It’s fair to say Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) has not been the biggest fan of his estranged relative Stevie (Alan Ford) since he arrived in EastEnders earlier this year.
However, the Walford hardman is forced to put their differences aside next week, when he finds the pensioner lifeless after a tense Mitchell family showdown.
Following Lola Pearce’s fundraiser, the charity money goes missing, and Billy and the rest of the Mitchells are soon pointing the finger at his long-lost father.
Determined to prove his innocence, Stevie tracks down grandson Will (Freddie Phillips), who is being blackmailed after falling victim to an online catfishing plot, suspecting he is behind the missing money.
Later in the Vic, Will fiercely defends his grandfather to Phil, who is having none of the lad’s protestations that Stevie is innocent.
Things take a dangerous turn when Stevie heads over to see Will to get him to confess to the theft, but when Will refuses, he loses his temper and knocks his grandfather to the floor.
After seeing Will bolting out of the flat, Phil goes in to find Stevie lying motionless on the floor and calls for an ambulance.
As the rest of the Mitchell clan rush to the hospital, Phil corners Will about what happened.
Confessing he stole the money, he also opens up about the catfishing that led to him stealing the money, prompting Phil to track down the boy, Kyle, who is blackmailing Will.
At the hospital, the Mitchells are relieved when doctors tell them that Stevie will be OK, and is just suffering from concussion.
But things will not remain calm for long, as later, three new faces arrive in Albert Square on the hunt for Stevie – Teddy, Harry and Barney Mitchell…
Earlier this month, it was announced Stevie had been hiding a secret second family from Billy since coming back into his life earlier this month.
EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw revealed that the arrival of Stevie’s son Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian), and his sons Harry and Barney (Elijah Holloway and Lewis Bridgeman) will be ‘a seismic shock for Billy and an unwelcome surprise for Phil’.
‘With their arrival sparking more questions than answers, it’s not long before the Mitchells find themselves at war as Teddy and his sons are thrust into the heart of the drama,’ he added.
Bring it on, we say.
