EastEnders character
Phil Mitchell
Portrayed by	Steve McFadden
Introduced by	Michael Ferguson (1990) Kate Harwood (2005)
Duration	1990–2003, 2005—
First appearance	20 February 1990
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Date of birth	19 January 1961
Home	43b Albert Square
Occupation	Unemployed
Family Family Mitchell family Wife Nadia Borovac (1993–94) Kathy Beale (1995–99) Kate Morton (2003–05) Father Eric Mitchell Mother Peggy Mitchell Brothers Grant Mitchell Sisters Sam Mitchell Sons Ben Mitchell Daughters Louise Mitchell Grandfathers Phil Mitchell Jack Martin Grandmothers Sandra Mitchell Lilly Martin Great grandfathers Edward Mitchell Great grandmothers Betty Mitchell Uncles Clive Mitchell Archie Mitchell Aunts Sal Martin Great uncles Kenneth Mitchell Cousins Ronnie Mitchell Roxy Mitchell Danny Mitchell Charlie Mitchell Harry Mitchell Nephews Mark Fowler Jr. Nieces Courtney Mitchell First cousins  once removed Steven Mitchell Ted Mitchell Danielle Jones Amy Mitchell Second cousins Billy Mitchell Charlie Mitchell Second cousins  once removed Jamie Mitchell Janet Mitchell William Mitchell

Phillip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.

Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy. He has become one of the soap's most popular characters and is the second longest-running male protagonist to appear in the serial. He was first introduced as the lesser of two thugs, but became a darker character after Grant left. More recent storylines, such as the return of his son Ben, have shown a softer side to the character.

He has, at various times, owned many businesses in the Square. He has been married three times and featured in numerous high profile storylines, including the much-hyped whodunnit, dubbed "Who Shot Phil?" — when the character was gunned down outside his home — and an affair with his brother's wife, dubbed "Sharongate".

Contents 1 Character creation 1.1 Background 1.2 Casting 1.3 Personality 2 Character development and impact 2.1 Sharongate 2.2 Alcoholism 2.3 The Mitchell car crash 2.4 Who Shot Phil? 2.5 Other storylines 3 Storylines 3.1 Backstory 3.2 1990–1995 3.3 1996–2000 3.4 2000–2005 3.5 2006–2009 4 Reception 4.1 Popularity 4.2 Criticism 5 References 6 External links

Character creation

Background

In late 1989 EastEnders acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson, who took over from Mike Gibbon. Ferguson had previously been a producer on ITV's The Bill which seemed to be challenging EastEnders in providing a realistic vision of modern life in London. Due to his success on The Bill, Peter Creegan, the Head of Series at the BBC, poached Ferguson to become executive producer of EastEnders.^[1]

Casting

For the roles of Phil and Grant Mitchell many actors were screen-tested together. This was done to assure the chosen actors — who would work together — had a strong rapport and physical resemblance. Producer Corinne Hollingworth commented: "There were some good actors we had to turn down because we couldn't find the 'right' brother."^[2] Steve McFadden, an actor who had worked extensively in television, was cast as Phil. His shape, skills in stage fighting and a variety of sports including boxing, football and karate made him an ideal choice to play one of Walford's latest "tough-men."^[2] Ross Kemp got the role of Grant. Both actors worked well together and shared similar physical characteristics, such as short cropped hair and a "round, open face" — facial characteristics also shared by Danniella Westbrook, who was chosen to play their sister Samantha because of this.^[2]

Personality

Of the two brothers Phil was initially calmer, but both had a sense of physical danger about them, displayed stereotypical masculinity, thuggish behaviour and a tendency to resolve problems through violence. Phil was originally depicted as the thinker and the most streetwise of the pair, often bailing his more spontaneous brother out of trouble, although later plotlines drove the character down a darker, more destructive route.^[2] Phil can be violent, but unlike Grant, he occasionally showed restraint when dealing with various enemies encountered — exacting revenge over time, using mind games or getting others to do his dirty work.

Family is important to Phil, as it is to all the Mitchells. He is dependable to his brother, paternalistic towards his sister and dutiful to his mother — responsibilities that fell on him as the eldest, following the death of his father. Despite the brothers' closeness, rivalry between them is sometimes evident and particularly shown by Phil, who at times expresses his dissatisfaction regarding his parents' favouritism towards Grant. Indeed this caused a rift between him and his mother. His relationship with his volatile father, Eric, often referred to, usually in moments of emotion — his initial inability to bond with his child being a result of his father's abuse, and his treatment of women a response that mirrored Eric's treatment of Peggy. Phil often expressed fears he would become like his father and alienate his children in a similar way. Despite being opposed to this, he is at times incapable of breaking 'the cycle', which has resulted in alcoholism, marital abuse and separation from his children. Phil strives to be a good father and often reiterates the importance of this.

