Vicki Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, currently played by Alice Haig. The character was originally portrayed by Emma Herry from her birth in 1986 to 1988, and Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995. When Vicki was reintroduced eight years later, the role was taken over by Scarlett Alice Johnson from 2003 to 2004. She is the illegitimate daughter of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).

Vicki was conceived in a controversial manner teenage pregnancy storyline that generated significant press attention. Exploiting a whodunit element, viewers were initially unaware of the father's identity, leading to widespread speculation until it was revealed in episode 66, broadcast in October 1985, that Den Watts was the father. Written by series co-creator and script editor Tony Holland and directed by co-creator and producer Julia Smith, the episode was considered a landmark moment in the show's history. Early suspects included Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford), but the mystery was solved when Den's dog Roly was seen jumping from his car at the secret meeting point, confirming Den as the father. Vicki was written out of the series in October 1995 following the departure of Susan Tully. Following an eight-year absence, the character was reintroduced in January 2003 by executive producer Louise Berridge.

In her first full-time stint, portrayed by Scarlett Alice Johnson, Vicki's storylines included returning to Walford as a rebellious teenager after years living in America with her mother Michelle, struggling with her identity as Den Watts' daughter, forming close friendships with Spencer Moon (Christopher Parker) and Kelly Taylor (Brooke Kinsella), having brief relationships with both Spencer and Ash Ferreira (Raji James), working at Angie's Den under her father’s management, clashing with Den over his manipulative behaviour, and leaving Walford once again to live in America. This stint formed part of a wider effort to rebuild the Watts family, which had been central to EastEnders during the 1980s. In August 2004, Johnson announced her departure from the show, with Vicki's final scenes airing on 25 December 2004. Her portrayal received mixed reviews from critics, with some highlighting the inconsistency of her American accent.

In her second full-time stint, with the character now portrayed by Alice Haig, Vicki's storylines have included returning to Walford with her new partner Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw) and his son Joel (Max Murray), reuniting with Sharon following Martin's death, revealing that she cheated on Spencer with Ross and that she came back to ask Sharon and Ian for money to pay back the family of a girl whom Joel sexually assaulted in Australia, blackmailing Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) after discovering her embezzlement from the Panesars, feuding with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) after her return to the Square, and clashing with Joel over his growing hostility towards women which results in her ultimately being viciously attacked and left for dead by him following his descent into online radicalisation through the manosphere.

The conception of Vicki Fowler in 1985 was one of the first controversial storylines featured in EastEnders since its inception that February, as it involved the pregnancy of a schoolgirl, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully). Exploiting a whodunit angle, viewers were not initially told who was the father, and press interest in the fledgling show escalated as journalists attempted to guess. The audience finally discovered his identity in October 1985 on episode 66. Written by series co-creator/script-editor Tony Holland and directed by co-creator/producer Julia Smith, it was considered a landmark episode in the show's history. Four possible suspects were seen leaving the Square early in the episode: Tony Carpenter (Oscar James), Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), Andy O'Brien (Ross Davidson), and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). As Michelle waited by their rendezvous point, a car pulled up and the fluffy white legs of the soap landlord's poodle Roly leapt out of a car and gave it all away: Den Watts had fathered Michelle's baby. After this storyline the programme started to appear in newspaper cartoons as it moved more and more into the public mainstream.

Baby Emma Henry originated the role and played Vicki until 1988, when her parents moved to Scotland. The role was recast to Samantha Leigh Martin, who learned to call Susan Tully "Mummy Shell" and referred to Letitia Dean, who played her mum's best friend, as "Daddy Sharon". Tully has commented, "What's lovely about working with Samantha is that she's always happy. When it comes to work, she knows it's playing a pretend game, she knows my real name but she knows to call me 'Mummy Shell' when the cameras are running. If she isn't involved for a couple of weeks, I like to visit her at home, so she's always relaxed with me." Tully worried about this when it came to filming scenes in 1989 where Vicki contracted meningitis and was hospitalised and placed in an incubator with tubes attached to her body. Tully said, "[Samantha] has seen me in all kinds of situations but I didn't know how she'd cope if I cried over her". At Tully's suggestion, the BBC built a hospital room with minimal equipment and a consultant was present to make sure the BBC had the details correct and that neither the viewers nor Samantha would be too distressed. Tully insisted that the child was not present when she had to film scenes of Michelle sobbing over the incubator.

In 1995, after 9 years onscreen being featured in various plot lines such as kidnapping, Vicki was written out of EastEnders, moving to America with Michelle.

In 2002, executive producer Louise Berridge decided to reintroduce the character 8 years after she had last appeared. Auditions were held to cast the role to a professional actor; however, auditionees were not informed which character they were auditioning for. The first audition was a group workshop of 30 auditionees, who were asked to perform improvisations. After whittling down potential actors from 500 to 4, the second stage of the audition process was an interview with EastEnders' casting director. The auditionees were asked to perform a monologue in front of a camera and do a screen test with one of the actors already in the show, Christopher Parker, who played Spencer Moon.