Eastenders
Find out how Phil and the Mitchell clan earned their reputation as a trip to 1979 sees his mum Peggy return…
Mon-thu, 7.30pm, BBC1 Soap
Jaime Winstone plays Eastenders icon Peggy
Mitchell in a flashback episode (Monday) set in
1979 that unravels past family secrets! Look out for her teen sons Phil (Daniel Delaney) and Grant (Teddy Jay), as we discover what their father Eric (George Russo) was really like. Peggy is busy juggling keeping her boys and little Sam in line while her marriage to Eric begins to fall apart…
Although Phil Mitchell agreed to become a police informant in order to escape prison, he never had any intention of delivering.
But DCI Keeble’s found out Phil’s been working against her and has insisted he’ll return to jail if he doesn’t dish the dirt on the name at the very top of her hit list.
This week, time rewinds to 1979 to explain why Keeble’s got it in for the Mitchells and reveal how the family earned their shady reputation.
At the heart of the action is Peggy Mitchell, played by Jaime Winstone, who’s got her hands full looking after Phil, Grant and Sam, and whose marriage to Eric is looking rocky. Their cousin Billy also features in the pre-walford look-back, as does his older brother Charlie, their dad Stephen, Ronnie and Roxy and their parents Archie and Glenda.
Tough times
‘With this episode you’re going to see some of your most-loved characters, like Phil and Grant, and be introduced to Eric,’ says Jaime, who also starred as Barbara Windsor – the actor best-known for playing Peggy Mitchell – in BBC biopic Babs.
‘It’s about a family who are being held together but cracks are starting to show. The boys are becoming men before Peggy’s eyes. It’s turbulent and a lot of stuff goes down.
‘There are highs and lows. There are soft moments, too, but it’s really to set up why the characters are like they are now and why some families are broken. Certain choices were made that really shouldn’t have been.’
With Britain in the grip of an economic crisis, Peggy is doing all she can to keep the family fed and out of trouble – but that’s just not possible with Eric in tow…
‘She spends a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking for the boys and cleaning up – it’s really all about the pride she has in her home,’ says Jaime.
‘The Peggy we know is independent, fierce and tough, but we don’t start out like that. As women, you start as a soft rose and slowly get very hard-worn because that is what society does to us.’