BBC One
The BBC One logo
Launched	2 November 1936[1]
Owned by	BBC
Picture format	576i (PAL) 576i 16:9 (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audience share	20.2% (August 2011, BARB)
Country	United Kingdom
Formerly called	BBC Television Service (2 November 1936 – 8 October 1960) BBC tv (8 October 1960 – 20 April 1964) BBC1 (20 April 1964 – 3 October 1997)
Sister channel(s)	BBC Two BBC Three BBC Four BBC News BBC Parliament BBC HD CBBC CBeebies
Website	www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue	Normally tuned to 1 (to be phased out nationwide by 2012)
Freeview	Channel 1 Channel 50 (HD) (Currently being rolled out)
Digitenne (Netherlands)
Satellite
Freesat	Channel 101 Channel 108 (HD) Channels 950–967 (regional variations)
Sky (UK)	Channel 101 Channel 143 (HD) Channels 971–988 (regional variations)
Sky (Ireland)	Channel 141 Channel 234 (HD)
Astra 1N	10773H 22000 5/6 10847V 23000 8/9 (HD)
Cable
Virgin Media	Channel 101 Channel 108 (HD)
Smallworld Cable	Channel 101 Channel 106 (HD)
UPC Ireland	Channel 108 Channel 140 (HD)
UPC Netherlands	Channel 50
Ziggo (Netherlands)	Channel 601
Numericable (Belgium)
Naxoo (Switzerland)	Channel 213
Cablecom (Switzerland)	Channel 155
IPTV
TalkTalk TV	Channel 1
Belgacom TV (Brussels)	Channel 67
Belgacom TV (Flanders)	Channel 23
Belgacom TV (Wallonia)	Channel 213
Bluewin TV (Switzerland)
KPN (Netherlands)	Channel 23
Internet television
BBC iPlayer	Watch live (UK only)

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution.^[2] It was later renamed BBC TV until the launch of sister channel BBC2 in 1964, whereupon it was known as BBC1, with the current spelling adopted in 1997.

The channel's annual budget for 2011/12 is £1,166.6 million.^[3] Along with the BBC's other domestic television stations, and many European broadcasters (and some in Asia), it is funded principally by the television licence fee, and therefore shows uninterrupted programming with no commercial advertising at any time. It is currently the most watched television channel in the United Kingdom, ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership, ITV1.

As of 2012^[update] the channel controller for BBC One was Danny Cohen, formerly controller of BBC Three. Cohen replaced Jay Hunt following her departure from the BBC in late 2010 to join Channel 4, where she took up her position in January 2011.^[4] Jana Bennett, head of BBC Vision, took temporary control of BBC One between Hunt's departure and Cohen's appointment.^[5] Cohen briefly held controller positions of both BBC One and BBC Three until former ITV digital channels head Zai Bennett was confirmed as the new controller of BBC Three.

History[link]

The early years[link]

The transmission mast above the BBC wing of Alexandra Palace

Baird Television Ltd. made Britain's first television broadcast, on 30 September 1929 from its studio in Long Acre, London, via the BBC's London transmitter, using the electromechanical system pioneered by John Logie Baird. This system used a vertically-scanned image of 30 lines — just enough resolution for a close-up of one person, and with a bandwidth low enough to use existing radio transmitters. Simultaneous transmission of sound and picture was achieved on 30 March 1930, by using the BBC's new twin transmitter at Brookmans Park. By late 1930, 30 minutes of morning programmes were broadcast Monday to Friday, and 30 minutes at midnight on Tuesdays and Fridays, after BBC radio went off the air. Baird broadcasts via the BBC continued until June 1932.

The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House, London, on 22 August 1932. The studio moved to larger quarters in 16 Portland Place, London, in February 1934, and continued broadcasting the 30-line images, carried by telephone line to the medium wave transmitter at Brookmans Park, until 11 September 1935, by which time advances in all-electronic television systems made the electromechanical broadcasts obsolete.

After a series of test transmissions and special broadcasts that began in August, regular BBC television broadcasts officially resumed on 1 October 1936, from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace in London, which housed two studios, various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself, now broadcasting on the VHF band. BBC television initially used two systems, on alternate weeks: the 240-line Baird intermediate film system and the 405-line Marconi-EMI system, each making the BBC the world's first regular high-definition television service, broadcasting Monday to Saturday from 15:00 to 16:00 and 21:00 to 22:00.^[6]

Broadcast time	Broadcast programmes
14:50-14:59	Test pattern
14:59-15:00	Clock ident
15:00-15:11	Station ident, television listings then opening of the BBC Television Service
15:11-15:19	Interval, time then weather forecast
15:19-15:20	Clock ident
15:20-15:30	British Movietone News
15:30-15:55	Variety show
15:55-16:00	Television listings, weather forecast, clock ident, national anthem then sign-off
16:00-20:59	Test pattern
20:59-21:00	Clock ident
21:00-21:05	Station ident then television listings
21:05-21:20	Television Comes to London
21:20-21:49	Picture Page
21:49-21:50	Clock ident
21:50-22:55	British Movietone News
21:55-22:00	Television listings, weather forecast, clock ident, national anthem then sign-off
22:00-22:01	Test pattern

The two systems were to run on a trial basis for six months; early television sets supported both resolutions. However, the Baird system, which used a mechanical camera for filmed programming and Farnsworth image dissector cameras for live programming, proved too cumbersome and visually inferior, and was dropped in February 1937.

Initially, the station's range was officially a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Alexandra Palace transmitter—in practice, however, transmissions could be picked up a good deal further away, and on one occasion in 1938 were picked up by engineers at RCA in New York, who were experimenting with a British television set.^[7]

Wartime closure[link]

On 1 September 1939, two days before Britain declared war on Germany, the station was taken off air with little warning;^[8] the government were concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft homing in on London. Also, many of the television service's technical staff and engineers would be needed for the war effort, in particular on the radar programme. The last programme transmitted was a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey's Gala Premier (1933), which was followed by test transmissions and an announcement of the afternoon's programmes, which were in the event not broadcast; this account refuted an urban myth according to which broadcasting was suspended before the end of the cartoon.^[8]

According to figures from Britain's Radio Manufacturers Association, 18,999 television sets had been manufactured from 1936 to September 1939, when production was halted by the war.

