode aired on 14 November 2019 when her character was killed off. Outhwaite proved popular in the role, winning multiple awards and critical acclaim for her portrayal of Mel as the character became prominent in the show.