Grant Mitchell

Grant Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp.

He was introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show, and originally served as one of the show's leading protagonists throughout the 1990s; with the character first appearing in 22 February 1990 and then departing on 25 October 1999 after Kemp had opted to leave the show.

Throughout the course of his 1990s duration, Grant established himself as one of the show's most prominent characters.

He was portrayed as a tough persona, known for his fiery temper and his tendency to resort to violence.

Despite this, however, his family is important to him – particularly his relationship with his older brother Phil (Steve McFadden).

Known as the "Mitchell brothers", Grant and Phil have become household names in the United Kingdom – due to their association with the stereotypical black leather jacket-wearing bald and brutal thug.

They have been parodied even in adverts where their gruff, tough talking, cockney accents have been impersonated.

One of EastEnders' most popular and highly rated storylines was "Sharongate", where Grant discovers that his wife Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) has been having an affair with his brother.

In light of this iconic revelation, Grant attacked Phil and exacted revenge on Sharon until she departed the programme following her betrayal.

Grant then went on to embark on a second marriage with local barmaid Tiffany Raymond (Martine McCutcheon), up to the point where she gave birth to their daughter – Courtney.

However, their marriage ended in tragedy when Grants’s stepfather Frank Butcher accidentally runs her down.

The character has also become a prime suspect in the murder of Sharon's hated boss Eddie Royle (Michael Melia); sparked a longstanding feud with her best-friend Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully); clashed with Peggy's campaign rival George Palmer (Paul Moriarty); developed a close friendship with local shopkeeper Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley); formed a conflict with Sam's former boyfriend David Wicks (Michael French); slept with David's wife Lorraine Wicks (Jacqueline Leonard) they secretly harbored feelings for each other; cheated on Tiffany by having an affair with her mother Louise (Carol Harrison); triggered a rivalry with his archenemy Beppe di Marco (Michael Greco); disputed with Beppe's younger brother Gianni (Marc Bannerman); worked with Palmer's daughter Annie (Nadia Sawalha) on a jointed business venture at the local gym; established an antagonistic business partnership with Phil's would-be sworn nemesis, Steve Owen (Martin Kemp); had a one-night stand with Phil's estranged wife Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth); exonerated Sam for the murder of Sharon's adopted father, Den (Leslie Grantham), by proving to his ex-wife that her stepmother Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) was responsible for the crime; teamed up with Phil to confront their mother's gangland enemy, Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), and get justice for the death of Sharon's adopted brother-turned-second husband Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) in the Get Johnny Week scenario; infuriated Kathy's son Ian (Adam Woodyatt) after sleeping with his eventual lover Jane (Laurie Brett) prior to their wedding; ended his third ill-fated marriage to Carla (Christianne Oliveira) upon learning that she turned him against Courtney; and discovered that he is the father of Michelle's secret son, Mark (Ned Porteous), in light of coping with losing his mother Peggy to cancer.

Despite his tough nature, he is also a womaniser and has been involved in several relationships with an array of women – including Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright), Nina Harris (Troy Titus-Adams), Chelsea Fox (Tiana Benjamin) and Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris).

While he has calmed down in recent years, Grant is still feared by people in and around Walford.

Grant Mitchell first arrived in Albert Square in February 1990 with his older brother Phil (Steve McFadden), and the pair become co-owners of the local garage, The Arches.

Grant had returned to civilian life in London having been a paratrooper in the Army, which included serving in the Falklands War at the age of 19.

After a brief fling with Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright) and getting involved in various dodgy deals, Grant starts wooing the local barmaid, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).

She grows attracted to his machismo, and soon their flirting progresses into a relationship.

Fiercely protective of his girlfriend, most of Grant's initial problems in the Square revolve around his over-possessive nature and jealousy.

He puts Sharon's boss Eddie Royle (Michael Melia), the landlord of The Queen Victoria public house, in hospital after he makes A Pass at Sharon; he later becomes prime suspect for Royle's murder, but is proved not guilty when the killer is revealed to be Nick Cotton (John Altman), the well established local villain who eventually owns up to the crime but is found not guilty in court.

In the wake of this, Grant decides to re-enlist in the army; however, he is left despondent after getting rejected for failing their psychiatric tests.

Despite his hot-headed tendencies, Sharon sees a different side to Grant, and when he proposes marriage to her, she accepts on the condition that he buys her childhood home, The Queen Vic, which he does.

Grant marries Sharon in December 1991 and together they run The Queen Vic.

Their marriage is stormy and punctuated with violent rows and fights.

Grant is desperate for a child, although Sharon would rather concentrate on the pub for the time being, and when he discovers Sharon is still taking contraception, he smashes up the pub and then disappears.

In his absence, Sharon is comforted by Phil and they begin an affair, although this comes to an abrupt end when Grant returns and promises to change his ways.

He cannot live up to his promises, however, and, on Sharon's birthday in October 1992, Grant sets fire to The Queen Vic to generate insurance money to pay off debts.

He does not check to see whether Sharon is out of the way, and she and her dog Roly nearly die in the blaze.

The insurance money is insufficient, and Sharon reacts with fury when she discovers what Grant has done.

She leaves Grant for a while, and, when she returns and attempts to seize control of The Queen Vic, Grant turns violent, assaults Sharon and her best friend, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), and is imprisoned on remand.

While he is in prison, Sharon and Phil rekindle their affair, but neither can confess to Grant, and it ends when he is released from prison.

Sharon and Grant patch up their relationship; however, in the autumn of 1994, Grant discovers a tape on which Sharon talks about her affair with Phil, and plays it to a packed pub at Phil's engagement party to his fiancée, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).

In response, Grant batters Phil – leaving him with a ruptured spleen – and is abusive towards Sharon until she flees to the United States, signalling the end of their marriage after just three years.

He then returned to the show on 24 October 2005 for a few weeks and returned again between March and June 2006.

Kemp was persuaded to return to the role for brief stints during a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders.

The return proved to be a ratings success.

Kemp reprised the role of Grant for various guest stints in 2016, appearing in twelve episodes between 13 May and 9 September.

An archived recording of his voice was heard on 25 January 2022.

On 26 July 2022, it was announced that Grant would feature in a flashback episode focusing on the Mitchell family in 1979.

Teddy Jay played the role of Grant for this special episode, which aired on 5 September 2022.