EastEnders’ Grant Mitchell faces heartbreaking choice as Phil breaks down

EastEnders’ Grant Mitchell has to make a difficult decision amid Nigel’s imminent death and the mental health battle it is putting Phil through, as the Mitchell family fear the worst

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Grant Mitchell is facing a tragic choice on EastEnders – save his brother, or be there for his best friend’s death? Amid Nigel Bates’ imminent death, it’s become clear to everyone that Grant’s brother, Phil, isn’t coping. In fact, Grant and Billy Mitchell are both concerned he might try to commit suicide again.

The last time Grant (Ross Kemp) was in Walford, Phil (Steve McFadden) was struggling so much with his mental health that he tried to take his own life.

After that, he threw himself into taking care of his best mate Nigel (Paul Bradley), who was suffering from dementia. But once Nigel was put in a care home, Phil struggled with losing him and refused to visit.

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Many characters have expressed worry for Phil’s mental health. His nephew Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) called in Grant to help, but he was unable to get through to his brother. In Tuesday’s episode (28 April), Billy (Perry Fenwick) also tried to get Phil to visit Nigel, who had started to receive end-of-life care, and frantically called Grant as well, when Phil went missing.

Billy and Grant were both worried Phil might try to take his own life again. As the episode drew to a close, Grant had tracked Phil down to a beach. But as Grant was about to talk to Phil, he got a call from Nigel’s wife Julie (Karen Henthorn), who said she needed Grant to come back to the hospital for Nigel. What would Grant do? Help his brother, or say goodbye to his friend?

Fans have praised EastEnders for how they’ve handled the storyline around Nigel’s dementia and Phil’s mental health. One said: “I think they’ve done a fantastic job at showing how all-consuming anticipatory grief can be through Julie and Phil.

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“The fear of facing reality, wanting to run away from the inevitable, and mourning someone who is still alive is an incredibly difficult aspect of caring for someone you love who is terminally ill, especially with something like dementia.

“I like how they’re showcasing different responses to grief, and I am pleased that they seem to have spent a great deal of time making sure they handled Nigel’s death with care, respect, and realism.”

Another spoke about how they knew this storyline was going to be difficult for them to watch: “A lot of my tweets are just gonna be ‘[phil/julie/nigel]’ and I’m not sorry for it.”

Ross Kemp, who plays Grant, has said that the reason he came back to EastEnders was to work with Steve McFadden again. “I think Steve is still brilliant when it comes to playing a guy who could hit you with a piece of wood, but could also break down in tears,” he explained.

He also gave an insight into his storyline and said the script described Grant as “heaving with tears” when he goes to visit Nigel. Ross found it easy to weep freely because of a real-life upset involving his own mother.

“I won’t go into detail, but something happened to my mum on the third day on set,” he told Radio Times. “And so heaving tears wasn’t difficult.”

If you have been affected by this story, Cruse Bereavement Support offers free help to make sense of how you are feeling. Click here for their website or call 0808 808 1677.

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