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“ | Come on then. | „ |
~ Grant's catchphrase when it comes to him threatening his enemies. |
“ | I don't think you know what the word means. You want to know what love is? I'll tell you what love is; love is me not slamming your face through that wall! It's me not ripping down the Vic brick by brick while she's still in it! That's my love, brother. | „ |
~ Grant confronting Phil over the latter's affair with Sharon. |
Grant Mitchell is one of the main protagonists of the BBC British soap opera EastEnders.
He first appeared in February 22nd 1990 and became one of the show's main protagonist villains throughout the 1990s up until his departure in October 25th 1999. He returned as one of the major protagonists from October 25th 2005 to June 9th 2006 and later reappeared as a supporting protagonist from May 13th 2016 to September 9th 2016.
Originally Grant started out as one of the show's protagonist villains and anti-heroes throughout the 1990s due to his volatile and temperamental streak. While the character has calmed down in his follow-up stints, Grant is still a physically dangerous figure and is feared by many of his former neighbours around Albert Square.
The character is portrayed by Ross Kemp. In a 2022 flashback episode, he was portrayed by Teddy Jay.
Biography[]
1990-1996[]
Grant Mitchell first arrived at Albert Square in 1990 with his older brother, Phil Mitchell, and they soon moved themselves into the square with their sister Sam and mother Peggy.
As the Mitchells establish themselves as the top-dogs of Albert Square, Grant becomes romantically involved with local resident Sharon Watts and the two would later get married following a passionate relationship between them at The Queen Victoria public house. It is then Grant's violent streak emerges when he brutally attacks Sharon's boss and landlord, Eddie Royle, for badmouthing her. Grant is later falsely accused when Eddie is murdered, but is proven innocent when habitual offender Nick Cotton is exposed as the killer.
As time goes on, Grant's marriage with Sharon breaks down as a result of his criminal activities and their opposing views regarding their future; Grant wants Sharon to be a traditional wife for him and wishes to have a baby with her, while Sharon would rather focus on honouring her late father Den Watts by ensuring the success of the Queen Victoria public house. It is then Grant's violent streak begins to emerge and he hits Sharon at one point during an argument between them. As such, Grant became sworn enemies with Sharon's best-friend Michelle Fowler due to his temperamental nature. Soon the police are called in to confront Grant and he attacks them, which leads to him getting jailed for a while. The follow-up of Sharon's crisis with Grant sees her turning to Phil for support, and the pair end up having an affair behind Grant's back. The affair continues even when Grant is released from prison, thanks to the Mitchells' family lawyer Marcus Christie, and during that time Grant supports Phil over the breakdown of his marriage to first wife Nadia Borovac. He also defends Sharon and Michelle when the three are held hostage by Grant's former friend, Dougie Briggs, from the army; Michelle is shot amid the incident, but she survives after Grant and Sharon rush to hospital.
In October 1994, Grant plans to celebrate Phil's engagement to fellow neighbour Kathy Beale in the pub when he comes accross a tape that exposes Phil and Sharon's affair. Thereupon he eventually learns the truth about it and proceeds to expose the secret to everyone at the pub. Grant later attacked Phil and drove Sharon to ruin as revenge for their affair behind his back. Grant eventually made amends with the pair, but was left devastated when Sharon refused to start over and decided to leave the square.
By then, Grant's feud with Michelle has reached boiling point and they blame each other for Sharon leaving the square. Later on they have another confrontation at the pub, but soon their argument slowly turns passionate and the two end up having a one-night stand. Afterwards, Michelle finds out that she is pregnant and that Grant is the father of her unborn baby. She later decides to leave the square and not tell him about the baby rather than let him find out about it; before leaving, however, Michelle and Grant put aside their differences before she then departs the square with her daughter Vicki to meet up with Sharon in America.