Phil has occasionally shown sadistic traits. His bullying of Ian Beale is often done as a means of deriving pleasure.^[3] Equally the ceaseless degradation of Lisa showed a particularly malicious side to the character. While Phil has shown compassion to the women in his life, he frequently finds he is unable to give them the emotional security needed to sustain the relationship. Several women have left him due to this and his inability to put their needs before his family's.

Character development and impact

The Mitchell brothers quickly became two of the soap's most popular characters and storylines involving them began to dominate the programme. Their arrival heralded a new era for the soap, which aptly coincided with the beginning of a new decade — EastEnders during the 1980s having been very much dominated by the hugely popular Watts family.^[4]

Sharongate

One of the most notable and popular early storylines involving Phil was a love triangle between him, his brother and his brother's wife Sharon (played by Letitia Dean). Despite the fact that Sharon was married to Grant, EastEnders writer Tony Jordan revealed in The Mitchells - The Full Story that the love-triangle storyline had been planned since Phil and Grant's introduction, after the writers decided Sharon was perfect for them both. This storyline was slow burning and spread over several years, providing a plethora of dramatic tension along the way. The episode in which Phil betrayed his brother with Sharon occurred in September 1992 in one of the soap's notorious three-handers. Things finally came to a head in 1994 with some of EastEnders most popular and renowned episodes, which were dubbed "Sharongate" — centred around Grant's discovery of the affair and his reaction. The repercussions of Phil's betrayal contributed to many subsequent storylines involving the Mitchell brothers during the 1990s. Sharongate has also proven a popular storyline with viewers and it was voted the sixth top soap opera moment of the decade in a poll of 17,000 people for What's On TV magazine.

Alcoholism

Among the many issues Phil has been used to cover is alcoholism and the consequences the condition has upon the sufferer's life. The relationship between alcohol abuse and domestic violence was explored between Phil and his wife Kathy (played by Gillian Taylforth) culminating in the slow deterioration of their marriage, which gripped viewers throughout 1997. Of particular note is an episode where Phil attends Alcoholics Anonymous (February 1997), an "alien and uncomfortable arena" where he was forced to talk about his condition, expose his vulnerability and reveal the basis of his problem — the physical abuse he'd received from his father and his fear that he will do the same. Writer Jacquetta May, who once played Rachel Kominski in the show, evaluated the episode in an article about social realism, education and the moral messages within EastEnders storylines, commenting: "The episode blames his destructiveness on the 'male' response to self-hate: violence. It says that unless problems are worked through (the female method), they will be repeated generation after generation".^[5] This particular episode has also been used in a study by the Stirling Media Research Institute, where men were asked questions about the violence contained within a spectrum of broadcast television material. The study reported that much group discussion centred on the Alcoholics Anonymous group scene, which was, for the most part, seen as an accurate depiction of an AA group therapy session. In addition, Phil's portrayal of a suffering alcoholic was also seen as realistic and a "typical portrayal of bottled-up masculinity".^[6]

The Mitchell car crash

Phil's disposition altered during the early 2000s when a darker more menacing side to his personality began to surface. This change was perhaps a consequence of Grant's departure, who up until this point had always been depicted as the more selfish, thuggish and nastier of the two. The storyline signifying the departure of Ross Kemp played heavily on the Mitchell brothers' fragile and damaged relationship. After discovering that Grant had vengefully slept with Kathy, Phil went ballistic with a handgun causing the hijacked Vauxhall Astra they were driving to career at high speed into the River Thames, in an episode that was watched by 19.5 million viewers.^[7] Shot in London's Docklands, the scenes required stunt doubles, divers and crash test dummies and it has been hailed as "one of the soap's most dramatic storylines ever".^[8]

Who Shot Phil?

Phil's behaviour earned him a number of sworn enemies in Albert Square and by 2001 the character had become one of the soap's nastiest villains.^[9] In an interview with The Guardian McFadden commented on his alter ego's descent into villainy "Phil's been had over by a lot of people, so now he feels like he can do it back. It's his history".^[10] However the character finally received his comeuppance in one of EastEnders most highly anticipated storylines, dubbed "Who Shot Phil?". Phil was gunned down outside his home in March 2001 in a "Dallas-style" whodunnit mystery. Various key characters were in the frame for the deed and viewers were left guessing for weeks as to which of them was the real culprit. Several outcomes were allegedly filmed^[11] and it was reported that only a few TV executives knew the identity of the would-be assassin — even the actors were kept in the dark.^[12] A spokesman commented "The cast are only getting their own scripts. They are not being told anyone else's storylines. Not even Phil knows who shot him. It's top secret."^[12] Script writers were reportedly given private security after a writer's laptop was stolen in what was believed to be an attempt to gain the identity of the assailant.^[12] The storyline captivated the public's imagination leading to thousands of bets being placed at the bookies across the UK — bookmaker William Hill said there was about 50,000 bets on who was responsible.^[12]

