Phil Mitchell

**Phillip "Phil" Mitchell** is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera *EastEnders*, played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990, and was followed by his brother, Grant (Ross Kemp), sister Sam (Danniella Westbrook/Kim Medcalf) and mother Peggy (Jo Warne/Barbara Windsor). The character Phil was one of the major introductions made by executive producer Michael Ferguson, who wanted to bring in some macho male leads. Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media with Phil initially portrayed as the more level-headed of the two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap opera throughout the 1990s, with Phil serving as one of the show's central characters and protagonist villains throughout the subsequent decades. McFadden temporarily left the series in late 2003, then returned in April 2005 for a brief appearance before making a permanent return in October 2005.

## Appearances

### Debut

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During his time on *EastEnders*, Phil's most prominent aspects include his battles with alcoholism; sparking numerous feuds; partaking in various criminal activities that sometimes lead to him getting arrested as a result; having occasional relationship problems; being embroiled in multiple family troubles; suffering from cirrhosis of the liver; and bonding with his two children Ben

(Charlie Jones/Joshua Pascoe/Harry Reid/Max Bowden) and Louise (Rachel Cox/Brittany Papple/Tilly Keeper). His first major event was a popular love triangle storyline dubbed "Sharongate", wherein Phil had an affair with Grant's wife Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and was subsequently attacked by his brother when the truth was finally revealed; the episode where Grant discovered Phil's affair with Sharon had attracted 25.3 million viewers, thus standing out as a huge ratings winner because of it.

The follow-up of Sharongate saw Phil embarking on a problematic marriage with Ben's mother Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth); constantly tormenting Kathy's eldest child Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) over the course of their long-running animosity; having a one-night stand with Ian's ex-wife Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite); escalating his two most competitive rivalries with Mel's husband Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) and their common nemesis Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass); becoming the surrogate father of godson Jamie (Jack Ryder); establishing a companionship with Jamie's estranged uncle Billy (Perry Fenwick); clashing with love rival Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) over Louise's parentage; harbouring resentment against Mark's younger brother Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou) for accidentally killing Jamie in a car accident; teaming up with Sharon's adoptive brother Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) to eliminate their crime boss Jack Dalton (Hywel Bennett) and then cover up the latter's murder; marrying policewoman Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny) after saving her from Dalton's earlier arrangement to have her killed; crossing paths with Kate's superior DCI Jill Marsden (Sophie Stanton) when she occasionally tries to bring him to justice; being set-up for armed robbery by Sharon and Dennis' illegitimate father Den Watts (Leslie Grantham); helping exonerate Sam for Den's murder after the latter's spouse and killer Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) frames her for the crime; waging a conflict against Peggy's gangland enemy Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) that culminated in Get Johnny Week; discovering at his wedding to Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson) that she had been abusing Ben during their relationship; becoming a prime suspect in the murder of his uncle Archie (Larry Lamb); setting fire to The Queen Victoria public house in light of his addiction to crack cocaine; getting shot by ex-lover Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) on the day of his wedding to Sharon; rescuing his two cousins Ronnie (Samantha Womack) and Roxy (Rita Simons) from being murdered by their notorious adversary Nick Cotton (John Altman); framing ex-business partner Max Branning (Jake Wood) for the murder of Ian's daughter Lucy (Hetti Bywater) in the aftermath of her killer being revealed to be Lucy's younger brother Bobby (Eliot Carrington); coping with Peggy's death after she commits suicide to end her cancer endurance; having a child with Denise Fox (Diane Parish); getting hospitalized by Martin's wife Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner) after threatening to extort money from her closest relative Kat (Jessie Wallace); ending his prolonged marriage to Sharon upon discovering that she had been sleeping with Louise's boyfriend, Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) and that he is not responsible for her pregnancy as a result of their hidden romance; and being partly responsible for the death of Sharon's son Denny (Harry Hickles/Bleu Landau) after his confrontation with Keanu over the affair had instigated a boat accident that resulted in the younger's death. On 25 December 2020, Phil was later revealed to be the assailant who attacked Ian in the storyline "Who Attacked Ian Beale?"

Additionally, Phil represented the titular storyline "Who Shot Phil?" that saw his character getting shot in a whodunit mystery aired on 1 March 2001. The ensuing speculations progressed up to 5 April 2001 when the shooter was eventually to be Phil's ex-girlfriend and Louise's mother Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin), in an episode that was watched by over 22 million viewers. "Who Shot Phil?", which received universal acclaim in light of having captured viewer and media interest, is wildly considered to be one of the best in soap history and among the greatest storylines to have been featured in *EastEnders*.