In 1996, Grant becomes romantically paired with barmaid Tiffany Raymond and the duo married before she would later give birth to their daughter Courtney. He soon began to domestically abuse Tiffany over various troubles, and at one point seduces her colleague Lorraine Wicks just to spite his wife. It is then Grant begins a feud with police officer Beppe Di Marco, and the two become sworn enemies when Beppe develops romantic feelings for Tiffany and resents Grant for his volatile behaviour towards her. Tiffany briefly considers choosing Beppe over Grant, but ends up deciding to give her marriage to Grant one last chance. However, this ends in disaster when Grant cheats on Tiffany with her mother Louise and they end up having an affair until Tiffany learns the truth from Courtney's baby monitor. Tiffany later attempts to leave Grant for good, but ends up falling down a flight of stairs during another heated argument between them; Grant is thereafter suspected of pushing Tiffany down the stairs and is arrested on Christmas Day when Beppe pressures Tiffany into giving evidence against her husband. On New Year's Eve 1998, Grant is released on bail and finds out that Tiffany is planning to flee the country with their child to Spain. He stops Tiffany from leaving and takes Courtney away from her after she makes it clear that they are finished for good. When Tiffany races to stop Grant, she gets run over by Peggy's fiancé Frank Butcher and dies as Grant watches on. The aftermath of Tiffany's death sees Grant feeling deeply guilt-ridden at being partly responsible for the loss of his second wife.
The follow-up of Tiffany's funeral sees Grant being exonerated for pushing her down the stairs, much to the anger of both Tiffany's brother Simon Raymond and childhood friend Bianca Jackson as the duo squarely blame Grant over the events that led to Tiffany's death. As such, Beppe equally resents Grant and their feud escalates to the point where Beppe begins dating Sam - which leaves Grant seething as he assumes that Beppe is seducing his sister just to wind him up. Soon enough the pair compete over the affections for Peggy's employee Nina Harris. She initially chose Grant over Beppe, but he later dumped her after discovering Nina's past as a prostitute from her ex-client Dean Collins. When he later shames Nina in public for her past, Beppe confronts Grant and reminds him about Tiffany - which starts a fight between Grant and Beppe in the pub that ends with Peggy, the landlady, ordering them to leave. Grant soon turns his attention to Frank for marrying Peggy, and also begins clashing with Beppe's brother Gianni at the same time.
1999: First exit and River Thames Showdown with Grant[]
Over the course of his years in the square, Grant has been getting involved in a number of criminal activities with Phil - with the two becoming the square's most fearsome hardmen in the process. They also help Phil's stepson Ian Beale rescue his son Peter, along with his half-brothers Steven and Lucy, from his cheating ex-wife Cindy Beale after she hired a hitman named John Valecue to kill him. The brothers also team up against Peggy's boyfriend George Palmer when they learn about his illicit activities, but both Phil and Grant do end up having individual partnerships with George's daughter Annie Palmer.
In 1999, Phil and Grant learn that their cousin Billy Mitchell has been getting into trouble with a criminal gang led by notorious loan shark Kim Brooks. The brothers decide to steal money from the gang. Before the job takes place, though, Grant punches Phil's nemesis Steve Owen after their partnership collapses and sleeps with Kathy when she returns to confront Phil over their son Ben. Although the heist is successful, Phil learns about Grant sleeping with Kathy and Grant admits that he did it out of revenge for Phil sleeping with Sharon behind his back. This provokes Phil, heartbroken that Grant ruined his chance of happiness to be with his family out of spite, to causing Grant to end up plunging their getaway vehicle into the River Themes. They both survived and Grant, after being presumed dead, leaves the country with Courtney to start anew in Portugal; Phil would later sell Grant's share of The Queen Vic to Steve's business rival Dan Sullivan by the end of the year.
For the next few years, Grant would be referenced on several occasions by Phil and later Sharon when she returns to the square. Sharon later confines to Phil that she aborted Grant's baby, which consequently leads to the pair breaking up. In 2003, Grant is mentioned when Phil comes into conflict with gangland boss Jack Dalton and later marries policewoman Kate Morton.
2005-2006[]
Eventually in 2005, Grant returns with Phil at the bequest of their mother and Billy to help out with a family situation; Sam has been remanded in police custody for the murder of Sharon's adopted father Den Watts, who had actually been murdered by his estranged wife Chrissie Watts before the latter proceeded to frame Sam for the crime after failing to implicate her friend Zoe Slater earlier on. It quickly emerges that the Mitchell Brothers have put aside their differences and renewed their friendship; with Grant also telling Phil that he plans to patch things up with Sharon over the past. As the Mitchells attempt to convince Sharon that Sam is innocent and Chrissie is guilty of Den's murder, Grant comes into conflict with her husband and Den's illegitimate son Dennis Rickman over the latter's assumption that the former wishes to reconcile his past romance with Sharon. Later on, however, Grant and Dennis patch things up and they team up with Phil to help Sharon get justice for Den's murder. This works successfully as Sharon finally learns the truth and, after managing to get Zoe's cousin Stacey to change her alibi that Chrissie coerced her into giving for her safety, Chrissie is ultimately arrested for Den's murder; afterwards, Sam is exonerated up until she is forced to flee the country for perverting the course of justice within the crime.
