Gianni di Marco

Gianni di Marco
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Marc Bannerman
Introduced by	Matthew Robinson
Duration	1998–2000
First appearance	29 January 1998
Last appearance	3 August 2000
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Date of birth	4 April 1971
Occupation	Chef
Family Father Giuseppe di Marco Mother Rosa di Marco Brothers Beppe di Marco Sisters Teresa di Marco Nicky di Marco Grandfathers Bruno di Marco Grandmothers Luisa di Marco Uncles Franco di Marco Cousins Luca di Marco Nephews Joe di Marco

Gianni di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC serial drama EastEnders, played by Marc Bannerman from 1998 to 2000.

Storylines

Gianni arrived in Walford along with the rest of the di Marco family in 1998. Gianni was the younger of the two brothers in the family, the other being Beppe di Marco. He had two younger sisters Teresa and Nicky.

Gianni worked as a chef in the family restaurant, Giuseppe's, named after his late father. He later became the manager of the restaurant.

He had a relationship with Annie Palmer, which was stopped when there were doubts over whether Gianni's real father was Giuseppe di Marco or Annie's father George. DNA tests proved Gianni really was a di Marco, but his relationship with Annie didn't continue. He then had a relationship with Jackie Owen but discovered she suffered from severe PMT and that made their relationship more and more difficult when Gianni had to put up with Jackie's violent temper and foul moods. Eventually, Jackie left Walford with her brother Steve and her relationship with Gianni was over.

Gianni also had a fling with Louise Raymond but it wasn't anything more than a casual fling. Like his brother Beppe, he had run-ins with Grant and Phil Mitchell as the two groups of brothers had conflicts over several interests.

When Gianni's youngest sister Nicky claimed she had been assaulted by her maths teacher, Rod Morris, Gianni attacked him. Rod pressed charges of assault but later dropped them. Gianni and the rest of his family left Walford in August 2000 to start a new life in Leicester, living with their uncle Franco, leaving Beppe and Joe in Walford.

Character creation and development

The Italian di Marco family were introduced early in 1998 by Series Producer Jane Harris. The di Marcos were a family of eight, consisting of grandparents Bruno and Luisa, their daughter-in-law Rosa, her children Beppe, Gianni, Teresa and Nicky, and Beppe's young son Joe. They were heralded as the "family that would rival the Mitchells", one of the most successful and long-running families to have been featured in EastEnders.

According to author Rupert Smith, the di Marcos "landed with an almighty thud in January [1998], turning out in force for the funeral of patriarch Giuseppe", who was Rosa's husband and an old business associate of the character George Palmer (Paul Moriarty). The following month, the family moved to the area in which the soap is set, Walford, to run an Italian restaurant, which was named Giuseppe's.

The di Marcos remained with the show as a unit until 2000, when the new executive producer, John Yorke, decided to cull the majority of the family. All except Beppe (Michael Greco) and his son Joe (Jake Kyprianou) were written out. They were reportedly "slaughtered because of a shortage of ideas for what to do with them". A source allegedly told The Mirror: "It's always unpleasant having to say goodbye to people who have given loyal service to the show for a number of years. But John Yorke feels it's time to make his mark on the show. Every new producer likes to do the same. John wants to introduce a new family later this year and felt the Di Marcos had nowhere else to go. Their storylines were beginning to feel tired and that's a good time to make such a drastic change." However an official BBC spokesperson at the time commented: "These changes […] are just part of [John Yorke's] plans to revamp the series and give it a new look." The cuts paved the way for the arrival of the popular Slater family. Beppe and Joe remained until 2002, when they were axed too.

Reception

The di Marcos are now deemed as something of a failure for EastEnders. Since their departure, the family has even been mocked in an EastEnders official book, entitled EastEnders 20 Years In Albert Square. In the book, the author, Rupert Smith, writes :"Nobody really knew what to do with the di Marco family, who had been languishing in the pizza restaurant without a decent storyline between them. Finally, there was nothing else for it: the di Marcos would have to go. All of them…it was as if they'd never been".

Matthew Baylis of The Guardian has commented on their lack of success: "Thank heaven for off-screen uncles. As we saw during the hurried departure of the di Marco family from Albert Square, there's nothing like a fictitious relative when you need to get characters off the screen…The di Marcos' departure had its dodgy elements. A hitherto unheard-of uncle needs help in his restaurant, so the whole family ups sticks. Including Teresa - who'd always fought for independence from her family? Rosa, who presumably owned the house she'd transformed into something resembling an Imperial Palace, is suddenly prepared to leg it with a couple of suitcases? There was plenty that didn't ring true. But few viewers minded. There was, if anything, more sympathy for the programme-makers, trying valiantly to dispose of this singularly unpopular family while retaining an element of drama."

The di Marcos have been dismissed as "unconvincing characters". Baylis goes on to highlight a problem that he feels "dogged the whole family", their occupation as restaurateurs. Baylis believes this kept them "self-contained", and prevented them from establishing meaningful links with other characters. He explains: "[The di Marcos] had an ambiguity, heightened by the job they did. Soapland has no place for grey areas. Bad things happen to bad people. They also happen to good people, of course, but not for very long. To make this predictable universe work on the screen, you need characters who are relatively stable (even if they are unstable). The writers and the viewers buy into a myth that people aren't particularly complex, that the full range of their feelings and actions can be revealed in a few hours on the TV. And a quick, visible way of revealing characters is to mirror them in their occupation. Thus we have Pauline Fowler, long-suffering drudge and matriarch. What better job than folding pants all day in the launderette? Or Peggy [Mitchell] - tough but fun-loving and gregarious. So she runs the pub. But what attributes spring to mind when we think of Italian restaurants? Fond of pasta, perhaps? Permanently overworked? The job never provided an easy route into understanding the di Marcos' characters…The most visible jobs tend to be taken by the strongest, most vivid characters. Confined to their restaurant, the di Marcos could only become involved in Walford life when other characters came over to eat a carbonara. And how often do working-class East End people do that? If any di Marco wanted a night out, a pint in the Vic, a clandestine liaison, then an excuse had to be found as to why they weren't working. Transforming Giuseppe's into a daytime sandwich bar, and sending Teresa onto the market were bold rescue attempts, but they came too late. The viewers had already decided they didn't much care…Because of their jobs, the di Marcos became a largely self-contained unit…"

External links

• Gianni di Marco at BBC Online