An estimated 22 million viewers watched EastEnders on April 5, 2001 to find out that Lisa Shaw — Phil's former girlfriend — was the culprit.^[13] The episode caused the third-largest power surge on record^[14] and the Liverpool and Barcelona UEFA Cup semi-final was postponed for 15 minutes to accommodate a special 40 minute edition of the soap.^[15]

Other storylines

The character continues to be featured heavily in high-profile storylines which have included various feuds, police enquiries, armed robbery, kidnapping, numerous affairs and relationship problems and an ongoing plot concentrating on the character's struggles to bond with his children. 2005 saw the highly anticipated screen return of both the Mitchell brothers — six years since they last appeared together. 13 million viewers tuned in to see their return giving the BBC a 52.9% audience share,^[16] a massive coup for the show which had come under heavy criticism in the British media after it drew its lowest audience in more than five years (6.6 million viewers tuning in to one episode in September 2005).^[17]

Storylines

Backstory

Phil, named after his paternal grandfather who died in 1969, is the eldest child of Peggy and Eric Mitchell. He endured an unhappy childhood due to his abusive father, whose violence continued until Phil was big enough to fight back. Phil and his younger brother Grant were close, and had a reputation for their thuggish behaviour.

1990–1995

The Mitchell brothers arrived in Walford in February 1990, buying the garage on Turpin Way with money Phil had won gambling.^[1] They got involved in various dodgy scams, but more often than not, their money making schemes backfired.^[1] In 1991, Phil went into partnership at The Queen Vic with Grant and his fiancé, Sharon Watts. Phil moved in with them, but was frequently caught in the middle of their tempestuous relationship. Following a failed romance with Anne Howes—who turned out to be a habitual liar—Phil grew close to Sharon, who turned to him for comfort during Grant's violent outbursts in 1992. Sharon and Phil slept together, but she chose to stay with Grant, who remained unaware of the betrayal.^[1] Sharon and Grant's reconciliation was brief, and amidst more rowing and physical violence, Grant was arrested and sent to prison. In his absence Phil and Sharon continued their affair, although they were both tormented by feelings of guilt, and neither were prepared to tell Grant the truth. When Grant came out of prison a reformed man, Sharon—realising that she and Phil would never be a legitimate couple—reconciled with him, and Phil watched on heartbroken as they began to patch up their marriage.^[18]

On the rebound, Phil entered into a marriage of convenience with Nadia Borovac, a Romanian refugee, enabling her to stay legally in the UK. They married in July 1993 and Nadia departed.^[1] In the Autumn of 1993, Phil began a romance with Kathy Beale, but their relationship stalled due to the reappearance of Nadia, who needed Phil to play her husband in more realistic ways to prevent deportation.^[1] She moved in with him while the home office undertook their investigation. Feeling jealous, Nadia seduced and slept with a drunken Phil at Christmas. Phil regretted it, but Nadia refused to give up and she informed Kathy about their tryst. Phil denied it and Nadia then disappeared after Grant threatened to kill her, though Phil was later forced to bribe her into agreeing to a divorce.^[19]

When Kathy discovered that Phil was responsible for torching Frank Butcher's car lot in an insurance scam, killing a homeless boy, in 1994, she left him. He managed to win her back by proposing marriage, which left Sharon jealous. Sharon was intent on winning him back, they kissed, before Phil stopped himself. During Phil and Kathy's engagement party, Grant listened to a cassette of Sharon confessing to the affair and more recent kiss; he played it to the entire party. Kathy was incensed, and Grant beat Phil so badly that he was hospitalised with a ruptured spleen and a blood clot to the brain.^[18] Phil underwent surgery, which stirred remorse in Grant. He pressured Phil into blaming Sharon for their affair and Grant chased her out of Walford. Phil and Grant made peace, although things between them were never the same again. Kathy and Phil sorted out their differences in 1995, and married.^[18]

On Christmas Day 1995, Frank Butcher returned to the square as he wanted to claim back his wife Pat and his family, however unbeknown Frank, Pat had moved on and got together with Roy Evans, after several attempts to get rid of Frank Roy's son Barry decided to take matters into his own hands. He hired a man to torch the car-lot for a second time hoping Frank would disappear in fear. Unbeknown to him, Phil was in the Portakabin office waiting on Frank and almost got burnt to death, but was saved by Ricky's heroics. The police automatically suspected Frank, and he was arrested and questioned off-screen. In a bid to make amends for his past crime, Frank told the Police that he was responsible for the second torching of the car lot. However his confession was rejected because he couldn't provide details about how the fire was started.

