in january 1990, a mysterious old man (john boswall) is seen lingering around albert square. he is initially reluctant to divulge his identity, but it is apparent that he knows some of the residents, in particular the beale family. café worker rod norman (christopher mchallem) and his girlfriend hazel take an interest in the man, whose name is later revealed to be harry osborne. they discover that he had travelled the world before his recent return to walford. hazel – spurred on by harry's tales – leaves rod to do some travelling of her own.