At the same time, Grant and Phil find themselves clashing against the square's crime boss Johnny Allen - also their mother's sworn enemy over the Mitchells' past with Johnny years ago. The feud continues as the Mitchell Brothers learn that Johnny attempted to have Peggy mugged in retribution for turning his daughter Ruby against him, but this was foiled after Grant and Phil rescue Peggy from Johnny's enforcer Sean. Later on Grant taunts Johnny after seeing that his mistress, Tina Stewart, has left him for cheating on her with his barmaid Amy from his nightclub called Scarletts; this causes Johnny to try and punch Grant, but the hardman dodges in time to see the gangland boss fall onto the ground and walks away. It is then Johnny gets involved with the Mitchells' quest to exonerate Sam after having possession of the tape that captures Chrissie confessing to her boyfriend Jake Moon, also Johnny's right-hand man, that she killed Den. Soon enough Johnny causes Billy to discover the tape, prompting him to inform the Mitchell Brothers and they resolve to confront Johnny about it - even after realizing that Johnny plans to lure them so he could kill them. Thereafter Grant and Phil confront Johnny and attack him for the tape; Johnny brandishes a handgun and prepares to kill them, but is forced to let them go when Ruby unexpectedly walks in on the incident.
Following the Mitchells' success in exonerating Sam and getting Chrissie imprisoned for Den's murder, Grant briefly leaves the square for a while before coming back a few months later at Phil's request in March 2006. He soon learns that Phil has roped him in confronting Johnny at his mansion in Essex. Upon arriving there, Grant learns that Phil wishes to bring Johnny to justice in retribution for throttling Sharon and then having Dennis killed before she left the square earlier on; as during Grant's absence, Phil's feud with Johnny continued to the point where the latter turned his attention to Sharon and Dennis that led to dire consequences. The brothers are nearly killed when Johnny captures them and orders Jake's brother Danny Moon, also his henchmen, to kill the Mitchell duo; Danny prepares to execute Grant in front of Phil, but the brothers are saved when Danny is suddenly killed by Jake when the latter intervened in an attempt to stop his brother from becoming Johnny's newly-groomed assassin. Shortly afterwards, Johnny is forced by Ruby to turn himself in the police for his gangland activities; Johnny is subsequently arrested and jailed for ordering Dennis' death as well as killing his rival Andy Hunter on the same night Den was murdered. Several months later, Johnny dies of a heart attack whilst attempting to have Ruby's hot-headed boyfriend Sean Slater killed for plotting against them - thus putting the Mitchell Brothers' demons to rest for good.
The follow-up of their triumph over Johnny sees the Mitchell Brothers getting back to normal with their family for the time being, during which Grant steadily makes amends with Phil by helping with his prospects to spend time with Ben - who had earlier came back to the square following Kathy's apparent death from a reported car accident out of the country. As such, Grant attempts to help Phil with his longstanding quarrel against Ian over the latter's attempt to prepare a custody battle for Ben. Soon enough Grant turns his attention to Ian's fiancé Jane Clarke and they end up having an affair, but this ends when she chooses Ian over Grant - which results in Grant vandalizing Ian's café in frustration. Later on, Grant finds himself reacquainted with his estranged third wife Carla from Brazil when she unexpectedly turns up in the square. At first they reconcile to the point when Carla turns Grant against Courtney for a brief period, but then she later betrays him further by planning with her ex-lover Ray to steal his finances at The Vic. However, Grant discovers their plan and together with Phil they force Ray to leave Walford for good; Grant then literally dumps Carla by chucking her in the bin before ending his marriage with her. Afterwards, Grant makes amends with Courtney and they say goodbye to their family before leaving the square once more.