Postwar[link]

BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15:00. Jasmine Bligh, one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, 'Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?'. The Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated twenty minutes later.^[9]

Postwar broadcast coverage was extended to Birmingham in 1949 with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station, and by the mid-1950s most of the country was covered, transmitting a 405-line interlaced image on VHF.

Alexandra Palace was the home base of the channel until the early 1950s when the majority of production moved into Lime Grove Studios (closed in 1991), then in 1960 to the purpose-built BBC Television Centre at White City, London, where the channel is still based.

Television News continued to use Alexandra Palace as its base—by early 1968 it had even converted one of its studios to colour—before moving to purpose-built colour facilities at Television Centre on 20 September 1969.

The BBC held a statutory monopoly on television broadcasting in the United Kingdom until the first ITV station was launched in 1955. The competition quickly forced the channel to change its identity and priorities following a large reduction in its audience.

The station was renamed BBC1 when BBC2 was launched in April 1964, transmitting an incompatible 625-line image on UHF. BBC1 and ITV continued transmitting a 405-line image on VHF for several years. The only way to receive all channels was to use a very complex "dual-standard" 405- and 625-line, VHF and UHF, receiver, with both a VHF and a UHF aerial. This continued until some time after the introduction of colour on BBC2 in 1967; dual-standard colour sets were yet more complex.

In the weeks leading up to 15 November 1969, BBC1 unofficially transmitted the occasional programme in its new colour system, to test it. At midnight on 15 November, simultaneously with ITV and two years after BBC2, BBC1 officially began 625-line PAL colour programming on UHF with a broadcast of a concert by Petula Clark.^[10] Colour transmissions could be received (in monochrome) on monochrome 625-line sets. Old 405-line-only sets became obsolete, but dual-standard ones, though no longer produced, remained compatible until the end of analog broadcasting.

Stereo audio transmissions, using the NICAM digital stereo sound format began on BBC1 at some point in autumn 1987, to coincide with the sale of the first consumer NICAM-enabled equipment, a year after BBC2, and were gradually phased in across BBC TV output, although it took until August 31, 1991 for the service to begin officially on both channels. During this time, both commercial analogue broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4 had officially begun stereo transmissions using the BBC-developed NICAM system.

In terms of audience share, the most successful period for BBC1 was under Bryan Cowgill between 1973–1977, when the channel achieved an average audience share of 45 per cent.^{[citation needed]} This period is still regarded by many as a golden age of the BBC's output, with the BBC achieving a very high standard across its entire range of series, serials, plays, light entertainment and documentaries.

By the 1980s, the channel had launched the first breakfast television programmes and returned to its previous form under the controller of the channel at the time, Michael Grade. Wide-screen programming was introduced on digital platforms in 1998.

2000s[link]

Joining the channel as Controller in 2005, Peter Fincham oversaw the commissioning of several successful BBC One programmes including Robin Hood (2006–2009), Jane Eyre (2006) and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, which was followed by similar shows Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything because of its success.^[11] His first full year in charge of the channel saw a year-on-year growth in the audience share, with a rise from 22.2% in August 2005 to 23.6% in August 2006.^[12]

Fincham also directly initiated the creation of both The One Show (2006–present), an early evening, current-affairs and lifestyle programme, which now runs all but two weeks of the year, and Davina (2006), a prime time chat show, the latter hosted by Davina McCall, who presented Big Brother.^[13] However, Davina was a critical and ratings disaster,^[14] which Fincham subsequently admitted was personally his fault, although he defended the strategy of experimenting with the BBC One schedule. This he continued in January 2007, when he moved the current affairs series Panorama from its Sunday night slot back to the prime time Monday evening slot from which it had been removed in 2000, most likely in response to a demand from the Board of Governors of the BBC for the channel to show more current affairs programming in prime time.^[15]

Fincham's judgement was again called into question, this time by The Telegraph, for his decision to spend £1.2 million replacing BBC One 'Rhythm & Movement' idents, which had been introduced by his predecessor Lorraine Heggessey several years earlier, with the 'Circle' idents, a set of eight ten-second films, some of which were shot abroad in locations such as Mexico and Croatia.^[16] Fincham later found himself having to publicly defend the £18 million salary that the BBC paid Jonathan Ross in 2006,although Ross's BBC One work—primarily consisting of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross—formed only part of his overall BBC commitment.^[17]

The channel was named Channel of the Year at the 2007 Broadcast Awards.^[18]

In May 2007, Fincham took the decision to drop Neighbours, an Australian soap opera, from BBC One after 21 years on the channel, when its producers significantly raised the price they wanted the BBC to pay for it in a bidding war.^[19] Fincham commented that it was 'a big loss', but that BBC One would not pay 'the best part of £300 m'.Neighbours left the channel in spring 2008 to move to Channel 5.^[20]

Fincham was involved in a further controversy in July 2007, when he was accused of misleading BBC One viewers. The incident involved a clip from forthcoming documentary A Year with the Queen which was shown to journalists during a press conference. It apparently showed the Queen storming out of a session with American photographer Annie Leibovitz over a disagreement about what she should wear, but the BBC subsequently admitted that the scenes used in the trailer had been edited out of their correct order, meaning that a false impression was given.^[21] Fincham admitted the error, but rejected calls that he should resign from his position as a result.^[22] His future was deemed uncertain following critical comments from Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust and he resigned on 5 October 2007.^[23]

In 2012 the BBC out bid ITV for show "The Voice UK" that already had made a stamp in other countries. The BBC paid £22 million for the rights to broadcast the show in the UK for two years. The Voice UK lifted the BBC's ratings once again as "The Voice UK" became more popular than ITV's "Britain's Got Talent." The latter then moved to a later time slot to avoid clash. Recently However "Britain's Got Talent" regained it's foothold of viewers due to controversy that surrounded The Voice UK.

Programming[link]

BBC One’s remit is to be the BBC’s most popular mixed-genre television service across the UK, offering a wide range of high quality programmes. It should be the BBC’s primary outlet for major UK and international events and it should reflect the whole of the UK in its output. A very high proportion of its programmes should be original productions.