1996–2000

Kathy fell pregnant and gave birth to a boy, Ben, in 1996, who she doted on. Phil felt neglected and in his depression he turned to alcohol, developing an addiction. Phil became abusive and neglectful of Ben, so Kathy left him. Realising what he'd lost, Phil gave up drinking to rebuild his marriage. He attended Alcoholics Anonymous, which helped reveal the basis of his problem — the physical abuse he'd received from his father and his fear that he will do the same to Ben. Kathy took him back, but their reunion was short-lived. When Phil attended counselling in the summer he began an affair with a fellow alcoholic named Lorna Cartwright, who later started stalking him. With their relationship in jeopardy, Phil took Kathy to Paris, hoping that it would bring them closer, but it had the opposite effect—Phil confessed to his affair with Lorna and Kathy responded by chucking her wedding ring into the Seine.^[18]

Phil began sleeping rough, gambling, and blaming Kathy for his decline. By April 1998 Kathy had decided to leave Walford to live in South Africa. A marriage proposal from Alex Healy and an impromptu offer of elopement from Grant couldn't dissuade her from leaving; however she let it be known that an offer of reconciliation from Phil would make her reconsider. Phil left it to the last minute to win her back, but he was stalled by Lorna, who locked herself in his bathroom and attempted to commit suicide. Thinking Phil no longer wanted her, Kathy left for the airport. Phil followed, but was accosted by her son Ian Beale, who persuaded him that Kathy was better off without him. Kathy departed leaving Phil agonising over the loss of his son.^[18]

Phil took his mind off things by getting involved in a protection racket with Annie Palmer, who he was also having casual sex with. Phil thought he could soften Annie, but she was too business-oriented to allow this. Phil grew tired of being bossed around by her and quit in the midst of a turf war with a rival firm.^[20] He then began seeing Lisa Shaw, but the relationship stalled due to Kathy, who returned briefly in September 1999. Instead of making up with Phil, she picked up where she left off with Grant and they slept together. Just before she was due to return to South Africa, Kathy asked Phil to leave with her. However, Grant had planned an armed robbery that same day and Phil would not let his brother do the job alone. Kathy became infuriated with Phil's loyalty to Grant, so she decided to reveal their recent tryst. This led to a showdown between the Mitchell brothers. Phil confronted Grant after the heist and Grant confessed that he slept with Kathy to get revenge on Phil for sleeping with Sharon. While trying to escape the police in a getaway car, Phil pulled out a handgun and began shooting at the dashboard, which caused Grant to crash into the River Thames. Phil was rescued, but Grant's body was not recovered, though he survived, and fled to Brazil.^[18]

Phil took against Peggy, a result of Phil's dissatisfaction regarding her favouritism towards Grant. When Grant sent Phil his half of the Vic, he sold it to Dan Sullivan for £5, just to spite Peggy.

2000–2005

Phil and Dan's allegiance ended after Dan told the police about a motor scam Phil was involved in. Phil conned Dan into giving control of The Vic back to Peggy.^[18] Phil was unsupportive when Lisa had a miscarriage in 2000 and she became unstable. Phil turned his attention to her best friend Melanie Healy, who was vulnerable after rowing with her fiancé, Steve Owen - a result of Phil's meddling. Phil and Mel slept together after an alcohol-fuelled conversation on Christmas Day 2000.^[21][22] However, Mel overheard Phil stating he did not want another baby; she encouraged Lisa to finish with Phil, confessing to their affair.^[23] Lisa left Phil, although, unknown to him, she was pregnant with his baby. Mark Fowler persuaded her to pretend the baby was his.^[18]

By 2001, Phil had many enemies: Lisa; Steve, who found out Mel had slept with Phil; Ian, who wanted revenge for Phil's continual bullying; Mark, who wanted to avenge Lisa, and Dan Sullivan, who returned and wanted payback. On Steve and Mel's wedding night in March, someone hid in the bushes and shot Phil in the back; he collapsed in a pool of blood.^[18] Phil was hospitalised. Steve was prime suspect and was arrested. However, it wasn't Steve and after being discharged from hospital a month later, Phil went to confront the culprit, Lisa. Lisa had stolen Steve's gun and went on a rampage in a moment of madness. Realising he had driven Lisa to it, Phil decided to let her off. He took the gun she'd been hiding and framed Dan for the deed. Phil approached a dodgy contact, Ritchie Stringer, who supplied Dan with the gun. Not realising he was being set-up, Dan held Phil at gunpoint, demanding money. However, the police had been tipped off. Dan was caught red-handed and charged with attempted murder.^[18] Steve was called as a witness at Dan's trial, and Phil persuaded him to give a false testimony, further implicating Dan, but to everyone's astonishment he was found "not guilty". Dan sought revenge. He kidnapped Mel — the only common link between his adversaries, Phil and Steve. He threatened to kill her unless they gave him £100,000 each. Phil and Steve had to work together to retrieve her. Phil went to Dan's hideout with the ransom and would've killed Dan if it wasn't for Mel's interference. Dan outmanoeuvred Phil and escaped with the money.^[18]

