Grant Mitchell

Grant Mitchell first arrived in Walford in 1990, along with his brother Phil, sister Sam and mother Peggy. A Falklands veteran with a short temper and a violent streak, he spent a tumultuous decade in Albert Square, which included an often uneasy relationship with his brother, unsuccessful marriages to Sharon Watts and Tiffany Raymond, and owning the Queen Vic. He left the Square in 1999 for Rio to get away from a gang. He returned to help Peggy in 2005. After a bust up with Carla, Grant took Courtney to Portugal. He left again in June 2006 but returned in May 2016 upon hearing his mother Peggy was dying.

He was played by Ross Kemp.

Backstory
The second son born to Eric and Peggy Mitchell, Grant Anthony Mitchell was close to his older brother Phil growing up (there was just over a year between them) and protective of his much younger sister Sam. Grant was a paratrooper in the army where he undertook a mechanic's course, but being involved in the Falklands War deeply scarred him, so he dropped out and began to adapt to life as a civilian. The memories of war troubled him greatly. He was plagued with nightmares, and was prone to terrible rages as a result.

1990–99
28 year-old Grant arrives in Albert Square with his brother Phil (Steve McFadden) in February 1990, as the owners of the local garage, the Arches. After a brief fling with Julie Cooper and getting involved in various dodgy deals, Grant starts wooing the local barmaid, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean). Sharon is attracted to his machismo, and soon their flirting progresses into a relationship. Fiercely protective of his girlfriend, most of Grant's initial problems in the Square revolve around his over-possessive nature and jealousy. He puts the landlord of The Queen Victoria public house, Eddie Royle, in hospital after he makes a pass at Sharon; he later becomes prime suspect for Royle's murder in 1991, but Nick Cotton eventually owns up to the crime. In the wake of this, Grant decides to re-enlist in the army, but is rejected when he fails their psychiatric tests.

Sharongate
Despite his hot-headed tendencies, Sharon sees a different side to Grant, and when he proposes marriage to her, she accepts on the condition that he buys her her childhood home, the Queen Vic pub, which he does. Grant marries Sharon Watts in December 1991 and together they run The Queen Victoria. Their marriage is stormy and punctuated with violent rows and fights. Grant is desperate for a child, and when he discovers Sharon is still taking contraception, he smashes up the pub and then disappears. In his absence, Sharon is comforted by Phil and they begin an affiar, although this comes to an abrupt end when Grant returns and promises to change his ways. He cannot live up to his promises however, and on Sharon's birthday in 1992, Grant sets fire to the Queen Vic to generate insurance money to pay off debts. He does not check to see if Sharon is out of the way, and she and her dog Roly nearly die in the blaze. The insurance money is insufficient, and Sharon reacts with fury when she discovers what Grant has done. She leaves Grant for a while, and when she return attempts to seize control of the Vic; Grant turns violent, assaults Sharon and her friend Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) and is imprisoned on remand. While he is in prison, Sharon and Phil rekindle their affair, but neither can confess to Grant, and it ends when he is released from prison. Sharon and Grant patch up their relationship; however, in 1994, Grant discovers a tape on which Sharon talks about her affair with Phil, and plays it to a packed pub at Phil and Kathy Beale's engagement party. Grant batters Phil in revenge, leaving him with a ruptured spleen, and bullies Sharon until she fled to America. She returns briefly in 1995 to enact revenge, making Grant realise that he is still in love with her, he chooses to be with Sharon over his family. Sharon is ready to turn him down in front of a packed pub and his family. However, in the end, she cannot go through with it, and stops him from publicly proposing before he humiliates himself. She then confesses to him that she still loves him, before moving back to America, leaving Grant shattered.

The conception of Mark Fowler Jr.
Sharon's best friend Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) has a volatile relationship with Grant but, following Sharon's exit, falls pregnant following a one-night stand with him and then flees to the States without telling Grant that he is to be a father. Grant never finds out the baby until years later.

The second Mrs. Grant Mitchell
Grant goes on to wed a pregnant Tiffany Raymond in 1996, although it is unclear whether he or Tiffany's ex-partner Tony is the father. When Grant discovers this, he is incensed and throws Tiffany out. He begins a relationship with Lorraine Wicks, until a paternity test reveals that Grant is the father of his baby, Courtney. He reunites with Tiffany to be near his daughter, but by this time his marriage has deteriorated. ]

The death of Tiffany
When Tiffany discovers that Grant has had an affair with her mother Louise Raymond, she plans to flee to Spain with Courtney on New Year's Eve 1998, but Grant traces her and retrieves Courtney. Tiffany attempts to snatch Courtney but is hit by a car driven by Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), Grant's stepfather, and dies as the clock struck midnight. Grant tries to move on by dating barmaid Nina Harris for a while but dumps her her after her past as a prostitute is uncovered.

The Thames River crash of '99
Grant and brother Phil plan to cheat some gangsters to pay off a debt in October 1999 by intercepting an drug deal and stealing a large amount of cash. Before doing the job with Phil, Grant punches Steve Owen (Martin Kemp). However, the job goes awry when Phil finds out that Grant has slept with his ex-wife Kathy Mitchell (Gillian Taylforth) before doing the job. He confronts Grant after the job and Grant admits he did it in revenge for Phil sleeping with Sharon. Phil pulls out a gun, and shoots the steering wheel in their getaway car, causing Grant to plunge the car into the River Thames. Phil is rescued but Grant is not found and presumed dead. A week later it is revealed that Grant is alive. He departed with Courtney and the stolen money to Rio de Janeiro.