— BBC One remit^[24]

In 2010, the top five watched programmes, at their peaks, according to BARB were:^[25]

1. EastEnders 16,410,000
2. World Cup 2010 England Vs Germany 15,810,000
3. Strictly Come Dancing 14,280,000
4. Come Fly With Me 12,470,000
5. Doctor Who 12,110,000

Repeats made up 8.4% of peak programming in 2010/11, up from 8.0% for 2008/09.^[26] Programming on this channel costs an average of £162,900 per hour.

With a mission to provide big programmes for all licence-fee payers, it has sport, news, current affairs, and documentaries. It has historically broadcast children's programmes (now taken from CBBC and CBeebies). The channel remains one of the principal television channels in the United Kingdom and provides 2,508 annual hours of news and weather, 1,880 hours of factual and learning, 1,036 hours of drama, 672 hours of children's, 670 hours of sport, 654 hours of film, 433 hours of entertainment, 159 hours of current affairs, 92 hours of religion and 82 hours of music and arts.^[27]

2,508 annual hours of news and weather (293 in peak, 1,049 of BBC News simulcasts) are provided by regular news programmes BBC Breakfast, the BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and the BBC News at Ten each including BBC regional news programmes. All three main news bulletins have a lead over their rival programmes on ITV and other terrestrial or cable channels. During the weekend period, three separate bulletins around these three time periods are broadcast and vary in length from 10–25 minutes. BBC One has broadcast overnight simulcasts from the BBC News channel since 1997; the latter in turn simulcasts the majority of all regular BBC One bulletins.

Each year 159 hours of current affairs programmes are broadcast on BBC One, including Panorama and Watchdog. Politics is also covered, with programmes including Question Time and This Week shown. Crimewatch, a programme appealing for help in unsolved crimes, is broadcast monthly.

Whilst nature documentaries such as Planet Earth are the most familiar part of the 1,880 annual BBC One hours of factual and learning, this also includes lifestyle-format daytime programmes and a number of reality television formats and the One Life strand.

BBC One broadcasts 1,036 hours of drama each year, more than any other BBC channel. There are four half-hour episodes of EastEnders each week (not shown on Wednesdays), with an omnibus episode at the weekend, plus hospital dramas Casualty and Holby City. Other popular dramas on BBC One include crime dramas such as New Tricks, a programme of which even episode repeats have beaten ITV ratings on numerous occasions.^[28]

BBC One has traditionally been the home of children's television, Blue Peter had been broadcast on the channel prior to the Children's BBC strand, and sections such as Watch with Mother airing previously on the channel. This became more pronounced with the launch of Children's BBC, later renamed "CBBC". This new strand was broadcast primarily on BBC One in the late afternoons, as well as Saturday and Sunday mornings also such as Going Live! and Live & Kicking, each lasting two to three hours. The launch in 2002 of dedicated digital channels for this content —the CBBC Channel and CBeebies—did not affect this provision. Combined with BBC Two, the channel broadcast 2,195 hours of children's programmes in 2010, mostly in the late afternoons on weekdays.^[26] Saturday morning children's programming moved to BBC Two in 2006 following a three month trial.^[29]

Sports coverage on BBC One includes Premier League football highlights on Match of the Day, The Championships, Wimbledon, horse racing such as the Grand National, the London Marathon, and other international athletics and swimming events, the Olympic Games, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker tournaments, and more. The BBC shows The Football League Show for Football League highlights and League Cup coverage. Formula 1 motor racing is also shown, Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's main race.

On 18 January 2010, the BBC introduced a local Football League highlight show called Late Kick Off. The BBC also shows the Football League Cup final, and ten Football League matches live from the 2009/10 season. The BBC showed the 2010 FIFA World Cup, splitting the group stage matches with ITV. The BBC had first pick of matches from the second round.

British and international films are broadcast for 654 hours each year on BBC One.^{[citation needed]} This is mainly late-night fillers with some box office hits at Christmas and holiday periods.^{[citation needed]} Films are sometimes used to fill the Saturday evening slot when no sport or entertainment programmes are due to be aired.

Entertainment programming on BBC One includes game shows such as the National Lottery, Total Wipeout, Strictly Come Dancing and chat shows such as The Graham Norton Show.

The annual 92 hours of religious programming comprise weekly editions of recorded Songs of Praise, Christian services and other shows from independent production companies. Mentorn Oxford produces Heart and Soul, described as “a new multi-faith programme featuring a panel and a studio audience”, followed by Life from the Loft which is made by the Leeds-based company True North.^[30] In 2005 BBC One was criticised for reducing the amount of religious programming, previously 101 hours per year.^[31]

BBC One broadcasts many comedy programmes, often on Friday nights. These have included the stand-up comedy show Live at the Apollo, sitcom Outnumbered, and satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You.^[32] Saturday evening is also a popular slot for a comedy show such as Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow and The Armstrong and Miller Show.

As the weekly popular music chart programme Top of the Pops was discontinued (except for the Christmas Day edition), BBC One broadcast 49 hours of music and arts programming in 2010.^[26] The majority of this was Imagine, presented by Alan Yentob, and classical music concerts such as the BBC Proms.

BBC One's daytime line-up was a major factor in it overtaking ITV as the most popular channel in 2000, a position it has held ever since. The morning daytime line-up consists of lifestyle shows, such as Homes Under the Hammer and Bargain Hunt, the afternoons contain drama with daily soap Doctors and classic US drama, such as Diagnosis: Murder. Sometimes a drama such as Land Girls is shown in the afternoons.

Between 15:05 and 17:05 is the CBeebies/CBBC broadcasting strand, with its own visual identity. Historically, BBC One's most popular daytime programme was Neighbours, with audience figures approaching five million. On 11 February 2008, BBC One dropped Neighbours and the programme has since been broadcast on Channel 5.^[33] In its place the quiz show The Weakest Link, moved from BBC Two, later replaced in 2011 by Pointless.

On 16 May 2012, the BBC announced the children's block of shows would be moved permantely to CBBC and CBeebies after the Digital Switchover.^[34]

Quotas[link]

For the first fifty years of its existence, with the exception of films and imported programmes from countries such as the United States and Australia, almost all the channel's output was produced by the BBC's in-house production departments. This changed following the Broadcasting Act 1990, which required that 25% of the BBC's television output be out-sourced to independent production companies.^[35] By 2004 many popular BBC One shows were made for the channel by independents, but the in-house production departments continued to contribute heavily to the schedule.

