# Steve McFadden

Steve Robert McFadden (né Reid; born 20 March 1959) is an English actor whose career has spanned three decades. He rose to prominence for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, which he has played since 1990. Regarded as one of the show's most popular characters, he has received numerous accolades including the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement. McFadden was also the presenter of the game show Britain's Hardest (2004).

## Early life

McFadden was born in Maida Vale, London, on 20 March 1959. He left school in 1975, and had short stints in jobs including labouring, carrot picking, plumbing and working at a builder's merchant. After attending university, McFadden decided that he wanted to become an actor, and was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1984, graduating in 1987.

## Career

In 1988, McFadden had an uncredited brief appearance in the film Buster as a gang member. He played a small role in the 1989 BBC television film The Firm, and this was followed by appearances in the television series The Bill, Minder and Bergerac.
McFadden then began portraying the role of Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He joined EastEnders at the beginning of 1990, at the same time as Ross Kemp, who played Phil's younger brother Grant Mitchell. During that time, his character was involved in several popular storylines, such as Sharongate (in which it was revealed that he had an affair with his brother's wife Sharon) in 1994, and the Who Shot Phil? storyline in March 2001, when his character was shot and wounded by a mystery attacker.
McFadden then made an appearance in the film Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), and starred in an episode of the BBC anthology series Murder in Mind in 2001. He left EastEnders in late 2003 for a one-year break to concentrate on pantomimes. His character was written out of the series after being framed for an armed robbery by Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham), and going on the run after breaking out of prison.
During his break from EastEnders, he presented the reality television series Britain's Hardest, which was an underground competition broadcast on Sky One. He returned to EastEnders for two episodes in April 2005. In the story, Phil returned to Walford in need of financial help, only to be arrested and returned to prison. In October 2005, he returned on a permanent basis, after his character was cleared of armed robbery. In 2007, he appeared in the film Provoked. He has also appeared as Captain Hook in a pantomime production of Peter Pan from 2010 to 2011 at The Swan.

