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| Mitchell family | |
|---|---|
| EastEnders family | |
| First appearance | Episode 526 20 February 1990 |
| Introduced by | Michael Ferguson |
| Duration | 1990–present |
The Mitchell family is a fictional family in the UK soap opera EastEnders. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) bought the local garage, the Arches. Their sister Sam (Danniella Westbrook/Kim Medcalf) was introduced later in 1990, and their mother Peggy (Jo Warne) shortly after in 1991, before being reintroduced as a regular character in 1994, with the role recast to Barbara Windsor. Since then, the family has been significantly expanded to include both the immediate and extended families. Phil has been the longest running Mitchell on the show, and the family has expanded significantly in the years since, remaining a large presence on the square.
The Mitchell's have mostly been associated with the ownership of local pub The Queen Victoria; Peggy was periodically its landlady between 1995 and 2010. They have also been known for their thuggish ways and their tendency to break the law, most notably Phil and Grant, who have sometimes been compared to the Kray twins. The Mitchells have been in several of the show's memorable storylines, such as: their rivalry with the Watts family, and the "Sharongate", "Who Shot Phil?", the murder of their rival Den Watts which coincided with the show's 20th anniversary episode, "Get Johnny Week", "The Secret Mitchell", "Who Killed Archie?", and "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" scenarios. In 2010, EastEnders celebrated Windsor's exit from the soap with "Queen Vic Fire Week", in which a fire engulfs the long-standing pub and risks the lives of Walford regulars, including Peggy and Phil. In 2016, Windsor, Kemp, and Westbrook briefly reprised their roles as part of a major story line that follows Phil's ongoing battle with alcoholism and ends with Peggy's suicide due to terminal cancer. Throughout their time on the show, the Mitchells make several references to their late patriarch Eric (George Russo), who first appeared in 2022 during a flashback episode to 1979 and served as a recurring impact for most of the family members, especially Phil and Peggy. The flashback episode also introduced Billy's father Stephen (Dean Roberts/Alan Ford) and brother Charlie (Charlie Heptinstall); Charlie's son Jamie (Jack Ryder) becomes a ward of Billy and later is killed off on Christmas Day 2002.
As of 2024, a total of thirteen Mitchell blood relatives appear on the program: Phil; his sons Raymond Dawkins and Albie Watts; Ben's daughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown); Sam's son Ricky (Frankie Day) and his daughter Charli Slater; Roxy's daughter Amy (Ellie Dadd); Phil’s cousins Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Teddy (Roland Manookian); Billy's children Janet (Grace) and Will (Freddie Phillips), and Teddy's children Harry (Elijah Holloway) and Barney (Lewis Bridgeman). There are others that marry into the family like Phil's ex-wives Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). Billy’s ex-wife Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton), Teddy’s ex-wife Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) and Ben's husband Callum (Tony Clay), while Ben's best friend, who he considers a brother, and Billy's foster son Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), sometimes credited as Jay Mitchell, is also considered to be part of the family.