2005–06
Grant returns to Walford in October 2005 with Phil to exonerate his sister Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) for the murder of Den Watts; she is being framed by the real murderer Chrissie Watts. Grant manages to put his differences with both Phil and Sharon behind him, forgiving Sharon when she confesses that she aborted his child in 1995. Grant and Phil manage to persuade Sharon, Den's daughter, that Chrissie (Den's second wife) is the real killer. He finds CCTV evidence of Chrissie admitting she is the murderer to gangster Johnny Allen. Johnny has a grudge against the Mitchell brothers because of their mother Peggy and uses the tape as bait to try to kill them. The brothers eventually beat Johnny at his nightclub office in order to get the tape, Sam is released from prison and Chrissie is imprisoned. Following this, Grant returns to Rio. He returns in March 2006 with his daughter Courtney, citing family and financial problems back in Brazil. Phil tricks Grant to help him in his quest for revenge against Johnny, who killed Sharon's second husband Dennis Rickman. Amidst arguing amongst the Mitchell brothers, Johnny, armed with a shotgun, captures them and orders his henchman Danny Moon to take them to a forest and kill them. They are rescued by Danny's brother Jake Moon, who shoots his brother dead at the last second - saving Phil and Grant. Jake secretly buries his brother in the woods and Johnny turns himself into the police. Grant flirts with Jane Collins, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt)'s girlfriend; he seduces her after getting a job working for Jake at the newly reopened Scarlet nightclub. Their affair ends when Phil catches them together and Grant then has a one-night stand with 19-year-old Chelsea Fox - to his mother's outrage. Shortly after, his estranged Brazilian wife, Carla, shows up in Walford. Grant and Carla resume their relationship, but Carla's ex-partner Ray soon arrives to retrieve £12,000 that Carla has stolen from him. Carla and Ray resume their affair and plan to fleece Grant for £25,000. Grant learns of Carla's scam; unbeknown to Carla he chases Ray away and leads Carla to believe he has fallen for her lies. Grant catches her attempting to steal his money and reacts by dumping her in a litter bin, ending their marriage. Grant and Courtney then leave together for Portugal.

2016
In May 2016, Peggy returns to the Square having been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She decides to stop her treatment, but Phil tries to change her mind, enlisting the help of Sharon. Sharon then calls Grant in Portugal, leaving a voicemail saying that his family needs him. Grant returns to the square soon after and walks in on Phil and Peggy. He plans to take Peggy with him back to Portugal, only for her to say that her cancer has returned. Grant is angry when she reveals that she had planned to tell him and Sam through letters to them after she died, and that she plans to commit suicide. Phil and Grant seemingly convince Peggy not to do this. Grant tells Phil he needs the money that he lent him immediately but knows he cannot get it so threatens him unless he returns the money. Grant then returns to Portugal, only for Sharon to call him again to inform him that Peggy has killed herself. When Sam returns to Walford for Peggy's funeral, she reveals that Grant is unable to come to the funeral; however, Grant later secretly watches the funeral behind a tree near the church, though nobody sees him there. He lays a rose on Peggy's grave after everyone has left. When his nephew Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid) goes missing and Phil is reluctant to get the police involved, so Sharon contacts Grant for help and they agree to meet in a nearby café. When Sharon goes there, she find Grant's daughter Courtney Mitchell (Alice Nokes) and finds out that it was Courtney replying to Sharon's texts, not Grant. Sharon then immediately leaves the café and phones Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) telling her that she's going to go to the police about Ben. As she leaves, unbeknownst to Sharon, Courtney follows her. When they both arrive at the police, they find Grant sitting outside the station.

Grant visits The Vic and briefly meets Lee Carter but two men interrupt Grant asking for a beer. Grant and the 2 men almost get into an argument but Mick Carter tells Grant to see him if there are any problems. Grant says nothing. He later admits that he loves Sharon and wants to take her away. Phil finds about and says Grant is a dead man if he comes back, oh brotherly love.

He returned again on September 2nd 2016 to assist Phil in Looking for Ben and Jay. Grant rushes to Courtney's aid and assumes Mark is attacking her, but Sharon tells him he is Michelle's son. Phil initially insists he does not need Grant's help but then accepts it. Phil collapses so Grant vows to rescue Ben. Mark gets in Grant's car to help him, and they find Ben and Grant scares off the men. Grant reconciles with Phil, admitting he no longer wants the money Phil borrowed from him, and Phil tells Grant that Mark is his son. Courtney is angry with Grant when he stops her kissing Mark. Grant confronts Ian about keeping the secret for so long and punches him after Ian insults his parenting skills. Sharon tells him the reasons Michelle did not want him involved and Grant agrees that Mark would be better off not knowing, but Jane convinces Grant otherwise, so Grant offers to take Mark for a drink. After a heart to heart, Grant realizes that Mark would be better off not knowing and decides to return to Portugal after seeing Phil. Phil gives him money, and he reunites with Courtney and the pair return to Portugal. Mark also works out who Grant is, but Sharon convinces him he is better off with his adopted father.