First look at Martin Fowler's funeral as EastEnders fans are set to be bawling over tributes

EastEnders fans are set to bid an emotional farewell to Martin Fowler after first look photos of his funeral have been revealed.

Martin, who had a fruit-and-veg stall on Albert Square, lost his life in the dramatic 40th anniversary episode. Minutes after professing his love and proposing to Stacey Slater, Martin died in the aftermath of the Queen Vic explosion in heartbreaking scenes.

And there promises to be more tears to come, with pictures showing a horse and carriage leading Martin's funeral procession.

James Bye, who plays Martin in the BBC soap, will say goodbye to Walford in style with flowers spelling out "daddy" in the funeral carriage, as the procession passes through the Square. A photo of Martin is in a frame next to the coffin in the carriage. As the procession passes his stall on the market, covers have been drawn across his former place of work.

Martin passed away in the arms of his ex-wife Stacey Slater’s arms after being crushed by a falling steel beam following an explosion in the Queen Vic pub, at the end of the live episode. As his life was coming to an end, Martin confessed what he would say at their wedding if they were to marry again.

He told Stacey: "No pressure but I have loved this woman since the very first moment I saw her. I thought she was the sexiest thing I’ve ever clapped my eyes on. It’s always been Stace because she feels like home and adventure wrapped into one. I know that this time and we are going to be in here in the Vic celebrating our anniversary in 40 years time.”

In a video after the episode aired, James said goodbye to his EastEnders cast mates. After the live show, the likes of Jessie Wallace, Natalie Cassidy and Lacey Turner could be seen joining James for a celebratory knees-up.

Captioning the clip, James wrote: "More to come... so much more to say... but for now - to Martin & all the EastEnders family - we love you." He then added as a tribute to the soap on its anniversary: "A decade ago, I was welcomed into the EastEnders family at Elstree—and that’s exactly what we are. No doubt, it’s a madhouse most days, but it’s also a place filled with people, both on and off screen, who pour their hearts into this show every single day.

"It’s truly special, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of it, surrounded by the amazing people who make EastEnders what it is."

In the aftermath of an explosion at the Queen Vic on Wednesday, Martin remained trapped under a beam in the pub at the start of Thursday’s live episode as part of the programme’s 40th anniversary week. While pinned to the ground he told Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) that he loved her and she responded by telling him she felt the same, saying yes when he proposed.Stacey was taken aside by a paramedic who told her Martin was likely to suffer from crush syndrome, which would put him into kidney failure and a cardiac arrest when the beam was lifted. The pair kissed before the rescue began, with Stacey telling him: “It’s going to be alright.”Martin, born in August 1995 in the first year the soap was broadcast, at first appeared to survive as the beam was lifted, but moments later went into cardiac arrest and paramedics were unable to save him. Martin’s father Arthur, played by Bill Treacher, appeared in the first scene of the first EastEnders episode in February 1985, which saw him break in to elderly neighbour Reg Cox’s house with Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih) where they found Reg unconscious in his chair.

Early in Thursday’s live episode it was revealed that soap fans had voted for Denise to reunite with Jack, rather than choose to stay with her secret flame Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). She entered Jack’s home while a disappointed Ravi watched and kissed Jack after telling him: “I feel safe with you Jack, I want to feel safe.” When Jack asked about Ravi, Denise said: “Look it’s not like that, Ravi and me, it’d never go anywhere. We’re from like two different worlds, and I see a future with you, Jack, and our history that runs deep. My feelings haven’t changed, I still love you.”

Denise and Jack’s tumultuous marriage fell apart last year when it was revealed he had been having an affair with Stacey. Since they parted, the pair have given in to their passion a few times and also shared warm moments with their blended family, but Denise has also secretly been seeing former flame Ravi since a romantic encounter on Christmas Day.They had a complicated relationship due to Ravi’s troubled past and his earlier romance with her daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams).

In another vote, EastEnders fans voted for Martin’s ex-wife, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) to name her baby Julia. Sonia gave birth in the rubble of the Queen Vic following the explosion with the help of half-sister Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa). As she began to push, Lauren told Sonia, known for her poor musical skills as a teenager: “Blow like you blowed that trumpet.”

After it was born, her baby began to turn blue and Sonia was seen struggling in the aftermath before the child began to cry as emergency services arrived to rescue them. Sitting in the back of an ambulance, Sonia told her daughter: “So welcome to the world Julia, it’s all about to begin.”

Viewers also had the choice to name the baby Toni, paying homage to EastEnders’ creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland. As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations, EastEnders viewers were allowed to vote on key storylines for the first time.

The first EastEnders live episode was broadcast on the 25th anniversary in 2010 and revealed Stacey had killed Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb). The soap marked its 30th anniversary in 2015 with EastEnders: The Week Of Revelations, with live elements across five episodes based around the wedding of Ian and Jane Beale (Adam Woodyatt and Laurie Brett).

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