2016[]
Later in 2016, nearly ten years since he last appeared in the square, Grant visits Walford after Sharon - having came back herself since 2012 - informs him of Phil's cirrhosis situation and Peggy's impending last moments due to her condition from her cancer deteriorating. He and Phil briefly get into a conflict after Peggy dies of cancer, and Grant accuses his brother of killing their mother and them both of keeping secrets behind their back. Grant also reconciles with Kathy, who had been alive the entire time, after helping out her turbulent situation with her ex-husband Gavin in the past. He also comes to Ben's rescue weeks after finding out that his nephew was involved in a homophobic attack and sought to confront his assailants for murdering his boyfriend, Paul Coker, in the same incident. Grant soon learns that the newly-arrived Markus Fowler is actually his son from his one-night stand with Michelle over two decades ago. He stops Courtney from kissing him before confronting and punching Ian for keeping this revelation secret from him. After coming to terms with the circumstances behind the revelation and Peggy's death, Grant makes amends with Phil before departing the square with Courtney back to Portugal.
In 2022, Sharon contacts Grant for help when she fears that Phil has been killed in a prison attack by his cellmate Craig Erskine and his gang, but it's revealed that Phil have survived the attack and that Craig had been killed in the incident. Phil then briefly considers reconciling with Sharon over their past marriage differences, including over her affair with his employee Keanu Taylor and it's aftermath that led to the death of her and Dennis' young son Denny in a boat accident; however, he changes his mind after finding out that Sharon contacted Grant and - believing that she still loves Grant over him - rejects her in favour of continuing his unlikely relationship with Zoe's mother Kat.
Quotes[]
“ | Sorry girls, didn't mean to scare you! | „ |
~ Grant Mitchell's first lines as he arrives in Albert Square, meeting longtime residents Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner in the process. |
“ | You're a real charmer Michelle, didn't anyone tell you that? | „ |
~ Grant denouncing Michelle after overhearing her insult his personality during a conversation with Sharon in the tape. |
“ | Had enough have ya, HAD ENOUGH!! Well you're nothing to me! Do you hear - Nothing! | „ |
~ Grant telling Tiffany that she means nothing to him after an argument between them ends with him using physical abuse and domestic violence on her. |
“ | Tiffany is the love of my life. I haven't realized that up until now! | „ |
~ Grant asserting that Tiffany is the love of his life during an argument with her mother Louisie, moments before the pair unknowingly expose their affair to Tiffany behind her back. |
“ | Oh look here he comes - the bent old bill to the rescue, or is he your pimp! | „ |
~ Grant insulting Beppe and Nina in The Queen Vic. |
“ | Hello mum! | „ |
~ Grant reunites with Peggy upon making his return to the square in 2005. |
“ | We're just taking care of you that's all. I love you and I'll be back as soon as I can. | „ |
~ Grant's last words to Peggy before she later passes away that day. |
“ | Yeah I am aren't I? Guess we'll just have to rob a bank won't we!? | „ |
~ Grant's quote to Courtney before they leave the square once more in September 2016. |
Trivia[]
- Ross Kemp, the actor who played Grant Mitchell, received critical acclaim for his performance of the character and had both won and been nominated for several awards; including "Best Actor" and "Villain of the Year".
- The character was born on 8th July 1962.
- So far Grant Mitchell has made a total of 1,094 appearances throughout his time on the show, but it remains possible that he might return at some point in the 2020s.
- In July 1997, the story arc of Grant's volatile marriage with Tiffany made headlines when the show's bosses were considering airing a controversial storyline that would see Grant brutally raping Tiffany upstairs in The Queen Vic. The plot, which was slated to be aired on Christmas Day 1997, evoked criticism from female MPs and children's groups, TV clean-up campaigners and church officials, who were all expressive in unanimous condemnation about the BBC's "cynical ploy to win the seasonal ratings war over arch-rival Coronation Street." Labour MP Ann Clwyd suggested that the BBC should "reconsider" and Michelle Elliott, director of the children's charity Kidscape, said: "This is an appalling, outrageous, utterly nauseous example of rape for ratings." Reports also alleged that Ross Kemp (the actor who played Grant Mitchell) was not happy about the plot either and threatened to quit the role unless the scripts were altered. Subsequently, the rape storyline never came to fruition.
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