Although the statutory target remains 25%, 33% of output was made by independent production companies in 2010/11.^[26] The Quota of original programming in peak times is set at 90%, however 100% of peak programming was original in 2010/11.^[26] Over the whole day, the total for the same year was 89%, against a quota of 70%.^[26]

Presentation[link]

BBC One's identity has been symbolised by a globe shown on its idents for much of its existence.^[36] In 1962 this was represented as a map of the UK shown between programmes, but in 1963 the globe appeared, changing in style and appearance over the next 39 years.

Most notably, on 18 February 1985, the "Computer Originated World" was introduced. This was a computer-animated globe with the land coloured gold and the sea a transparent blue, giving the impression of a glass globe. This was replaced by the "Virtual Globe" on 16 February 1991. On 4 October 1997, the globe became a red, orange and yellow hot-air balloon, coloured to resemble a globe. It was filmed flying around various places in the UK.

On 29 March 2002 the globe was replaced by a series of visual identities, "idents", consisting of people dancing in various styles. These were replaced on 7 October 2006 by the present 'circle' idents. According to the BBC, the circle symbol both represents togetherness and acts as a link to the old globe logo used for 39 years.^[37]

Regional variations[link]

BBC One has individual continuity and opt-outs for Scotland,^[38] Wales^[39] and Northern Ireland.^[40] Each variant maintains the BBC One logo with the addition of the country name beneath it.

In England,^[41] each region has an individual regional news and current affairs programme opt-out as well as a limited amount of continuity. During these opt-outs, the region name is displayed as with the national variations, beneath the main channel logo. UK Today, a news programme, was shown nationally to digital viewers in place of regional programmes when they were unavailable to broadcast on analogue television. The programme was discontinued in 2002 and replaced by a transmission of BBC London News until all BBC regions were made available digitally.

BBC One Scotland has the greatest level of variation from the generic network, owing to BBC Scotland scheduling Scottish programming on the main BBC Scotland channel, rather than on BBC Two. BBC One Scotland variations include the soap opera River City and the football programme Sportscene, the inclusion of which causes network programming to be displaced or replaced.

BBC One Wales was considered a separate channel by the BBC as early as its launch in the mid-1960s, appearing as BBC Wales.^[42]

Accessibility to viewers with vision or hearing problems[link]

The BBC announced in May 2008 that it had achieved its aim for all programming to have subtitles for viewers with hearing difficulties.^[43][44] The BBC also offers audio description on some popular BBC One programmes^[45] for visually impaired-viewers. The percentage of the BBC's total television output with audio description available is 10%, having been increased from 8% in 2008.^[46]

High-definition[link]

BBC One HD logo

BBC One HD, a simulcast of BBC One in high-definition (HD), launched on 3 November 2010 at 19:00.^[47] The channel simulcasts a network version of BBC One in High Definition, with HD versions of programmes including Holby City, The One Show, Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice, The Weakest Link and Doctor Who. EastEnders was also made available in HD as from Christmas Day 2010. All programmes still made in standard-definition are upscaled on the channel and it is intended that by 2012 the vast majority of the channel's output will be in high-definition.

BBC One HD, however, does not offer regional variations, and therefore the channel cannot broadcast during regional programming slots, most noticeably the local news programmes. The BBC Trust admitted that this is due to technical and financial constraints,^[48] but the BBC announced on 6 June 2011 that the national variations of BBC One Northern Ireland, BBC One Scotland and BBC One Wales, would become available in 2012.^[49]

BBC One HD is available on all digital television platforms offering HD channels – Freesat, Freeview HD, Sky, Smallworld Cable, UPC Ireland and Virgin Media. It is available in addition to the existing BBC HD channel, which continues to broadcast HD programmes from the BBC's other television channels.

On 3 November 2011, BBC One HD launched on Sky Ireland on channel 234 or 141 for HD pack subscribers.

See also[link]

BBC portal

• Prewar television stations
• List of television programmes broadcast by the BBC

Notes and references[link]

	Book: BBC Channels (UK)
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

External links[link]

• BBC One at BBC Online
• BBC One Service Licence BBC Trust, July 2009

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Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden. Phil was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990, and was followed by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy. Phil was one of the major introductions made by executive producer Michael Ferguson, who wanted to bring in some macho, male leads. Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media, with Phil initially portrayed as the lesser of two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap opera throughout the 1990s, with Phil becoming a popular and long-running male protagonist into the 2000s and the 2010s.

Phil's most prominent storylines include his battles with alcoholism and addiction, various feuds and criminal dealings, having an affair with Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) who was married to Grant (a storyline popularly dubbed Sharongate), a failed marriage to Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), a strong rivalry with his former step-son Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), and being stalked by his son Ben, leading to an arrest for the murder of Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson), who abused Ben before jumping from a factory roof. One of the most culturally significant storylines featuring the character aired in 2000 and was dubbed Who Shot Phil?. The plot saw Phil gunned down in a whodunnit? mystery, with the would-be assassin eventually revealed as his former girlfriend Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin). The storyline captured viewer and media interest and the assassin-reveal episode was watched by 22 million viewers.

Storylines[link]

Backstory[link]

Phil is the eldest child of Peggy and Eric Mitchell. He endured an unhappy childhood due to his abusive father, whose violence continued until Phil was old enough to fight back. Phil and his younger brother Grant were close, and had a reputation for their thuggish behaviour.

1990–1999[link]

Phil and Grant arrive in Walford to open an automobile repair shop, known as The Arches.^[2] Phil later goes into partnership at The Queen Victoria public house with Grant and his fiancée Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), and moves in with them. Phil grows close to Sharon, who turns to him for comfort during Grant's violent outbursts. Sharon and Phil have sex but she chooses to stay with Grant, who remains unaware of their betrayal.^[2] Sharon and Grant's reconciliation is brief, and amidst more rowing and physical violence, Grant is arrested and imprisoned. In his absence, Phil and Sharon continue their affair, but when Grant is released a reformed man, Sharon reconciles with him, leaving Phil heartbroken.^[3] On the rebound, Phil enters into a marriage of convenience with Nadia Borovac (Anna Barkan), a Romanian refugee, enabling her to stay legally in the UK, with Nadia departing after the wedding.^[2] Phil begins a romance with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), but Nadia returns, needing Phil to prove he is her husband to prevent deportation.^[2] She moves in with him while she is investigated. Nadia seduces and sleeps with a drunken Phil; he regrets it, denying it to Kathy after Nadia informs her. Nadia then disappears after Grant threatens to kill her, though Phil later bribes her into agreeing to a divorce.^[4]

Kathy agrees to marry Phil in 1994 despite discovering that he torched Frank Butcher's (Mike Reid) car lot in an insurance scam, accidentally killing a homeless boy trapped inside. Intent on winning him back, Sharon kisses Phil, but he stops the kiss going further. During Phil and Kathy's engagement party, Grant listens to a cassette of Sharon confessing to the affair and plays it at the party. Kathy is incensed, and Grant beats Phil so badly that he is hospitalised with a blood clot to the brain.^[3] Phil undergoes surgery, which stirs remorse in Grant. He pressures Phil into blaming Sharon for their affair and Grant chases her out of Walford. Phil and Grant make peace, but things between them are not the same.