Phil began a second relationship with Sharon Watts, who returned in May 2001. They ran the Vic together, although Phil was regularly caught between Sharon and Peggy's squabbles. Phil wanted children, but Sharon revealed she was infertile and that Lisa's baby, Louise, was really his daughter, not Mark's which ended their relationship. Phil confronted Lisa about Louise, demanding to be part of his child's life, much to her dismay.^[24] Steve got involved in Lisa's plight in 2002, offering to take her family to California, but when Lisa was unable to leave, Steve absconded with Louise. Phil was informed and a car chase ensued. Steve crashed into a wall and Phil rescued Louise but could not save Steve, who burnt to death.^[18] Phil knew that to get custody of Louise, he had to win Lisa back. Lisa was easily swayed and began an affair with Phil, who slowly began to exclude her from Louise's life. In desperation, Lisa fled to Portugal with Louise. Phil's nephew Jamie helped her escape, earning him a beating from Phil, which only stopped when Jamie's girlfriend, Sonia, admitted where Lisa was. Phil went to Portugal and came back a month later with Louise, but not Lisa. Some residents suspected that Phil had murdered Lisa.^[18]

Phil fell for manicurist Kate Morton in 2003, but she was an undercover police officer, investigating Lisa's disappearance. After gaining a confession from Phil (he manipulated Lisa into handing over their daughter), Kate revealed her true identity, that she loved him, and would give up her job. Phil responded by threatening to slit her throat.^[18] Kate then disappeared, but Phil ran into her several months later while she was working undercover for gangster Jack Dalton. Phil ended up saving her life after Jack ordered her dead. Jack called off the hit, but told Phil he owed him for it. Phil and Kate reconciled and she moved in with him. Jack decided to call in his favour soon after and ordered Phil to kill Dennis Rickman, threatening that something may happen to Kate and Louise should he refuse. Seeing no other choice, Phil cornered Dennis at gunpoint, but Dennis managed to convince Phil that he'd kill Jack himself so they would both be free of him, which he did. Phil and Dennis vowed to keep their involvement in Dalton's murder to themselves, however Phil later went back on his word and, albeit reluctant, grassed Dennis up to Andy Hunter, Dalton's second-in-command. Dennis was enraged by Phil's betrayal and despite Phil's attempt to explain to Dennis that Andy was smart enough to figure out that Dennis was his boss' killer by himself, Dennis demanded that he and Phil settle the score with a fight. Phil arranged to meet Dennis for a brawl in his garage, the Arches, but later decided to hire a group of heavies to deal with Dennis instead.^[18]

Phil and Kate married in September 2003, but at their wedding Lisa made a surprise return. She demanded access to Louise and planned to shoot Phil again, but failed and was outmanoeuvered by him. Lisa broke down until Den Watts vowed to get revenge on Phil for her. Den loathed Phil after discovering that he'd slapped his daughter, Sharon, and had Dennis beaten up by thugs, and the animosity worsened after Phil attempted to frame him by planting drugs in his club. Den planned a robbery and coaxed Phil into joining him, but Den, with Dennis' assistance, set Phil up and he was arrested for armed robbery. Kate was forced to give Louise back to Lisa and they left Walford together. Phil couldn't forgive Kate for giving his daughter away and their marriage ended. Phil escaped from jail and attacked Den on Christmas Day and also punched Dennis for sleeping with Kate. Den gave Phil money to survive while on the run.^[18]

In April 2005, Phil returned in need of money. In desperation, he attacked Ian Beale, who led him to believe he would help him escape, but then called the police. Phil was arrested.^[25] In October 2005, Phil returned, the armed robbery case had fallen through after Grant paid a witness to change his testimony. Phil and Grant set about trying to prove the innocence of their sister, Sam, who'd been accused of murdering Den by his real killer Chrissie. The brothers still felt resentment towards each other, but working together for a common goal enabled them to move on. Chrissie was eventually apprehended and the murder charge against Sam was dropped.^[26]

