Anthony Skordi is joining the cast of EastEnders as ruthless crime boss Russell Delaney.
The character has been plaguing Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) off-screen for months. He ordered him to seek out and kill a police informant within his drugs gang, and Mark was unaware that the person he was looking for was right under his nose – Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
A tense showdown ensued between the two men, with a suicidal Ravi begging to be “put out of his misery”. The Mitchells and Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) intervened, though Mark knew that it would have devastating consequences for his family.
Photos of Vicki were sent to his phone, and before long, Russell demanded that he pay £30,000 or there would be serious consequences.
In forthcoming scenes, with the clock ticking, Mark is bundled into a car by Russell’s cronies and held hostage.
Skordi’s career began with guest appearances in The Bill and Soldier Soldier, before going on to appear in CBS drama Scorpion and Prime Suspect 1973. He also starred in two episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime last year, and was the announcer in The Drew Carey Show.
His voice is likely to be instantly recognisable to gamers, as he played The Dealer in Hand of Fate and its sequels, as well as Admiral Garrick Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II and Tenebrae in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
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The star’s most notable voice role was as Pythagoras in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
Soap fans will meet Russell later this week, and he’ll reappear again prior to Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) funeral, as news reaches Albert Square that Mark has seemingly vanished into thin air.
The gangster will call Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and demand full payment in exchange for his safe return, though matters escalate when he overhears Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) mouthing off, and realises that they have history.
Phil is insistent that they go to the funeral first, with Grant and Sam reluctantly agreeing. However, when the stakes are raised, they realise that they haven’t got a moment to lose and head off to find him.
A standoff will then break out with Russell and his cronies at a warehouse.
Will Mark make it out alive, or has Russell had the last laugh?
Read more:
- 5 EastEnders spoilers next week: Emotional returns for Nigel Bates’s funeral and Mark Fowler held hostage
- EastEnders legend teases “dangerous” dynamic between Max Branning and Cindy Beale
- EastEnders boss teases “emotional” Denise Fox scenes from blood cancer storyline after 20 years on the show
- EastEnders wins Soap award at BAFTA Television Awards 2026 as fan-favourite delivers speech amid anniversary
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
