When he swaggers into Albert Square to mark EastEnders ‘ 40th anniversary, Grant Mitchell will be “back with a bang”, according to actor Ross Kemp.
Eight years have passed since Grant was last seen, and he was there to say goodbye to his late mother Peggy at a heartfelt family reunion. Fans of the Cockney hardman have never been out of sight.
How could it possibly be that this character-torn hero has cheated on his second wife Tiffany and slept with his wife Kathy all the way to survive being shot at by his brother Phil, leading to the Thames being dumped? “Grant has never been far from the action”, says Ross.
Here, we take a look back at some of Grant’s most memorable moments, since he and brother Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden, arrived in Walford 35 years ago, in February 1990.
No one seems to be able to resist the charms of women’s man Grant, not even Ian Beale’s (Adam Woodyatt) girlfriend, who he seduced in 2006. After working with Ian and Grant’s brother Phil to end their feud, Janice Collins (Laurie Brett) and Grant eventually engaged in a kiss. After an argument with Ian, Jane later admitted she had slept with him despite not falling in love with him.
But, when push came to shove, she chose Ian over Grant – causing the heartbroken hardman to leave Walford. A dyed-in-the-wool lothario, Grant has been married three times, to Sharon, Tiffany and Carla. And he’s also had affairs with Chelsea Fox, Michelle Fowler and his wife Tiffany’s mother, Louise Raymond.
In the ’90s, Grant Mitchell made his first appearance on the soap, playing detective, and getting involved in the unveiling of Den Watts’ killer. He finally discovered that Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) killed Den (Leslie Grantham) after her lover Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) questioned her and she admitted it.
Chrissie had been persuaded for a while that she had committed murder. What she didn’t know was that Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) secretly witnessed the fatal blow, when she hit Den with Pauline Fowler’s (Wendy Richards) cast iron doorstep, before burying him in The Queen Vic cellar. The murder was a central part of the show’s 20th anniversary episode, which aired on February 18, 2005 pulling in more than 14 million viewers.
Although it may have been a quarter of a century ago, devoted EastEnders fans will never forget Grant’s dramatic exit from the soap in 1999, when Phil fired a gun at the car he was driving. After bullets were fired, viewers were gripped, as they saw Grant’s motor sliding into the River Thames. After learning that his big brother had slept with his then-wife Kathy Mitchell (Gillian Taylforth), Phil realized he was being sarcastic. Astonishingly, Grant survived the ordeal. However, he soon bid farewell to Walford, leaving Courtney with his daughter to begin a new life in Brazil (and leaving the door open for a potential return).
Fans of EastEnders know for a fact that the most dramatic events occur between Christmas and New Year, and that’s exactly what happened in 1998. Viewers were on the edge of their seats, as Grant’s second wife, Tiffany, (Martine McCutcheon) was run over by his stepfather Frank Butcher on New Year’s Eve. Tiffany and her daughter Courtney were planning to leave the UK when Grant was released from jail on bail and kidnapped their baby girl. After pursuing them, Tiffany immediately veered off into the path of a passing car, which was driven by Frank Butcher (Mike Reid).
With his wry smile, tough guy image and bulging biceps, Grant has never had a problem winning women’s hearts. And his love life has known very few boundaries, as he proved in 1995 when, despite being married to Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean, he didn’t let that stop him from having a one-night stand with her best friend Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully). Although, to be fair to Grant, Sharon also did the dirty with his brother Phil!
After their one-night stand, Michelle emigrated to America, hiding a very big secret. Grant didn’t learn that she had given birth to his son in the US until years later. He eventually found out in 2016, after Phil told him he’d discovered a letter revealing that Grant was the father of Michelle’s child, Mark Fowler Junior.
Grant’s incendiary reaction to learning that his wife Sharon had been having an affair with his brother Phil for two years was shocking. In this explosive1994 storyline, dubbed Sharongate, the hardman heard Sharon confessing to her adultery on a tape that had been sent to him.
Never one for holding back, Grant reacted by playing the tape to a crowd-pleasant pub. They were gathered at The Queen Vic, at Phil and Kathy’s engagement party. In an episode watched by 25.3 million viewers, he then beat his brother unconscious, which led to Sharon leaving the soap for a time. No doubt Grant’s imminent return will lead to many more duff, duff, duff moments!