Phil had one other clear enemy remaining in Walford, Johnny Allen, who had made threats to harm his family. He attempted to get at him via his 17-year-old daughter Ruby in December 2005, by paying 27-year-old Juley Smith to begin a relationship with her, sleep with her and then break her heart.^[27] On New Year's Eve 2005, Dennis Rickman got involved in Phil and Johnny's feud. He was ready to leave Walford with his wife Sharon, not realising Sharon had been threatened by Johnny and that he would be killed if he did not. Phil used the situation to exert revenge on Johnny by informing Dennis. Dennis gave Johnny a beating and Johnny contacted Danny Moon to murder Dennis. Shortly after leaving Johnny for dead, Dennis was attacked by a hooded Danny with a knife and died in Sharon's arms just seconds into the new year. Phil felt responsible for Dennis's death, which worsened when he discovered Sharon was pregnant. He vowed to make Johnny pay for the murder.^[28]

2006–2009

Phil and Grant confronted Johnny in March 2006, attempting to gain a confession for Dennis's murder. Johnny escaped and a car chase ensued. However, the brothers' squabbling allowed Johnny to get the upper hand and they were captured. Johnny ordered Danny Moon to kill them. He was just about to kill Grant when Danny's brother Jake turned up and shot Danny, killing him. Johnny surrendered.^[29]

Following Kathy's death in 2006, Phil's son Ben returned to live with his half brother Ian. Despite Ian's attempts to keep them apart, Phil tried to build a relationship with Ben. Ben was initially unwilling, but they slowly began to bond. Phil met lawyer Stella Crawford and they entered into a relationship. In December 2006, she moved in with the Mitchells, although this caused problems with Ben as he was unwilling to accept her. Ben played various tricks to get rid of Stella and she and Phil split and reunited several times because of him.^[30] Stella began using underhand tactics to make Ben more obedient and she and Ben became rivals for Phil's affections.^[31] Unbeknown to Phil, she began to psychologically and physically abuse Ben, doing such things as burning his hand, watching him get attacked by bullies, and breaking his hearing aid. Stella manipulated Ben into persuading Phil to propose to her. Phil begrudgingly proposed to provide Ben with a stable family unit. Ben revealed the extent of his abuse during Phil and Stella's wedding ceremony. Stella fled to an abandoned warehouse with Phil in pursuit. They ended up on a rooftop and Stella plummeted to her death. The police accused Phil of pushing Stella, but it was revealed by CCTV footage that she jumped. The aftermath saw Phil turn to alcohol once again for a period.

Following escalation of conflict in April 2007, Ian and Phil were persuaded to call a reluctant truce. They took their children on a camping holiday, which ended in disaster after Phil crashed his car whilst arguing with Ian. While Phil and an injured Ian continued to squabble, neither noticed the car rolling down a hill, with Ben and Peter still inside. The car crashed into a lake and it was left to Phil to dive in and save the drowning boys. Peter was dragged up unconscious, and while a devastated Ian panicked, Phil gave Peter mouth to mouth resuscitation, saving his life.

Phil became embroiled in a feud with Jack Branning in 2007. Jack used his police contacts to trace Louise for Phil, but Phil was incensed to discover that she called another man "daddy" and that Jack did not warn him. Jack tried to blackmail Phil regarding his involvement in a motor scam with Kevin Wicks, which inadvertently killed Kevin. Phil teamed up with Jack's brother Max Branning in 2008, to remove Jack from Walford.

On 23 October 2008, Phil decided to move out of The Queen Vic with Ben as he feels that he needed to stand on his own two feet. This was because his girlfriend Suzy Branning, Max's sister told him that he can't still live with his mother as he is still in his 40s. But however Suzy assumed that he wanted to move in with her, but he stated that he wanted to find a house of his own with Ben. But Phil later agreed to move in with her, with a dismayed Ben.

Phil's shocked when he later finds out that Suzy is pregnant; and he is desperate to play Mummy's and Daddy's as he had mucked up his relationship with both his son, Ben and daughter Louise. Phil believes that he has a chance to act like an father again. By this, Phil decided to propose to Suzy, saying he wanted to do things the right way.

On 22 December 2008, Shirley decided to tell Phil the truth that Suzy was lying about her pregnancy as she knows that Suzy is trying to con Phil for his money. But however, she never got the chance to tell him as Suzy kept foiling her plans such as Shirley wanted to publicly show footage of her buying tampons, but Suzy had ripped the copy of the footage; she did however, get to tell Phil after Suzy had told Shirley he would not believe her.

On 23 December 2008, Phil revealed to Shirley that even though Suzy wasn't telling the truth, he was with Suzy and there was nothing she could do to stop their relationship and that he would never date her (Shirley).

However, they broke up on the 25 December 2008 when he saw the real light of Suzy's scheming and Archie told Suzy never to return to the Vic again.

