Archie Mitchell

Archie Mitchell
EastEnders character
Larry Lamb as Archie (2008)
Portrayed by	Larry Lamb (2008–2010) Henry Garrett (2022 flashback)
Duration	2008–2010, 2022
First appearance	Episode 3609 8 July 2008 (2008-07-08)
Last appearance	Episode 6550 5 September 2022 (2022-09-05)
Classification	Former; regular
Created by	Dominic Treadwell-Collins[1]
Introduced by	Diederick Santer (2008) Bryan Kirkwood (2010) Chris Clenshaw (2022)
In-universe information Occupation Businessman Barman Pub landlord Family Mitchell Father Philip Mitchell Mother Sandra Mitchell Brothers Eric Mitchell Clive Mitchell Wife Glenda Mitchell (backstory) Peggy Mitchell (2009) Daughters Ronnie Mitchell Roxy Mitchell Grandsons James Branning Matthew Mitchell Cotton Granddaughters Danielle Jones Amy Mitchell Aunts Madge Mitchell Nephews Phil Mitchell Grant Mitchell Nieces Sam Mitchell First cousins Ted Mitchell Stevie Mitchell Other relatives Billy Mitchell Charlie Mitchell Ben Mitchell Louise Mitchell

Archibald Lionel "Archie" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Larry Lamb.^[2] He first appeared on 8 July 2008 as a newest member of the Mitchell family—who had first appeared on the soap in 1990—and became the show's main antagonist until the character was killed-off on Christmas Day 2009; with Archie making his last appearance as a corpse on 28 December 2009 and later serving as a posthumous impact throughout the majority of 2010, which involves making a brief voice appearance on 19 July 2010 on a family video tape overheard by his ex-wife Glenda (Glynis Barber) and their two daughters Ronnie (Samantha Womack) and Roxy (Rita Simons) respectively.

The character's story arc began with Archie being reunited with both his daughters in Weymouth. While it quickly grew evident that Archie had seemingly shared a closer bond with Roxy, his relationship with Ronnie became volatile and tempestuous—after it had transpired Ronnie was previously forced by her father to give up her newborn baby, Amy, for adoption shortly after she gave birth to the child at the age of 14. He soon instigates trouble between his two daughters by scheming with Suzy Branning (Maggie O'Neill) to destroy Roxy's marriage with Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) and later manipulating Ronnie into disbelieving the fact that her employee Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace) is actually her long-lost daughter Amy—the latter of which consequently resulted in Danielle being killed in a hit and run on the day Archie married his sister-in-law Peggy (Barbara Windsor). He was then kidnapped by Peggy's son Phil (Steve McFadden) and subsequently forced to leave Walford for good, but Archie ended up returning with the intent of getting revenge on his family.^[3] His plans gradually came to light when Archie forged a romantic partnership with Peggy's hated stepdaughter Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks); exploited Phil's sister Sam (Danniella Westbrook) while she was on the run for her involvement in the murder of the siblings' old enemy Den Watts (Leslie Grantham); and blackmailed Phil's stepson Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) with the knowledge that he cheated on his wife Jane (Laurie Brett)—which were all part of his scheme to successfully swindle his family from their beloved home, The Queen Victoria public house. He thereupon caused the death of Ronnie's unborn child and later betrayed Janine by leaving her temporarily homeless upon finding out that she and her boyfriend Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) plotted to defraud his wealth in their get-rich-quick scheme. Shortly afterwards, Archie got his comeuppance when he was murdered on Christmas Night 2009 after an unknown assailant pushed the Bust of Queen Victoria onto him. This had both ended the character's reign of terror in 2009 and triggered the events of his own whodunit storyline, dubbed Who Killed Archie?, that occurred in early 2010.

It was soon revealed two months later in the show's first live episode, "EastEnders Live", that Archie's murderer was in fact Sean's younger sister and Danielle's best friend: Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner)^[4]—whom he had raped on 6 October 2009 to cover-up his revenge scheme by escalating her bipolar disorder trauma, which led to Stacey being sectioned as a result of Archie raping her. During that same live episode, it also transpired that Archie had previously raped Ronnie back when she was 13; Ronnie would eventually describe this to her family on 20 July 2010.

A younger version of Archie appeared in a flashback episode that aired on 5 September 2022, being portrayed by Henry Garrett, with the episode focusing on the Mitchell family in the 1970s.^[5]