Where EastEnders’ Di Marco family stars are now – from famous girlfriends and depression to jackpot poker winnings
EASTENDERS’ Di Marco family were introduced back in 1998 as the Mitchells’ deadly rivals. They included brothers Beppe and Gianni – very much the Italian stallion version of Phil and Grant – plus younger sisters Teresa and Nicky. The family, ruled by widowed matriarch Rosa, ran an Italian restaurant called Guiseppe’s – but their main […]
EASTENDERS’ Di Marco family were introduced back in 1998 as the Mitchells’ deadly rivals.
They included brothers Beppe and Gianni – very much the Italian stallion version of Phil and Grant – plus younger sisters Teresa and Nicky.
The family, ruled by widowed matriarch Rosa, ran an Italian restaurant called Guiseppe’s – but their main business was absolute non-stop drama.
Their reign of madness made stars of Michael Greco, Marc Bannerman, Leila Birch and young actress Carly Hillman.
But what has become of the stars since the family were sent packing in a major cull that saw only Greco’s Beppe still standing?
We track down at the much-loved actors and what they’re up to these days…
Michael Greco (Beppe)
Michael ‘The Grecs’ Greco was one of soap’s original pin-ups, playing the smoothest cop in Walford CID.
He survived the longest of any of the Di Marcos too as loverman Beppe, sticking around with his screen son Joe until 2002.
Grecs sailed into Love Island in 2005, back when it was a celebrity show and regularly turned out for celebrity footie showdowns like Soccer Aid.
The star also became a big deal on the live poker circuit, with his tournament winnings thought to total nearly £500,000.
Earlier this year the actor announced that he is going to be a dad at 51 with girlfriend Helen Harris.
Marc Bannerman (Gianni)
Tough-nut chef Gianni was at the centre of the action in the bitter war between the Di Marcos and the Mitchells.
The actor dated Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha while she was appearing on EastEnders (confusingly, they dated on screen too).
Marc, who was born in Ireland, went on to star in a string of TV shows including 2007’s I’m A Celebrity and iconic drama Footballers’ Wives.
However, he explained that he had become depressed after the axe fell on the Di Marcos in EastEnders.
He told the Mirror: “I suffered depression and turned to the bottle to get me out of it.”
The actor has recently appeared in Sky’s Agatha Raisin and action series Pennyworth as well as a line-up of all-action movie roles.
Leila Birch (Teresa)
Teresa certainly kept herself busy in EastEnders, having a run-in with police for possessing drugs as well as love affairs with Tony Hills, Lenny Wallace and the married Ricky Butcher.
She also didn’t prove to be much luck for boyfriend Matthew Rose, who was (wrongly) imprisoned for murder.
Things are going much better for her in real life, with Leila now based in the US where she has bagged a range of exciting roles.
She played British reporter Melody Stone in the movie WMD in 2013 and was the voice of the Wayback machine in the hit kids’ Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
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Louise Jameson (Rosa)
Rosa Di Marco star Louise already had a long acting career behind her when she took up her role on EastEnders.
When the soap cleared out the family, the 69-year-old actress toured Britain in her one-woman show Face Value and appeared in a string of acclaimed plays.
She also joined the cast of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap and has starred in everything from Holby City to Silent Witness.