On Peggy and Archie's wedding on 2 April 2009, the Mitchell family had discovered that Archie was a manipulating evil person when it was a conflict of discovering Danielle Jones's true identity that she was actually the long lost daughter of Phil's cousin Ronnie. Peggy was devastated about this and told Phil to do something about Archie for lying that his granddaughter was dead. However the family's future had changed for life when Danielle was tragically killed by Janine Butcher in a road accident, with Danielle ending up dying in her mother's arms; before they were about to reunite. Due to traumatisation, Peggy decided to eject Archie permanently by ordering Phil to kill him for the dark secrets he had kept. Phil wasn't quite sure as he knew that he would go to prison, so he kept it quiet by lying to his relative Billy (who overheard their conversation) that he isn't going to kill Archie (but he is) and promised an emotional Peggy that he will not let her down. Two days later, Archie was kidnapped and threatened to be killed when Phil threw him into a hole and emptied the contents of a cement mixer into it - which turned out to be nothing but water. However, Phil let Archie go and made him leave Walford. Returning to the Vic, he told Peggy that he killed Archie but she saw his toolbox and Phil was forced to tell Peggy that Archie was not dead but had left Walford. In her rage, Peggy ordered Phil to "get out!"

On 14 April 2009 after fighting alcoholism for 13 years, Phil fell off the wagon. This was due to Peggy's disgust of him not killing Archie and unfavourably comparing Phil to Grant saying that Grant would not have hesitated to kill Archie. Shirley found Phil drunk in a car at The Arches where he drunkenly told her she was beautiful. That night he slept at Shirley's flat, where they began an on-off relationship, which Phil ended after a while.

On 7 May 2009 during a drunken conversation with Ronnie, Phil told her how he sometimes looks at Ben and wonders if Grant's affair with Kathy was more than once. Ronnie was shocked that Phil had doubted Ben's paternity.

After discovering that Nick Cotton was blackmailing Billy (because Phil caught Billy stealing money from him), Phil had attacked him in the alleyway of The Queen Vic. However, Phil shocked Billy by ordering him to kill Nick, when he tied Nick to a chair with chains and duct tape. Phil is now a recovering alcoholic.

Phil has embarked on a secret affair with Garry Hobbs' girlfriend Dawn Swann. Initially it was thought that Phil's former love interest Manda Best had been having an affair with him after one of Phil's staff Minty Peterson had accused them both of their betrayal. However, Minty had caught Phil having sexual intercourse in a car with a woman in the Arches, until he horrifyingly realised Phil was actually with Dawn - as the polka dot shoes Garry had bought her were by the car. Dawn decides to spare Garry's feelings and goes to stay with her mother Rosie.

On 13 July Phil found out that Archie Mitchell has returned to win back Peggy. Phil was not happy with this and will start to seek revenge.Then on 14 July after seeing Archie and Peggy kissing when he was about to threaten Archie with a gun,he told Archie that if he ever sees him near his family he will kill him then Phil drops a bullet in Archie's glass.

On 16 July Phil was waiting for Archie outside his house, in his car, with the gun. When Archie went out of the house, Phil was ready to make his move until Ben Mitchell stopped him. Phil then later broke into Archie's house and said that he was taking him for a ride in the woods. Archie realized Phil was serious and tried to convince him he had changed. Ben again however stopped Phil from attacking Archie. Ben begged Phil not to do anything stupid and promised he won't tell Peggy about the gun. Peggy knew Phil was unhappy and the three of them went in a black cab away from the square.

It is revealed that Phil, Ben and Peggy went to visit Grant and Courtney in Portugal. Phil resumes his affair with Dawn when he returns, but he later ends it. Garry suspects that Dawn is not taking their relationship seriously, but they're later engaged. However, Minty tells the truth on Dawn's wedding day, Garry punches Phil- Garry (forgiving Dawn), Dawn and her daughter Summer leave Walford on a boat.

In September 2009, Sam returned from Brazil after being on the run for four years. Phil demanded she return to Brazil, but Sam was adamant that the police would have dropped the charges against her after 4 years. Phil calls Richie Scott, who later visits and tells Sam she now faces five and a half years in prison, up from the four she was told she would get before she went on the run. Phil decides the only option is to send her back to Brazil. Later Sam and Ricky get engaged. Sam is arrested but Phil and Ronnie put up bail money to have her released. However, Archie convinces Sam to flee, and her disappearance causes the Mitchell family to struggle with their finances as Phil has used a loan shark and refuses to let Grant help them out. Phil fails to pay the loan back, and after days of intimidation by a man called Isaacs, Phil is beaten up by a group of men. Afterwards, Phil realises what trouble he was in and after Isaacs threatened to harm the rest of the family, he reluctantly visits Ian for some financial advice. He offers Phil a loan, on the condition that the money is paid back in two weeks or Ian gets The Queen Victoria. Phil accepts. When peggy finds out, she is angry. Phil thanks Ian for extending the loan but gives him a cheque anyway, having got the money from the sale of the Arches to Pat Evans. Ian says to keep it for now as they might need it for Christmas. The Mitchells celebrate but find Archie and Janine behind the bar. They say Ian sold them the loan and the pub is now theirs as the deadline has not been met.