Kathy and Phil eventually sort out their differences and marry.^[3] Kathy gives birth to their son Ben (Matthew Silver) in 1996, leaving Phil feeling neglected and depressed by Kathy's diverted attention. He turns to alcohol, developing an addiction. He becomes abusive and neglectful of Ben, so Kathy leaves him. Realising what he has lost, Phil gives up alcohol to rebuild his marriage. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous, which helps reveal the basis of his problem—the physical abuse he received from his father and his fear he may abuse Ben. Kathy takes him back but when he attends counselling, he begins an affair with fellow alcoholic Lorna Cartwright (Janet Dibley), who starts stalking him. With his marriage in jeopardy, Phil takes Kathy to Paris, hoping that it will bring them closer, but it has the opposite effect when Phil confesses to the affair with Lorna and Kathy throws her wedding ring into the river.^[3] Phil begins sleeping rough, gambling, and blaming Kathy for his decline. Kathy decides to leave Walford for South Africa, letting it be known that an offer of reconciliation from Phil would make her reconsider. Phil waits until the last minute but is stalled by Lorna, who locks herself in his bathroom and attempts suicide. Kathy leaves for the airport and Phil follows but is accosted by Kathy's son Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), who persuades him that Kathy is better off without him. Phil agonises over the loss of his son.^[3]

To take his mind of things, Phil gets involved in a protection racket with Annie Palmer (Nadia Sawalha), who he is also having casual sex with, but he grows tired of being bossed around by her and quits.^[5] He starts seeing Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin), but the relationship stalls when Kathy returns briefly in 1999 and has sex with Grant. Before Kathy returns to South Africa, she asks Phil to leave with her but Phil declines as Grant has planned an armed robbery and Phil refuses to let his brother do the job alone. Infuriated with Phil's loyalty to Grant, Kathy reveals their recent tryst, leading to Phil confronting Grant after the heist and Grant's confession that he slept with Kathy as revenge for Phil's affair with Sharon. While trying to escape the police in a getaway car, Phil pulls out a handgun and shoots at the dashboard, causing Grant to crash into the River Thames. Phil is rescued, but Grant's body is not recovered, though he survives and flees to Brazil.^[3] When Grant sends Phil deeds for his half of The Queen Victoria, he sells it to Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) for £5 to spite Peggy due to her favouritism towards Grant.

2000–07[link]

Phil and Dan's allegiance ends after Dan tells the police about a motor scam Phil has been involved in, and Phil cons Dan into giving control of the pub back to Peggy.^[3] Phil is unsupportive when Lisa has a miscarriage and she becomes unstable. He turns his attention to her best friend Melanie Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite) and they sleep together. Phil grows jealous when Melanie reunites with Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) and becomes abusive to Lisa. Thinking a baby will improve things, Lisa stops taking the contraceptive pills. However, Melanie overhears Phil stating he does not want another baby, so she encourages Lisa to end the relationship, confessing to their affair. Lisa leaves Phil, but unknown to him, she is pregnant with his baby. Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) persuades her to pretend the baby is his.^[3] Phil gains many enemies: Lisa; Steve, who has discovered Melanie slept with Phil; Ian, who wants revenge for Phil's bullying; Mark, who wants to avenge Lisa; and Dan. On Steve and Melanie's wedding night, Phil is shot in the back by someone hiding in the bushes, collapsing in a pool of blood.^[3] Steve is prime suspect and is arrested. However, it was not Steve and after being discharged from hospital a month later, Phil confronts the real culprit, Lisa. She had stolen Steve's gun in a moment of madness. Realising he drove Lisa to it, Phil decides to let her off and frames Dan for the deed with the help of Ritchie Stringer (Gareth Hunt), who supplies Dan with the gun used to shoot Phil. Not realising he is being set-up, Dan holds Phil at gunpoint, demanding money. However, the police arrive, arresting Dan for attempted murder.^[3] Steve is called as a witness at Dan's trial, and Phil persuades him to give a false testimony, further implicating Dan, but to everyone's astonishment he is found 'not guilty'. Dan seeks revenge, kidnapping Mel, the only common link between Phil and Steve, and threatens to kill her unless they each give him £100,000. Steve and Phil work together to rescue Mel but Dan escapes with the money.^[3]

Phil begins a second relationship with Sharon when she returns in 2001; they run The Queen Victoria together. Phil wants children, but Sharon reveals she is infertile and before ending their relationship, she tells him Lisa's baby, Louise (Rachel Cox), is really his daughter. Phil confronts Lisa, demanding to be part of his child's life. Steve and Mel offer to take Lisa to California, but when she is unable to leave, Steve absconds with Louise. Phil chases after Steve in his car until Steve crashes into a wall. Phil rescues Louise but cannot save Steve, who dies when the car explodes.^[3] Phil knows he must win Lisa back from Mark to gain custody of Louise, and Lisa is easily swayed. Phil slowly begins excluding Lisa from Louise's life, so in desperation, Lisa flees to Portugal with Louise. Phil's nephew Jamie (Jack Ryder) helps her escape, earning him a beating from Phil. Phil goes to Portugal and returns a month later with Louise. Some of Phil's neighbours suspect he has murdered Lisa.^[3]

Phil falls for Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny), not knowing she is an undercover police officer, investigating Lisa's disappearance. After gaining a confession from Phil that he manipulated Lisa into handing over Louise, Kate reveals her true identity, and says she loves him and will quit her job, but Phil threatens to kill her.^[3] Kate disappears, but several months later, Phil finds her working undercover for gangster Jack Dalton (Hywel Bennett). Phil saves Kate's life when Jack orders her dead, with Jack calling off the hit but telling Phil to kill Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) as repayment. Phil corners Dennis at gunpoint, but Dennis promises to kill Jack instead, so they can both be free of him, which he does.