## Personal life

McFadden has five children. His son Matt McFadden's mother is Sue Marshall, and Angela Bostock is the mother of his daughters Teona and Mollie Jane. Rachel Sidwell gave birth to his daughter Amelie Tinkerbell on 29 June 2009. At the time, she was his partner, but the couple split two months later. A fifth child, a daughter named Frankie, was born to his girlfriend Karen Cairns in June 2016.
In 1996, McFadden was banned from driving for 18 months and fined £1000 plus £350 in costs after pleading guilty to drink-driving after attending a party at a London nightclub.
McFadden is a sailor, and took part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in his motorboat, Barbara. In 2014, he sued the Metropolitan Police and News of the World after a police officer sold details about him to the newspaper. He sued News of the World after one of their journalists admitted trying to intercept his voicemail messages in the News International phone hacking scandal. McFadden stated "I am particularly concerned that a police officer sold my privacy to a tabloid newspaper for profit. I consider the payment of damages and public apology will go some way to ensuring respect for my and others' privacy in future. I am glad to have been vindicated and to be able to put this matter behind me".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1988 | Buster | Gang Member |
| 1990 | Happy Birthday, Coronation Street! | Himself |
| 1998 | EastEnders: The Mitchells - Naked Truths | Phil Mitchell |
| 2000 | Kevin & Perry Go Large | Bouncer 2 |
| 2001 | Brit Awards 2001 | Phil Mitchell |
| 2001 | Comic Relief: Say Pants to Poverty | Phil Mitchell |
| 2003 | EastEnders: Slaters in Detention | Phil Mitchell |
| 2003 | Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do | Phil Mitchell |
| 2005 | 2005 TV Moments | Himself |
| 2006 | Provoked | DS Ron Meyers |
| 2007 | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year | Himself |
| 2007 | The 2nd TVNow Awards | Himself |
| 2007 | EastEnders Feuds: The Beales vs. The Mitchells | Phil Mitchell |
| 2008 | The British Soap Awards 2008: The Party | Himself |
| 2010 | EastEnders Live: The Aftermath | Himself |
| 2010 | EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford | Phil Mitchell |
| 2011 | The National Television Awards: Party 2011 | Himself |
| 2011 | EastEnders: Greatest Exits | Himself |
| 2012 | Farewell Pat | Phil Mitchell |
| 2012 | EastEnders: Phil on Remand | Phil Mitchell |
| 2016 | Bobby Beale: The Story So Far | Phil Mitchell |
| 2016 | EastEnders: Last Orders | Himself |
| 2016 | EastEnders - The Last Goodbye | Phil Mitchell |
| 2018 | The Best of EastEnders | Phil Mitchell |
| 2021 | Kurupting the Industry: The People Just Do Nothing Story | Himself |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Minder | Mickey | Episode: "It's a Sorry Lorry Morrie" |
| 1989 | Screen Two | Billy | Episode: The Firm |
| 1989 | The Bill | Gun Dealer 2 | Episode: "Bad Company" |
| 1989 | Vote for Them | Staff Sgt. Ballantine | 3 episodes |
| 1989 | Hard Cases | Workman | Episode: "Series 2, episode 5" |
| 1989 | Saracen | Nash | Episode: "Crossfire" |
| 1990 | Bergerac | Jones | Episode: "Roots of Evil" |
| 1990–2003, 2005–present | EastEnders | Phil Mitchell | Regular role |
| 1993 | Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time | Phil Mitchell | 2 episodes |
| 1994, 1997, 1999 | This Is Your Life | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 1996, 2005, 2007, 2010–2011 | National Television Awards | Himself | 5 episodes |
| 1998 | Best of British | Himself | Episode: "Barbara Windsor" |
| 1998 | TFI Friday | Himself | Episode: "Series 4, episode 13" |
| 1999, 2006–2009, 2017, 2022 | The British Soap Awards | Himself | 7 episodes |
| 2001 | Auntie's Bloomers | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "New Bursting Bloomers" |
| 2001 | Murder in Mind | Joe Waterman | Episode: "Flame" |
| 2002, 2007–2009, 2012 | EastEnders Revealed | Himself | 6 episodes |
| 2005 | Comic Relief Does Fame Academy | Himself | Episode: "Series 2, episode 6" |
| 2006 | Sex, Lies & Soaps | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "Bad Behaviour" |
| 2006, 2016 | Screenwipe | Phil Mitchell | 2 episodes |
| 2006, 2009, 2018 | This Morning | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Would I Lie to You? | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "Series 1, episode 2" |
| 2009–2010 | EastEnders Revealed | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "The Sins of Archie Mitchell" |
| 2009 | Loose Women | Himself | Episode: "Series 14, episode 6" |
| 2010 | Rude Tube | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "Rude Tunes" |
| 2010 | EastEnders: The Greatest Cliffhangers | Himself | Episode: "Series 1, episode 2" |
| 2010 | EastEnders: The Greatest Cliffhangers | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "Series 1, episode 2" |
| 2010 | Piers Morgan's Life Stories | Himself | Episode: "Barbara Windsor" |
| 2010 | Piers Morgan's Life Stories | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "Barbara Windsor" |
| 2016 | Lorraine | Himself | Episode: "4 October 2016" |
| 2016 | The One Show | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "Peggy Mitchell Special" |
| 2018 | South at Six | Phil Mitchell | Episode: "23 November 2018" |
| 2020 | EastEnders: Secrets from the Square | Phil Mitchell | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | The Noughties | Himself | Episode: "2001" |
| 2020–2021 | What We Were Watching | Phil Mitchell | 2 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2001 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actor | Nominated |
| 2001 | British Soap Awards | Villain of the Year | Won |
| 2001 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2001 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Bad Boy | Nominated |
| 2001 | Inside Soap Awards | Most Dramatic Storyline (Who Shot Phil?) | Won |
| 2002 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actor | Nominated |
| 2002 | British Soap Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2002 | British Soap Awards | Villain of the Year | Nominated |
| 2003 | British Soap Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2003 | British Soap Awards | Villain of the Year | Nominated |
| 2003 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actor | Won |
| 2006 | British Soap Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2006 | British Soap Awards | Villain of the Year | Nominated |
| 2006 | British Soap Awards | Spectacular Scene of the Year (skip crashes onto Phil Mitchell's car) | Nominated |
| 2006 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2006 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Family (Mitchell family) | Won |
| 2007 | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Actor | Nominated |
| 2007 | TV Now Awards | Male Soap Star | Won |
| 2008 | British Soap Awards | Spectacular Scene of the Year (Phil Mitchell's car rolling into a lake) | Nominated |
| 2008 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | Best Single Episode (Phil Mitchell and Stella Crawford's wedding) | Won |
| 2009 | British Soap Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2010 | TV Now Awards | Favourite Male Soap Star | Nominated |
| 2010 | TV Now Awards | Favourite Soap Family (Mitchell family) | Nominated |
| 2012 | All About Soap Awards | Best Mystery (Who's Stalking Phil Mitchell?) | Nominated |
| 2016 | British Soap Awards | Outstanding Achievement Award | Won |
| 2016 | British Soap Awards | Best Male Dramatic Performance | Nominated |
| 2016 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Soap Actor | Won |
| 2017 | British Soap Awards | Best Male Dramatic Performance | Nominated |