The Mitchells vow to fight Archie and Janine, but on Christmas Eve, Peggy hands over the keys saying the family is more than bricks and mortar. Phil turns to alcohol again after learning that Ronnie has miscarried. Archie is murdered on Christmas Day, and Phil is drunk when he is questioned by the police. Afterwards, he reminds Peggy that she begged him to kill Archie and she finally got what she wanted. She tells him to stay away when Archie's body is being taken away. He sees DCI Marsden, who is investigating the case, and she says she is looking forward to catching up soon. Telling Shirley that Marsden is desperate for revents, he asks her for an alibi. When Marsden interviews Phil, Shirley interrupts and says they were together in bed when Archie was murdered. Shirley later finds a blood-stained shirt in Phil's belongings.

Phil goes to wash his clothes but the shirt is not there as Shirley has hidden it. Phil tells her he found Archie dead and lost his balance, falling into the blood, but did not call the police because he panicked. Shirley tells him to leave but he says she knows him better than anyone else and they kiss. They then wash the shirt but the blood stain is still there. She says to burn it but he says it was a present from Ben so he can't, and he tried to buy a new one from Whitney Dean's market stall but they had none. Shirley goes to Ricky and Bianca's engagement party at their house where Whitney lives and finds a shirt in a cupboard, taking it for Phil. They then burn the old shirt.

Reception

Popularity

The character of Phil is arguably one of the soap's most popular, particularly with female viewers, making him one of the soap's unlikeliest sex symbols.^[32][33] He has featured in some of the show's most memorable and highly viewed storylines and he is the second longest running male character to appear in the soap, surpassed only by Ian Beale. Phil along with Grant was voted as the second most popular King Of Soaps in a Channel 4 poll in 2002.^[34]

During a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders throughout 2004 and 2005, the character—who was on a hiatus from the show—was reintroduced twice in what was branded by the press as a bid to "boost flagging Enders"^[35] and "revive the soap's ailing ratings".^[36] His first return in April 2005 was generally well-received, with media comments such as "the excellent, bug-eyed Steve McFadden proves nobody does psychotic thug better than him" and "McFadden's blistering performance on Tuesday defies that old cliché of a soap being bigger than its stars".^[37] Of the Mitchell brothers' highly publicised return in October 2005, one reporter commented "Soapville must confess that we did get goosebumps and feel properly excited when we first saw the Mitchell Brothers back on the Square...After all, you associate them with the golden days of Enders".^[38]

In addition the character has been praised for being good value, realistic, consistent within his character and convincing.^[39][40]

In 2009, Phil Mitchell came second in a poll by British men's magazine Loaded for 'Top Soap Bloke'.^[41]

Criticism

Although popular with many, the character has also garnered much criticism over the years.

In November 2005 the character was blamed for turning children into playground bullies by Dr. Sally Henry, who claimed that impressionable children look to male soap characters as role models and subsequently copy their violent behaviour.^[42]

Indeed the character's violent behaviour evoked concern from viewers in October 2002. A scene in which Phil beat his godson Jamie was criticised for being too realistic by TV watchdogs. The Broadcasting Standards Commission upheld 31 complaints from viewers, saying that the scenes were too strong for a programme shown before the 9pm watershed.^[43]

A certain level of criticism was aimed at the character due to the stark personality change he underwent circa 2000.^[44] One reporter commented "Formerly the milder-mannered sibling, Phil has gone from Abel to Cain without an intervening period of plausibility. And it doesn't suit him".^[45] His violent tendencies have also been spoofed by the television series 2DTV.

There were mixed reviews for the highly publicised storyline (dubbed Get Johnny Week) involving the Mitchell brothers reunion in 2006. It was criticised as "patchy" and "awkwardly written...unveiling a common weakness in the EastEnders camp, that character continuity can often fall by the wayside when you are dealing with larger characters".^[46] Additionally, the show was criticised for turning the brothers into a comical farce by incorporating uncharacteristic humour into their dialect, which was described as "cringeworthy".^[38]

A proportion of viewers possibly feel the criticism is justifiable as the character came second in a Channel 4 poll of The Five TV Characters We Most Love To Hate in 2001 — beaten only by Mr. Blobby.^[47]

References

External links

• Phil Mitchell at BBC Online

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