Melanie "Mel" Owen (also Healy and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tamzin Outhwaite.

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.

In her second stint on the show, Mel was included in storylines such as working for crime boss Ciara Maguire (Denise McCormack); colluding with Phil against Ciara's ex-husband Aidan (Patrick Bergin); a relationship with Phil's rival Jack Branning (Scott Maslen); an engagement and marriage with former policeman Ray Kelly (Sean Mahon); covering up Ray's murder after he was shot dead by her son Hunter (Charlie Winter) for attempting to kill her; and trying to stop Hunter from going to prison and later harboring him when he escapes, which culminates with Hunter being shot dead by the police after he held her hostage and nearly shot Phil and Lisa's daughter Louise (Tilly Keeper) after shooting her brother Ben (Max Bowden).

Following Hunter's death, Mel developed a feud with Phil's wife Sharon (Letitia Dean) and blackmailed her after learning of her affair with Louise's boyfriend Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).

When Ian discovers this, he claims that his daughter Lucy (Casey Anne Rothery) is dying of cancer in a desperate bid to retain his romantic bond with Mel; she gives in and later agrees to marry him.

After divorcing Ian and the exposure of his fabrication about Lucy's health, Mel starts a relationship with local publican Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass).

Soon afterwards, Mel and Steve start a relationship after he forces Phil's cousin Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) to help build her trust on him.

She briefly dates Barry's half-brother Nathan Williams (Doug Allen), but later reconciles with Steve after he manages to woo her back into their marriage.

Ciara does not have the full amount, so in retaliation, she vindictively tells Hunter that his father Steve died in a car explosion, not from a heart attack as Mel had claimed and that he was a villain who killed Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor).

Mel decides to remain in Walford, accepting Sharon's offer to re-open the nightclub, which she agrees to restore to its old name, the E20, in tribute to Steve, to keep Hunter happy.

It is revealed that Ray worked as an undercover cop and his relationship with Mel became strained due to his increasingly secretive behaviour, ultimately leading to their divorce.

Following a heated discussion, Mel finally finds Hunter bound and gagged on the ground, then, Ray coming at them both with a shovel, they, panicking, quickly get into a car.

Mel is upset when she finds out that Louise and Keanu do not want to move to Portugal but manages to manipulate Lisa and tells her that Sharon's unborn baby is not Phil's.

As she stumbles towards the burning car, Sharon looks on in horror as a lorry appears through the smoke from the wreckage, hitting Mel and killing her instantly.

On Christmas Day, Mel's meddling finally comes to fruition as Phil discovers Sharon's affair and throws her out as well as orchestrating Keanu's murder.

[2] In an interview with website Walfordweb, Matthew Robinson has stated that Melanie was "dreamt up to supplement the 'totty' contingent – running thin at the time".

[1] In his assessment of the character, author Rupert Smith surmised Mel as "a nice girl with surprisingly bad taste in men.

The pairing has been described as one of "the most unbelievable soap couples", but Outwaite defended it in 1999, saying "I know I've fancied some not particularly attractive men in my time, but I don't think Ian is actually ugly.

"[9] Their relationship was the focus of the storyline that aired to mark the Millennium celebrations, when Ian emotionally blackmailed Mel into marrying him by claiming that his daughter was dying of cancer; storylines in the latter part of 1999 focused on the build-up to a joint Millennium wedding on New Year's Eve 1999 with Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) and Natalie Evans (Lucy Speed).

", where Phil was gunned down by an unknown assailant and, due to Mel's infidelity, Steve became one of the prime suspects for the murder attempt, though he transpired to be a red herring.

The storyline to mark the occasion centred around Mel, her husband Steve, and her former lovers Phil and Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass).

"[21][22] She added, "I'll always be indebted to EastEnders for providing me with a wonderful start to my career on television and the opportunity to play a character like Mel has been fabulous.

"[24][25] In the on-screen events, Mel's anger turns to devastation when Phil informs her that Steve had been having sex with his sister Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf).

[18] Tony Stewart, critic for The Mirror suggested that Mel's exit in April 2002 was thrilling and described it as "a devastating story of betrayal and her ultimate revenge [as] one by one her friends desert her."

[33] Executive producer Jon Sen expressed his gratitude towards Outhwaite, who he dubbed an "incredible talent", for reprising the role, adding that she "[allowed] EastEnders fans the chance to see one of Walford's most popular characters take centre stage once more.

"[33] Producers created a storyline leading up to Mel's departure, in that she became involved in the high-profile affair between characters Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) and Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) after Hunter's death.

[10][16] During her stint it was reported that the BBC offered to increase her salary various times to entice her to stay with EastEnders with suggestions that she was the highest-paid British soap star.

The episode evoked criticism by the Broadcasting Standards Commission for its inclusion of "almost relentless drunken and promiscuous behaviour, sexual innuendo and drug-taking, before the watershed", which included Mel having to kiss various strangers.

[37] The BBC defended the episode, claiming that its content would have "come as no surprise to viewers" and adding that the depiction of this behaviour conformed to an EastEnders tradition – that questionable conduct "only leads to further trouble...One character's quest for drugs led to embarrassment and nausea and a drinking binge led to the calling off of [Barry and Natalie's] wedding while the prospects for [Mel and Ian's] became bleaker.

"[39] In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Mel 18th on their ranked list of the Best EastEnders characters of all time, calling her a "vicar's sister with an unholy taste in men".