Jamie Mitchell

Jamie Mitchell
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Jack Ryder
Duration	1998–2002
First appearance	Episode 1692 9 November 1998 (1998-11-09)
Last appearance	Episode 2436 25 December 2002 (2002-12-25)
Classification	Former; regular
Introduced by	Matthew Robinson
In-universe information Occupation Mechanic Family Mitchell Father Charlie Mitchell Mother Lynne Mitchell Grandfathers Stevie Mitchell Uncles Billy Mitchell Teddy Mitchell First cousins Janet Mitchell Will Mitchell Harry Mitchell Barney Mitchell Other relatives Phil Mitchell Grant Mitchell Sam Mitchell Lola Pearce

Jamie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jack Ryder. The character debuted on 9 November 1998 and became one of the show's central protagonists, until he was killed-off on 25 December 2002.^[1]

During his time on the programme, Jamie's story arc mostly revolved on his close relationships with his godfather Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and on-off former girlfriend Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy). The character was originally Phil's second cousin once removed, but later became his surrogate son, after it transpired that Jamie had been regularly abused by uncle and guardian Billy (Perry Fenwick), who himself debuted on the show a week before Jamie's first appearance. Elsewhere, Jamie's romance with Sonia faced many complications, ever since she gave birth to Chloe (Jade Sharif) at the age of 15; Jamie always knew he was never the father of Sonia's child, and did not know who the father was, until it was revealed that his friend, Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou), was actually Chloe's father; this was a result of Martin and Sonia's one night stand, prior to her dating Jamie.

As such, Jamie was involved in some high-profile storylines that his family were often involved in. This included Jamie getting protection from Phil and his brother Grant (Ross Kemp) when Billy ends up moving into the square; nursing Phil back to health after his criminal job with Grant ended with the Mitchell Brothers plunging their getaway car in the River Thames; losing his virginity to Phil's troublesome stepsister Janine (Charlie Brooks) before his romance with Sonia emerged; sparking friendships with both Sonia's brother Robbie (Dean Gaffney) and Phil's employee Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves); temporarily dating Sonia's neighbour Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) after their relationship nearly collapses; getting embroiled in feuds with Phil's two archenemies, Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) and Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass), that escalated in the Who Shot Phil? scenario; clashing with both Steve's widow Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite) and Martin's older brother Mark (Todd Carty) over the circumstances behind Phil's shooting; comforting Phil and Grant's sister Sam (Kim Medcalf) over her failed relationship with Billy's sworn nemesis Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns); and helping reclaim the stolen purse that belonged to Phil's mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor).

In the follow-up to "Who Shot Phil?" and its aftermath, Jamie's conflict with Billy improves after the source behind their hostility was disclosed due to Billy having been previously abused in orphanage. At the same time, however, Jamie's relationship with Phil deteriorates after he helps his former girlfriend Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin) escape to Portugal with their daughter Louise. This resulted in Phil beating Jamie up in October 2002, a moment that issued thirty-one complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission. Two months later, the character's exit was presented when Jamie – after getting engaged to Sonia – is hospitalised after Martin runs him over in his car; Jamie consequently spends his last days in hospital until he eventually dies of spleen damage on Christmas Day.

When Ryder decided to quit his role, executive producer John Yorke said that the 'door would be left open' for Jamie to return. This was later overturned when Yorke was succeeded by Louise Berridge, who made the choice to kill Jamie off. The decision was highly criticised, and Ryder said it was a shock for him – though he stated that if he had not been killed off, he would not have returned anyway. In 1999, Ryder was nominated three times for Best Newcomer and for his exit storyline was nominated for Best Exit in 2003 at The British Soap Awards.