Phil and Kate marry, but Lisa returns on their wedding day, demanding access to Louise. She plans to shoot Phil again, but fails. She breaks down until Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) vows to get revenge on Phil for her. Den plans an armed robbery and coaxes Phil to join him, but Den sets Phil up and he is arrested. Kate is forced to give Louise to Lisa, who disappears. Phil cannot forgive Kate for this and their marriage ends. Phil escapes from prison and confronts Den, who supplies Phil with money to survive 'on the run'.^[3] Phil returns 18 months later needing more money; he attacks Ian, who calls the police and Phil is arrested. However, the case falls through after Grant pays a witness to change his testimony and Phil is released. Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) makes an enemy of Phil after threatening Peggy. Dennis gets involved in the feud when Phil reveals Johnny has threatened Dennis's wife Sharon. Dennis beats Johnny, but Johnny has Dennis murdered, leaving Phil feeling responsible and vowing to make Johnny pay. Phil and Grant confront Johnny, but he escapes and a car chase ensues. The brothers' squabbling allows Johnny to capture them, and Johnny orders Danny Moon (Jake Maskall) to kill them. However, Danny's brother Jake (Joel Beckett) shoots Danny, killing him, and Johnny surrenders.

Following Kathy's death in 2006, Phil's son Ben (now Charlie Jones) returns to live with his half brother Ian. Phil tries to build a relationship with Ben and they slowly begin to bond, eventually leading to Ben moving in with his father. Phil begins a relationship with Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson), but she psychologically and physically abuses Ben, manipulating him into persuading Phil to propose to her. The abuse is revealed by Ben during the wedding ceremony, and Stella flees to an abandoned warehouse with Phil in pursuit, where she jumps from the roof to her death.

2008—[link]

Phil proposes to his girlfriend Suzy Branning (Maggie O'Neill) when she falsely tells him she is pregnant. Phil does not believe his friend Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) when she tells him Suzy is conning him; he stays with Suzy until he discovers she has schemed with his malevolent uncle Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb). Although still troubled by lapses in alcoholism due to numerous family upsets, Phil begins to settle into a relationship with Shirley, who becomes a mother figure for Ben and Louise after she runs away from Lisa to be with Phil. Phil is parted from both his children in 2010: Ben is sent to a juvenile offenders' unit for assualt and Louise is returned to her mother by Peggy, who fears Phil is unfit to parent. Depressed, Phil begins a sexual relationship with Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks), a drug addict; he starts using crack cocaine, developing an addiction. Peggy tries to wean Phil off drugs against his consent by locking him inside her home; however, Phil, who is suffering withdrawal symptoms, escapes and confronts Peggy. Following a row, Phil sets Peggy's pub on fire. Within minutes the pub is ablaze and the roof collapses on Phil. He is rescued, but Peggy departs Walford the next day, realising Phil is better off without her.

Shirley supports Phil through recovery. They steal large amounts of money from Phil's cousin Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) so they can buy a house together. Roxy's mother Glenda Mitchell (Glynis Barber) finds out, but instead of telling Roxy, Glenda propositions Phil and they embark on an affair. When Phil discovers Glenda has also slept with his enemy Ian Beale, he threatens to inform Ian's wife unless he pays him £5,000. Phil's bullying of Ian almost costs him his life: when Ian discovers Phil having a heart attack, Ian threatens to let Phil die but eventually helps Phil for Ben's sake. Phil reevaluates his life following his near-death experience and proposes to Shirley. Shirley initially accepts, but when she discovers Phil's infidelity with Glenda, she forgives him but refuses to marry.

Phil reacts badly when he discovers Ben (now Joshua Pascoe) is gay, showing a preference for his relative Billy's (Perry Fenwick) foster child, Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick). Jay is so enamoured with Phil that he changes his surname to Mitchell, becoming Phil's surrogate son. Ben secretly enacts revenge on Phil for this rejection, terrorising him by anonymous text and letters, inferring he has evidence to incriminate Phil for past misdemeanours. Among other deeds, Ben sends Denise Fox (Diane Parish) evidence revealing Phil supplied the cut and shut car responsible for her husband Kevin Wicks's (Phil Daniels) death, in 2008. Denise's attempts to get Phil imprisoned fail; however, DCI Jill Marsden (Sophie Stanton), who has hoped to to imprison Phil for many years, gets involved in the investigation and is told by Ben that Phil forced Stella Crawford to jump to her death in 2007. Phil is imprisoned for Stella's murder and Ben delights in the distress he causes his father. It is Ian who eventually gets Phil released after discovering Ben is setting-up his father; however, Ben mistakingly believes Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison), Shirley's best friend, is responsible for informing the police about the set-up. Fearful and angry, Ben retaliates by murdering Heather, just as Phil returns to confront him. Blaming himself for Ben's actions, Phil (with Jay's help) covers-up the murder to look like a burglary. To protect Ben, Phil spurns a grieving Shirley, allows his neighbours and family to become murder suspects, and intimidates Ian into keeping silent after Ben confesses to him.

Creation[link]

In late 1989 EastEnders acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson, who took over from Mike Gibbon. Ferguson had previously been a producer on ITV's The Bill which seemed to be challenging EastEnders in providing a realistic vision of modern life in London. Due to his success on The Bill, Peter Cregeen, the Head of Series at the BBC, poached Ferguson to become executive producer of EastEnders.^[2]

For the roles of Phil and Grant Mitchell many actors were screen-tested together. This was done to assure the chosen actors – who would work together – had a strong rapport and physical resemblance. Producer Corinne Hollingworth commented: "There were some good actors we had to turn down because we couldn't find the 'right' brother."^[6] Steve McFadden, an actor who had worked extensively in television, was cast as Phil. His shape, skills in stage fighting and a variety of sports including boxing, football and karate made him an ideal choice to play one of Walford's latest "tough-men."^[6] Ross Kemp got the role of Grant. Both actors worked well together and shared similar physical characteristics, such as short cropped hair and a "round, open face" – facial characteristics also shared by Danniella Westbrook, who was chosen to play their sister Samantha because of this.^[6]

Personality[link]

This section requires expansion.

