EastEnders’ Phil makes a life-changing decision in very tragic death story

EastEnders’ Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) has rarely, if ever, found himself in a battle he can’t win.

He’s had blood feuds with a number of rival Walford hardmen and gangsters, yet has a knack of coming out on top, even when it seems that all hope is lost. He’s taken on alcoholism, drug addiction, and even his own mental health, each having taken a sizeable amount from him, yet he eventually emerged the victor.

This time, though, Phil’s positioned himself against an enemy he simply can’t defeat: his best friend Nigel Bates’ (Paul Bradley) dementia, and this fact has been almost impossible for him to digest.

Ever since Nigel returned to Walford and Phil learned of his diagnosis, he pledged to stand beside him until the very end, becoming his full-time carer alongside Nigel’s wife, Julie (Karen Henthorn).

Though both tried their best, as Nigel’s condition progressed and became more debilitating, it became painfully clear that he was in need of professional care in a proper facility, something Phil simply couldn’t, and still hasn’t accepted. Since Nigel moved into the care home, Phil has yet to visit, having shared a heart breaking goodbye with his pal on the day he entered the facility.

This week sees Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) suggest that perhaps the time has come to contact his dad, and Phil’s brother, Grant (Ross Kemp) as Nigel’s pneumonia continues to worsen.

While the little Mitchell sister, Sam (Kim Medcalf) understands why Mark would suggest so, she sadly tells him that she, Grant and Phil have drifted apart since the death of the ultimate matriarch: their mum, Peggy (Barbara Windsor).

On this, Ross said: ‘Peggy was the matriarch and the one who held the family together. Although family is hugely important to the Mitchells, she was always the glue.

‘Since then, Phil has had his own struggles, and Grant has been doing what he’s always done – disappearing, hiding away, and not wanting to face the facts. E

‘Every time Grant leaves, it seems there’s one less thing to bring him back, but there will always be something. If Phil is there, Grant will always return – and now he has a son there too!’

Mark is undeterred, though, and summons Grant back to the square, reuniting the Mitchell siblings for the first time in what feels like forever.

What is it that brings Grant back? ‘He’s desperate to see his son. They’ve never had a relationship, and he may see this as the first step towards potentially building one.