Grant Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. He was introduced by executive producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show, and originally served as one of the show's 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. 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. On 1 January 2025, it was announced that both Kemp and Jay would reprise their respective roles as Grant as part of the show's 40th anniversary, with the character appearing in nine episodes between 13 and 27 February. He made a further appearance on 23 December later that year, with Jay reprising his role again as part of a hallucination in the 1990s during a special episode heavily focused on Nigel Bates' (Paul Bradley) worsening dementia. Kemp returned to the soap in scenes that aired during the 27 April 2026 episode and exited in scenes during the 26 May of the same year.
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 Mitchell (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 later marries local barmaid Tiffany Raymond (Martine McCutcheon) and she gives birth to their daughter, Courtney. However, their marriage ended in tragedy when Grant's stepfather Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) accidentally runs her down on New Year's Eve 1998.
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); harboured romantic feelings with David's former wife Lorraine (Jacqueline Leonard); 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; embarked on a tryst with cafe owner Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) while she is romantically engaged to Phil's hated stepson Ian (Adam Woodyatt); ended his third ill-fated marriage to Carla (Christianne Oliveira) upon learning that she turned him against Courtney; discovering that he is the father of Michelle's secret son, Mark (Ned Porteous), in light of coping with losing his mother Peggy to cancer, reuniting with Mark a decade later amidst struggling with Nigel's death in 2026 and a feud with Max Branning (Jake Wood). Despite his tough nature, he is also a womaniser and has been involved in several romances with an array of women – including Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright), Nina Harris (Troy Titus-Adams), Chelsea Fox (Tiana Benjamin), Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris), and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright).
Character creation Background In the latter part of 1989 EastEnders executive producer Michael Ferguson, had taken over from Mike Gibbon. Ferguson had previously been a producer on ITV's The Bill – a hard-hitting and successful police drama, 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.
Following a relatively unsuccessful inclination towards comedic storylines throughout 1989, Ferguson decided to take the soap in a new direction in 1990. Big changes were implemented both off-screen and on-screen. Ferguson altered the way the episodes were produced, changed the way the storylines were conceptualised and introduced a far greater amount of location work than had previously been seen. EastEnders scriptwriter Colin Brake has said that it was a challenging period, but "the results on-screen were a programme with a new sense of vitality, and a programme more in touch with the real world than it had been for a while".
As a consequence of these changes, a large number of characters, including Marge Green (Pat Coombs), Julie Cooper (Louise Plowright), Trevor Short (Phil McDermott) and Paul Priestly (Mark Thrippleton), were axed in early 1990 as the new production machine cleared way for a new direction and new characters. Two major new characters, the Mitchell brothers, made their first appearance in February 1990. Ferguson wanted to introduce a couple of young men who would bring an air of danger, characters who would be "unpredictable" and "bursting with energy". Phil and Grant Mitchell went on to become major long-term characters, rooted firmly at the heart of the series.
Casting To cast Phil and Grant Mitchell many actors were screen-tested together. This was done to assure that the chosen actors – who would work predominantly alongside each other – had a strong rapport and physical resemblance. Producer Corinne Hollingworth has commented: "There were some good actors we had to turn down because we couldn't find the 'right' brother". Ross Kemp was chosen to play Grant. Kemp was an actor with a stocky, muscular build and shaven hair, making him an ideal choice to play one of Walford's latest "tough-men". Steve McFadden was given the role of Phil. Both actors worked well and convincingly together and both 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 partly because of this.
Personality Of the two brothers Grant was the more volatile, but both had a sense of physical danger about them, and both displayed stereotypical masculinity, thuggish behaviour and a tendency to resolve problems through violence. Grant was originally depicted as the more spontaneous of the Mitchell double-act, suffering from a lack of self-control, often incapable of restraining himself and requiring his elder brother to do it for him. Despite the brothers' closeness, rivalry between them was sometimes evident. It was later revealed that Grant's terrible temper was due to post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by nightmares and scarring memories of his combat in the Falklands War.
Grant often displayed laddish, thrill-seeking behaviour; drinking, chasing women, clubbing, gambling and living off of his wits. He became restless easily and actively sought the thrill of danger in order to regain excitement in his life, which led to his participation in numerous crimes, fights and affairs. Grant showed impulsive behaviour, a disregard for social rules and an indifference to the feelings of others, particularly the women in his life. He was often portrayed as arrogant and egotistical, with an inflated opinion of his own importance. Because of this, he rarely admitted to being at fault or backed down from an argument. While the character mellowed in his later years, such behaviour was still apparent. However he is not completely without showing rare signs of compassion. An example of this was that he was one of the few people who offered support to Mark Fowler when he was isolated by the rest of Albert Square (led ironically by Grant's mother, Peggy), because of his HIV illness. Another was that he went to console Nigel Bates after his wife, Debbie, was killed by in a road accident.
Grant took great pride in being a Mitchell, his late father had a local reputation as a boxer. He always strived to live up to the family name and enjoyed the reputation he inherited and maintained. While Grant liked to think of himself as indestructible, he at many times showed emotional vulnerability and a need to be mothered. Indeed, at times he was just as likely to burst into tears as he was to throw a punch."Happy Birthday EastEnders ", BBC. URL last accessed on 3 December 2006. Because of this, he attracted many women, despite the fact that he often treated them as possessions, disregarding their feelings and eliciting exaggerated revenge should they cross him (resulting in spousal abuse and the destruction of all three of his marriages)."The queens of mean", The Guardian. URL last accessed on 3 December 2006. His quick temper was off-set by a period of genuine remorse and promises that he would change. However, more often than not, Grant reverted to form and when placed under pressure he seemed incapable of controlling his aggression, disregarding all consequences."EastEnders Blood Ties ", avalonbooks. URL last accessed on 3 December 2006.
Development and impact The Mitchell brothers quickly became two of the soap's most popular characters and storylines involving the brothers soon 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 Fowler and Watts families.
Sharongate