Of the two brothers Phil was initially calmer, but both had a sense of physical danger about them, displayed stereotypical masculinity, thuggish behaviour and a tendency to resolve problems through violence. Phil was originally depicted as the thinker and the most streetwise of the pair, often bailing his more spontaneous brother out of trouble, although later plotlines drove the character down a darker, more destructive route.^[6] Phil can be violent, but unlike Grant, he occasionally showed restraint when dealing with various enemies encountered – exacting revenge over time, using mind games or getting others to do his dirty work.

Phil has occasionally shown sadistic traits. His bullying of Ian Beale is often done as a means of deriving pleasure.^[7] Equally the ceaseless degradation of Lisa showed a particularly malicious side to the character. While Phil has shown compassion to the women in his life, he frequently finds he is unable to give them the emotional security needed to sustain the relationship. Several women have left him due to this and his inability to put their needs before his family's.

Character development and impact[link]

The original character was actually based on a real life friend caleed Paul stobbs now working for the BAU under the name MC Bamba, when the character came up on the soap steve Mcfaden got the job for his unusual looks which portrayed Paul Stobbs and the character of Phil Mitchell was born

The Mitchell brothers quickly became two of the soap's most popular characters and storylines involving them began to dominate the programme. Their arrival heralded a new era for the soap, which aptly coincided with the beginning of a new decade – EastEnders during the 1980s having been very much dominated by the hugely popular Watts family.^[8]

Sharongate[link]

One of the most notable and popular early storylines involving Phil was a love triangle between him, his brother and his brother's wife Sharon (played by Letitia Dean). Despite the fact that Sharon was married to Grant, EastEnders writer Tony Jordan revealed in The Mitchells - The Full Story that the love-triangle storyline had been planned since Phil and Grant's introduction, after the writers decided Sharon was perfect for them both. This storyline was slow burning and spread over several years, providing a plethora of dramatic tension along the way. The episode in which Phil betrayed his brother with Sharon occurred in September 1992 in one of the soap's notorious three-handers. Things finally came to a head in 1994 with some of EastEnders most popular and renowned episodes, which were dubbed "Sharongate" – centred around Grant's discovery of the affair and his reaction. The repercussions of Phil's betrayal contributed to many subsequent storylines involving the Mitchell brothers during the 1990s. Sharongate has also proven a popular storyline with viewers and it was voted the sixth top soap opera moment of the decade in a poll of 17,000 people for What's On TV magazine.

Alcoholism[link]

Among the many issues Phil has been used to cover is alcoholism and the consequences the condition has upon the sufferer's life. The relationship between alcohol abuse and domestic violence was explored between Phil and his wife Kathy (played by Gillian Taylforth) culminating in the slow deterioration of their marriage, which gripped viewers throughout 1997. Of particular note is an episode where Phil attends Alcoholics Anonymous (February 1997), an "alien and uncomfortable arena" where he was forced to talk about his condition, expose his vulnerability and reveal the basis of his problem – the physical abuse he'd received from his father and his fear that he will do the same. Writer Jacquetta May, who once played Rachel Kominski in the show, evaluated the episode in an article about social realism, education and the moral messages within EastEnders storylines, commenting: "The episode blames his destructiveness on the 'male' response to self-hate: violence. It says that unless problems are worked through (the female method), they will be repeated generation after generation".^[9] This particular episode has also been used in a study by the Stirling Media Research Institute, where men were asked questions about the violence contained within a spectrum of broadcast television material. The study reported that much group discussion centred on the Alcoholics Anonymous group scene, which was, for the most part, seen as an accurate depiction of an AA group therapy session. In addition, Phil's portrayal of a suffering alcoholic was also seen as realistic and a "typical portrayal of bottled-up masculinity".^[10]

The Mitchell car crash[link]

This section requires expansion.

Phil's disposition altered during the early 2000s when a darker more menacing side to his personality began to surface. This change was perhaps a consequence of Grant's departure, who up until this point had always been depicted as the more selfish, thuggish and nastier of the two. The storyline signifying the departure of Ross Kemp played heavily on the Mitchell brothers' fragile and damaged relationship. After discovering that Grant had vengefully slept with Kathy, Phil went ballistic with a handgun causing the hijacked Vauxhall Astra they were driving to career at high speed into the River Thames, in an episode that was watched by 19.5 million viewers.^[11] Shot in London's Docklands, the scenes required stunt doubles, divers and crash test dummies and it has been hailed as "one of the soap's most dramatic storylines ever."^[12]

Who Shot Phil?[link]

Phil's behaviour earned him a number of sworn enemies in Albert Square and by 2001 the character had become one of the soap's nastiest villains.^[13] In an interview with The Guardian McFadden commented on his alter ego's descent into villainy "Phil's been had over by a lot of people, so now he feels like he can do it back. It's his history".^[14] However the character finally received his comeuppance in one of EastEnders most highly anticipated storylines, dubbed "Who Shot Phil?". Phil was gunned down outside his home in March 2001 in a "Dallas-style" whodunnit mystery. Various key characters were in the frame for the deed and viewers were left guessing for weeks as to which of them was the real culprit. Several outcomes were allegedly filmed^[15] and it was reported that only a few TV executives knew the identity of the would-be assassin – even the actors were kept in the dark.^[16] A spokesman commented "The cast are only getting their own scripts. They are not being told anyone else's storylines. Not even Phil knows who shot him. It's top secret."^[16] Script writers were reportedly given private security after a writer's laptop was stolen in what was believed to be an attempt to gain the identity of the assailant.^[16] The storyline captivated the public's imagination leading to thousands of bets being placed at the bookies across the UK – bookmaker William Hill said there was about 50,000 bets on who was responsible.^[16]

An estimated 22 million viewers watched EastEnders on 5 April 2001 to find out that Lisa Shaw – Phil's ex-girlfriend – was the culprit.^[17] The episode caused the third-largest power surge on record,^[18] and the Liverpool and Barcelona UEFA Cup semi-final was postponed for 10 minutes to accommodate a special 40 minute edition of the soap.^[19]

