Montesin was born on 1st October 1962 in Birkirkara… and it only took a couple of years for her love of the stage and media to blossom.

At just 10 years old and having lived in Valletta, a very young Eileen was chosen as one of four students to head her school’s first-ever broadcast. As the years went on, the school broadcasts kept rolling in, but these were just the tip of the iceberg.

Before she even hit teenagehood, Eileen had tasted success, being awarded the title of Best Actress for the play Id-Dota.

Beyond school, Montesin found every opportunity to act or present, be it a variety show in Valletta or a sombre Good Friday pageant.

It didn’t take long for Montesin to aim even higher though… and her first big break at showing off all her skills came months later, when she was only 15 years old.

In Valletta’s Santu Wistin Hall, the bright-eyed teenager organised an entire variety show by herself. It was also around this time that the Manoel Theatre welcomed Montesin for her first role in a play – It-Tieġ – courtesy of the Sliema Dramatic Company.

From here, the sky really was the limit.

When she turned 20, Eileen Montesin finally appeared on Malta’s TV sets – which back then were still black and white – on the programme Kikku u Sika.

This would kick off seven consecutive years of Eileen Montesin presenting and producing children’s TV shows throughout her 20s. In fact, many of these programmes would see Eileen collaborate with her eventual husband, Mark Haber. Mid-Dinja ta’ Ġillin, Larry x-Xadin and Int, Jien u il-Merill were other shows children growing in the mid and late 80s will definitely remember.

And let’s not forget Nanna Għadek Tiftakar, a show which read like a love letter to Malta’s traditions… including children singing għana and makjetti decades before father-son duo Jomike and Lydon won the hearts of the nation.

Then, in 1987, after a quarter of a century of life (most of which was spent on the stage or in front of a camera), Eileen Montesin presented her last children’s show, L-Arka Mużikali.

Always intent on being a broadcasting chameleon, however, Eileen did not limit herself to only children’s shows for those formative seven years in the 80s.

In fact, she would go on to also present the series Il-Konsumatur and the popular Blanzuni ’85.

By now, it was time for a new challenge to present itself… but instead of waiting, Eileen went out looking for one.

Within months of featuring in a play with Joe Gatt, Montesin had a new plan brewing, and all she needed was the talent to bring it to life.

After some persuading, the two formed a drama company, and their first product was the comedy In-Neputija tal-Kappillan. For people who might recognise that name, they know exactly what happens next.

Initially planned to be a one-off weekend production at the Manoel Theatre, In-Neptuija tal-Kappillan sold out within hours of tickets opening, and the production pair knew they had stumbled upon something big. 

Eventually, Montesin ended up booking for two more weekends… at the much-larger Mediterranean Conference Centre. But that wasn’t everything – the comedy (which also saw two other versions being written) would be filmed to be eventually broadcast on Xandir Malta. Two fully booked weekends later, the comedy was a raging success ready for the nation’s TV sets.

With the 1980s well underway, colour wasn’t the only thing to arrive onto Malta’s TV sets…

The power of green screens saw the very first examples of computer graphics being introduced to the island’s shows, with Eileen featuring in some magical tales perfect for any 1980s D&D fan.

It was also around this time that some of Eileen’s most iconic roles started coming to life… one of which she’s kept for over three decades.

Juggling children’s shows and plays, Montesin started presenting lotto draws, something which even the youngest reader will be familiar with as she’s maintained it up to this day.

Around this time, Eileen also became the first woman to present the annual Valletta dances and Floriana float defile’ during Carnival. Fun fact: Eileen got the gig thanks to President Emeritus Agatha Barbara (then Culture Minister), who had insisted that Malta’s carnival celebrations also needed a female presence.

And we all know how that persisted for a couple of decades… because it was during the opening of Carnival 2006 that the iconic “Ara Doris!” was born.

By the way, years later, Eileen finally explained the story – and person – behind that meme. “Doris is from Għaxaq, a mother of three children who today are grown-ups, but I’ve known her for many years, and she always abided by what her children did and decided, whatever it was,” Eileen opened up in an interview last year. “She simply adored her children, and I always said if I had to be a mum, I would be like her”.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Back to Eileen’s achievements on stage. And man were there many of those. So many, in fact, that we’re now approaching 1990.

Eileen Montesin and Joe Gatt returned for more sold-out productions, starting off with Min Qatel Il-Kunjata?

Eventually, Eileen would also star in the titular role of the popular comical soap opera It-Tieġ ta’ Karmena Abdilla, one of the most beloved brainchild of comedian Charles Clews.

Then there was Honeymoon Bl-Għeruq U X-Xniexel, another comedy, this time filmed for TV.

“This production holds a special place in my heart,” Montesin admitted of the show later. “I used to feel sick on multiple occasions during performances, and I had no idea why. I later found out it’s because I was pregnant.”

On 28th December 1991, Eileen and Mark welcomed their daughter, Christine.

Christine would grow up to follow closely in her mother’s footsteps… but when you think about what Eileen Montesin was doing while raising her daughter, that shouldn’t really come as a surprise.

 

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While the birth of her daughter among other things saw Eileen moving away from Malta’s screens, she was definitely not out of action.

