Roly was an apricot coloured Standard poodle who was on the first episode of EastEnders and remained in the programme until the 19th October 1993, when the real Roly was getting to old to appear on screen regularly. According to Mandy Salter, who was paid £10 to walk Roly, he slipped his lead to pursue a cat and was run over by a lorry. Roly was nearly killed when Grant Mitchell set fire to the Vic for the insurance money, and died on screen when he was run over while chasing a cat in 1993. Roly’s real-life owner was EastEnders creator Julia Smith. He died in real life in 1995.