Drug addiction[link]

In June 2010, it was reported that Phil would develop an addiction to crack cocaine after his troubled personal life leads to depression.^[20] The report followed the news that Lucy Benjamin was to return for a single episode, reprising her role as Lisa, the mother of Phil's daughter Louise (Brittany Papple).^[21] In the storyline, Phil gains custody of Louise after she is dropped off in Walford by an unseen person, however, Peggy eventually returns Louise to Lisa after Phil punches his mother in the face. A spokesperson for the show said "Lisa Fowler was a major part of Phil's life – she knows him as well as anyone, so she won't be happy about him looking after his daughter. With their history, you know that this storyline is going to be an explosive episode in the Mitchells' history."^[21] Phil also loses his son Ben (Charlie Jones), who makes a temporary departure from the show in order for the part to be recast.^[22] Subsequently, Phil becomes addicted to crack cocaine. Producers worked closely with drug and alcohol charities, including Addaction and DrugScope. Viewers never see Phil take drugs to make sure the episodes are suitable for all audiences. Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, commented: "If EastEnders sensitively reflect the impact that drug use has on Phil, it could help."^[20] The storyline also sees Phil become more violent. McFadden explained:

"All he can see is Peggy's betrayed him. She knows how much he fought for custody, for contact and how important it was for him to see his children. He's really angry about it and feels the world is against him. [...] What he's really doing is self-harm which is a common response to anger. People do crazy, mad things like this when they're desperate. It's very ugly and disturbing. [...] He's hit his kids and his mum, so yes, [worse violence is] something he's capable of."^[23][24]

McFadden decided to lose weight for the storyline by going on a crash diet, saying that food would not be one of Phil's priorities.^[25]

Other storylines[link]

The character continues to be featured heavily in high-profile storylines which have included various feuds, police enquiries, armed robbery, kidnapping, numerous affairs and relationship problems and an ongoing plot concentrating on the character's struggles to bond with his children. 2005 saw the highly anticipated screen return of both of the Mitchell brothers – six years since they last appeared together. 13 million viewers tuned in to see their return giving the BBC a 52.9% audience share,^[26] a massive coup for the show which had come under heavy criticism in the British media after it drew its lowest audience in more than five years (6.6 million viewers tuning in to one episode in September 2005).^[27]

Reception[link]

Popularity[link]

The character of Phil is arguably one of the soap's most popular, particularly with female viewers, making him one of the soap's unlikeliest sex symbols.^[28][29] He has featured in some of the show's most memorable and highly viewed storylines and he is the second longest running male character to appear in the soap, surpassed only by Ian Beale. Phil along with Grant was voted as the second most popular King Of Soaps in a Channel 4 poll in 2002.^[30]

During a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders throughout 2004 and 2005, the character—who was on a hiatus from the show—was reintroduced twice in what was branded by the press as a bid to "boost flagging Enders"^[31] and "revive the soap's ailing ratings".^[32] His first return in April 2005 was generally well-received, with media comments such as "the excellent, bug-eyed Steve McFadden proves nobody does psychotic thug better than him" and "McFadden's blistering performance on Tuesday defies that old cliché of a soap being bigger than its stars".^[33] Of the Mitchell brothers' highly publicised return in October 2005, one reporter commented "Soapville must confess that we did get goosebumps and feel properly excited when we first saw the Mitchell Brothers back on the Square...After all, you associate them with the golden days of Enders".^[34]

In addition the character has been praised for being good value, realistic, consistent within his character and convincing.^[35][36] In 2009, Phil Mitchell came second in a poll by British men's magazine Loaded for 'Top Soap Bloke'.^[37]

In 2011 McFadden was nominated for 'Best Actor' at the British Soap Awards 2011 for playing Phil.^[38] as well as be nominated at the Inside Soap Awards for 'Best Actor' in 2011.^[39]

Criticism[link]

Although popular with many, the character has also garnered much criticism over the years. In November 2005 the character was blamed for turning children into playground bullies by Dr. Sally Henry, who claimed that impressionable children look to male soap characters as role models and subsequently copy their violent behaviour.^[40] Indeed the character's violent behaviour evoked concern from viewers in October 2002. A scene in which Phil beat his godson Jamie was criticised for being too realistic by TV watchdogs. The Broadcasting Standards Commission upheld 31 complaints from viewers, saying that the scenes were too strong for a programme shown before the 9 pm watershed.^[41]

A certain level of criticism was aimed at the character due to the stark personality change he underwent circa 2000.^[42] One reporter commented "Formerly the milder-mannered sibling, Phil has gone from Abel to Cain without an intervening period of plausibility. And it doesn't suit him".^[43] His violent tendencies have also been spoofed by the television series 2DTV. There were mixed reviews for the highly publicised storyline (dubbed Get Johnny Week) involving the Mitchell brothers reunion in 2006. It was criticised as "patchy" and "awkwardly written...unveiling a common weakness in the EastEnders camp, that character continuity can often fall by the wayside when you are dealing with larger characters".^[44] Additionally, the show was criticised for turning the brothers into a comical farce by incorporating uncharacteristic humour into their dialect, which was described as "cringeworthy".^[34]

In August 2010, scenes showing Phil and Rainie taking the drug crack cocaine prompted over 200 complaints from viewers who felt the scenes were inappropriate. The BBC responded by saying "EastEnders in no way – and at no point – glamorises or condones the use of drugs, and furthermore we took great care to avoid any demonstration on how to prepare or take drugs. We feel that Phil's decline will highlight the destructive nature of drugs, and rather than encourage drug use, will act as a deterrent."^[45] A former cocaine addict, Sarah Graham, agreed with the BBC, saying "I think it's really important that a mainstream character like Phil Mitchell is doing this storyline. [...] I'm not surprised that there have been so many complaints about seeing this on one of our favourite soaps. The episode showed the brutal reality of addiction. [...] I can see that many people will be worried about children watching these scenes. [...] With that in mind, I think they should put the Frank drugs helpline number on after the programme."^[46]

A proportion of viewers possibly feel the criticism is justifiable as the character came second in a Channel 4 poll of The Five TV Characters We Most Love To Hate in 2001—beaten only by Mr. Blobby.^[47]

See also[link]

• List of soap opera villains

References[link]

External links[link]

• Phil Mitchell at BBC Online