By now 29 years old, Eileen was producing a number of shows, including the popular Miss Summer.

Another big platform for young Eileen was radio, where she would find success thanks to the broadcasted sketches of Sossy on Super Radio. Eventually, those sketches were filmed… and some of the videos still circulate messaging threads to this day.

Eventually, Montesin returned to our TV sets with the quiz show Punt u Ċapċipa, but just waiting on the horizon was a character that would go on to not only be more popular than Sossy, but solidify Eileen Montesin as a true household name and force to be reckoned with.

Enter Becky.

“The idea behind Becky came about as a complete coincidence,” Montesin admitted last year. “Joe Attard, the CEO of the TV station where I used to work, had told me he wanted to start a new series, and he entrusted me with making it happen.”

“Do whatever you want,” Montesin recalls Attard telling her. “As long as you attract people.”

In 1996, Undercover was born.

The police drama with a touch of comedy was the first foray into what would turn out to be a saga lasting over two decades. As for the series’ main character, it turns out that Becky was the name of a girl from school that Eileen’s daughter Christine would constantly mention.

Thirteen episodes later, the feedback was so good, that Montesin and director-bae Mark returned with 26 more episodes for Undercover 2 in 1997.

The story returned with Undercover 3 just before the turn of the millennium, but it was here that Eileen would go from celeb to icon.

One of the reasons that made Eileen such a stand-out icon in Malta at this time stemmed from a storyline that she ran on Undercover, which ran from 1999 to 2003.

This storyline was one that featured queer representation – a notion that was largely unheard of in Maltese media at the time. The storyline featured a character, Andre, who was a gay man yet was not fully out of the closet yet.

Afraid of how to tell his mother about his sexuality, it was Eileen’s character Becky who kept encouraging him and supporting him to take the risk and come out to his mother.

It is this very storyline that has made Eileen a celebrated “queen, LGBTI icon and an ally” by Malta Pride, who included Eileen in their LGBTI History Month recently.

Overall, Undercover would also prove to be a series that truly travelled across Europe. Episodes were filmed in Lourdes, London, Greece and even on a ship!

Eileen’s other projects branched out to include music programs like Issu L-Bieraħ, which was filmed across various localities in Malta celebrating and giving life to various Maltese songs that have been forgotten.

Another music program that Eileen hosted was Rodeo. It was Eileen’s first program with NET alongside being the first program that was filmed in front of a live audience every day, with hundreds of people coming to listen and take part.

What has to be one of the greatest highlights of Eileen’s life, however, was the birth of her daughter, Christine, on the 28th December 1991.

Through her childhood, Christine showed that the showbusiness roots ran deep in her blood. When Christine was four years old, Eileen remembers that during the filming of an episode of Sosie, her daughter asked if she could have a speaking part in the episode.

When the episode aired, Eileen could not believe that her daughter’s first words on camera would be “the priest is coming!”

This would only be the start of her daughter’s love of the stage. As Christine grew up, she accompanied both Eileen and her husband, Mark, to work alongside their various projects. This included working alongside producers and directors for both stage and television.

In 2006, Christine took part in the selection for Malta’s Junior Eurovision participant and ended up finishing in 5th place.

It would be closely followed by Christine having her chance to take part in the adult Eurovision when she sang as a back-up vocalist for Dominque Azzopardi in 2013’s selection process.

Eileen would also come close to the Eurovision stage in her own way. Whilst not ever entering as a participant, Eileen has been the commentator Malta sent for three Eurovision Song Contests – including 2006’s contest in Athens.

That same year, Eileen also co-hosted the Malta Song for Europe (the selection process for a Eurovision participant), which ended in Fabrizio Faniello being chosen.

When asked about this moment, Eileen describes it as “one of my most favourite memories related to my career on stage and television”.

It was in this selection process that Eileen shared some key wisdom for how to vote, not just for a Eurovision song but in general.

“Don’t vote for a song simply because you know the singer or the composer. Vote with your head, not your heart.”

Of all her projects however, it is hard to deny the phenomenal success of Mhux Biċ–Ċajt. Originally airing in 2005, Mhux Biċ-Ċajt sough to make the wildest dreams of lucky people come true.

Whether you wanted a trip to Paris or to learn how to fly a plane? It was the place to go to get that chance.

It was so successful that, after only a month of airing on TVM, Mhux Biċ–Ċajt was hailed as the most-watched TV program on Sunday night, the most popular female presenter, most popular program during the weekend and the most popular new program on TVM.

“The result was an excellent one” Eileen has said, “Frank and I had done such good work, we became good friends and made the first season of Deja Vu together as well”.

Throughout her career, Eileen Montesin has proven herself to be a capable presenter, actor, director, producer and writer. She has graced our screens for 40 years and brought countless people hours of entertainment in some way or another.

Looking back at her career, Eileen explains that she does not know how much more there will be after these 40.

“Today, I take things day by day but I would like to finish by telling you to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support.”

From celebrity to icon, and dare we say cultural treasure? Eileen Montesin is and always will be an irreplaceable part of our broadcasting history.

Which is your favourite Eileen Montesin project? Let us know in the comments