EastEnders' Beppe star now - big comeback, son's traumatic birth and famous pal

21 September 2023 , 14:20

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Michael Greco played Beppe di Marco for four years (Image: BBC)

Fans of EastEnders will recognise Michael Greco from his time in Walford as Beppe di Marco. The actor played the character on the soap from 1998 to 2002, during which time he was seen to make an enemy of Grant Mitchell, had a tumultuous relationship with Tiffany Mitchell, and was fired from the police force.

Beppe's character left the show after his mother's funeral to be with his family in Leicester and since then the actor who portrayed him has taken part in a number of other shows between leaving EastEnders, including Celebrity Love Island, Soapstar Superstar, Casualty, and he was also the voiceover person for America's Hardest Bounty Hunters.

The actor recently made a big TV comeback (Getty Images)

His son had a rather traumatic birth (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

But in recent years he's made a television comeback, working on a Netflix show. Greco, 52, starred as Pothinus in Queen Cleopatra, a four-part series. His character was the brother of Cleopatra, who was played by Adele James. The actor was 'extremely proud' to be a part of the show and took to social media to thank the producers. He posted a snap of himself in character and wrote: "Queen Cleopatra released on Netflix UK and worldwide today. Extremely proud to be part of this amazing drama/documentary. Always so much more fun playing the bad guy. Thanks for an incredible journey @westbrook @nutopiatv @jadapinkettsmith."

And fans who recognised him from his EastEnders days were surprised, with one tweeting: "Not Beppe di Marco from EastEnders playing the brother of Queen Cleopatra." Another said: "Started watching Queen Cleopatra on Netflix and immediately see Beppe Di Marco from EastEnders, also found out Christian Clarke is in it too... this is why I should stick to books, once I have 'known' an actor in a role it is hard for me to see them in something else."

As well as his big TV role, Greco has had another big change in his life of late as he became a dad for the first time last year. The actor welcomed a son with his girlfriend Helen Harris, who they named Gianluca Greco. But he's since revealed that the tot's birth was incredibly traumatic for them all.

EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness

Gianluca, whose name is Italian and means gift of god, was born six weeks early as he had a rare defect called Gastroschisis, which is when the intestines are found outside of the baby's body and other organs, such as the stomach and liver can also be affected. Greco shared the news of his birth online, writing: "My boy. Gianluca Greco. Born July 1st 2021. Weighing 4.47lbs. The little man was born prematurely due to the fact that previous scans had failed to pick up his rare birth defect called Gastroschisis.

"The consultant suggested it was best for him to born early so that he could get the necessary care and attention. He was born at University College of London Hospital @uclh. Their staff were extremely professional and Mother and Baby could not have been in better hands. Dad was a 'tad' emotional to say the least! Baby has already had his first operation to replace his bowel where it should belong and is under the world's best care of @greatormondst where he will be in ICU for a while and most probably for up to 6 weeks. My heart is full already and this is by far the best day of my life. I love you Gianluca more than I can ever imagine."

He left the soap in 2002 (BBC)

Greco also appeared on Loose Women to talk about his son's birth in 2022, and ended up breaking down in tears as he recalled the emotional events. He went on the show with Helen and their son and told Ruth Langsford, Katie Piper, Brenda Edwards and Janet Street-Porter how the little boy spent several weeks in the ICU.

He said: "They didn't pick it up on the scan initially, and when they picked it up on the scan six weeks previous to him being born, the consultant said, 'we've gotta get him out because there's no movement' and we were worried about him being stillborn. So, when he was born she didn't show the full baby, she just showed his head and shoulders because underneath was this whole thing... God I get a little bit emotional talking about it."

And the star also recently caused a stir when he reunited with some of his former EastEnders di Marco co-stars, 25 years after appearing on the soap. His on-screen mum Louise Jameson as well as Leila Birth and Carly Hillman joined him for dinner and he shared a snap of the four of them writing: "Not seen this lot for 25 years! My EastEnders mum and sisters. Was incredible to catch up with them all and go down memory lane."

Fans enjoyed the pic and were equally taken aback by another shot on his social, that showed Greco has an unexpected famous pal. The star posed with his friend Justin Fletcher, also known as Mr Tumble. The pair both studied at the Guildford School of Acting in the early 1990s and reunited in 2022. A snap online was captioned: "30 years ago we trained together at drama school. Still an awesome bloke. Love ya Justin."

Courtney Pochin