Billy Mitchell (EastEnders)

Billy Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Perry Fenwick, who made his first appearance on 2 November 1998. Billy was originally introduced by executive producer Matthew Robinson as a guest character, facilitating the introduction of Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder) to the show. Early on, Billy was Jamie's abusive uncle and guardian - which results in Jamie being taken away from Billy by his relative, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Billy was then brought back to the serial on 2 August 1999 and Fenwick was offered a longer-term contract, and Billy ended up becoming a regular character. Frequently portrayed as a small-time criminal, Billy is a luckless resident of Albert Square who often struggles financially. His most prominent storylines include two failed marriages with Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth) and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) and having a daughter, Janet Mitchell (Grace) born with Down syndrome. Fenwick filmed his 1000th episode on 6 August 2010, and later his 2000th on 24 September 2022.

Billy's other major story lines have seen him involved in criminal activities with both Phil and his brother Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp); working for Steve Owen (Martin Kemp); and being blackmailed by Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) to gain leverage against Steve and Phil, leading to Dan kidnapping Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite); his complicated relationship with Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks); marrying Little Mo after she overcomes her abusive husband Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns); a subsequent incident where Little Mo gets raped by Graham Foster (Alex McSweeney) and struggling to cope with raising their son Freddie; a feud with Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs) and attempting with Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi) to stop Andy from marrying Phil and Grant's sister, Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf); getting employed by Johnny Allen (Billy Murray); having a close friendship with Jase Dyer (Stephen Lord) before witnessing the latter's brutal death at the hands of his gang boss Terry Bates (Nicholas Ball); becoming the guardian of Jase's son Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) up to the point of becoming his surrogate father; starting a short-lived romance with Jean Slater (Gillian Wright); reuniting with his former girlfriend Julie Perkins (Cathy Murphy) and discovering that their deceased son had a daughter Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold); and developing a romantic obsession with Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater). He later reunites with Honey, becomes the manager of a funeral parlour from which he is later sacked; sleeps with Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) which ends his relationship with Honey; a relationship with Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley), feuding with Jay over his relationship with Honey who he reconciles with after she splits with Jay; struggling to deal with Lola's brain tumour and death; reuniting with his estranged father, Stevie Mitchell (Alan Ford) discovering that he has a half-brother, Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) and re-marrying Honey during the show's 40th anniversary episodes.