Archie Mitchell

Archie Mitchell
Duration	2008—2009
First appearance	8 July 2008
Classification	Present; departing
Introduced by	Diederick Santer
In-universe information Occupation Club owner (retired) Father Phil Mitchell Mother Sandra Mitchell Brothers Eric Mitchell Clive Mitchell Wife Glenda Mitchell (1972–1989) Daughters Ronnie Mitchell Roxy Slater Granddaughters Danielle Jones Amy Slater Grandfathers Edward Mitchell Grandmothers Betty Mitchell Uncles Kenneth Mitchell Nephews Phil Mitchell Grant Mitchell Nieces Sam Mitchell First cousins Steven Mitchell Ted Mitchell

Archibald Lionel "Archie" Mitchell is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Larry Lamb and made his first on-screen appearance on 8 July 2008.. The character will make his final appearance in April 2009 following a confrontation with screen step-son Phil Mitchell.

Character creation

The character of Archie is the father of already established characters Ronnie (Samantha Janus) and Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons), and a member of the Mitchell family, who have appeared in the soap since 1990. Roxy is the younger of the two daughters and seemingly shares a closer relationship with Archie whereas Ronnie relationship with him is not so amicable.

The arrival of Archie was anticipated ever since the arrival of his daughters in July 2007, with several actors rumoured to be taking on the role. Janus told Digital Spy, "I would love the idea that this mad, iconic male [Archie] comes back into our lives. It needs to be someone dark — someone that gives a really wiry performance." Simons added, "I don't know why I've got this thing about Bob Hoskins. I've always wanted him to be my dad." Other actors mentioned by Janus and Simons include Terence Stamp, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Caine, Ian McShane and Ray Winstone. Winstone, a friend of Janus, denied claims that he would be playing Archie, joking "I'll play [Ronnie's] fella but I'm not playing her dad!" Veteran entertainer Lionel Blair was also rumoured to be playing Archie, but this was denied. The character's imminent arrival was announced in early March 2008, with Larry Lamb being cast in the role.

The character has been described by EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer as "a Mitchell through and through", "possessing the unique moral code which that legendary name implies", who will "set the cat amongst the Mitchell pigeons" and "[blow] the complex and darkly-veiled Mitchell world [...] apart." He is also described as "charismatic, authoritative, smart and proper old-school London" and an "archetypal Mitchell", and according to Digital Spy, his arrival will "shed new light on what made Ronnie and Roxy into the women they are and [...] provide some new insights into Peggy [Mitchell]'s history." Santer promised EastEnders' audience "stacks of excitement and drama" upon Archie's arrival.

Speaking of the casting of Lamb in the role, Santer commented: "Larry Lamb is an immensely talented, experienced and charismatic actor. [...] Barbara [Windsor], Rita [Simons], Sam [Janus] and I are very excited to be working with Larry." Lamb said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be joining the Mitchell clan and working with [...] Barbara Windsor and my new-found daughters Ronnie and Roxy. I can't wait to step into Archie's shoes — frankly, it's a badge of honour to join EastEnders. My roots are working class so becoming part of the Square feels right. It's like I've come full circle and am back where I started out." He also described Archie as "different [from Phil and Grant]. He's not [...] frightened to get involved, but he's become more worldly over the years. He's made a success of his life and he's learnt a lot on the way."

Archie is a love interest for Peggy, his brother's widow, despite reports that actress Barbara Windsor did not want any more romantic storylines. Windsor later commented that "she always thought Larry Lamb should star in the [...] soap" and that he is a "match made in heaven" for her.

Character development

The character of Archie was introduced in a group of episodes filmed on-location in Weymouth, Dorset. Viewers were made aware of his feud with daughter Ronnie after he made her give her baby up for adoption as a teenager. Larry Lamb discussed Archie and Ronnie's relationship in an interview with Radio Times: "He has a very chequered past - it's gone very wrong with Ronnie, while Roxy's his blue-eyed girl [...] he's a very family-oriented character and I think he finds the dissent between him and Ronnie a little bit tough to take." He has also said: "Ronnie brings out the worst in Archie, and he gets vicious. Archie wants to put right these long-standing problems he has with Ronnie. But things just get worse." An EastEnders source said of their relationship: "At the moment she has to play the game to get what she wants. But she is more than a match for Archie - and with Phil as back-up she is able to take him on. And one thing is for sure - it's going to be a spectacular war between these two."

Background

Archie is the father of Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell. He was born to his parents, Phil and Sandra Mitchell at an unspecified time; he also had an older brother Eric an another brother Clive. He was known to be a warm, charismatic man to those he came across, in particular his sister-in-law Peggy Mitchell, whom he helped out when she suffered at the hands of his violent brother Eric.

However behind closed doors Archie was shown to be a nasty man. He repeatedly had affairs with other women behind his wife's back, which led to Glenda becoming a bitter and broken woman who eventually escaped to Australia when she couldn't handle the pain Archie was putting her through.

Archie used to leave a watch that Ronnie and Roxy bought for him out in the hall as a sign that Ronnie had done something wrong. He would leave it a couple of days, and then he would deprive her of something that she had really wanted as a punishment. Ronnie had found an injured pigeon that she wanted to adopt, but Archie wrung his neck.

He then proceeded to take his pregnant 14-year-old daughter Ronnie away to distant relatives, where she gave birth to her daughter Amy in 1989. After the birth, Archie then took the baby away and put her up for adoption, leaving his daughter heartbroken that resulted in a hatred for him. As a result, Ronnie walked out in 1993 when she was 19 years old, and Archie hadn't seen her since.

Storylines

Archie was first seen on 8 July 2008 when his daughter Ronnie and former sister-in-law Peggy turned up on his doorstep in Dorset. Peggy and Ronnie had been searching for Ronnie's pregnant sister Roxy, who had done a runner from Ibiza. Peggy knew that she was staying with Archie, but neglected to inform Ronnie of this due to fear of Ronnie not turning up. Ronnie was furious to come face-to-face with her estranged father, and wanted nothing to do with him.

Later that evening, Archie and Peggy caught up over a bottle of red wine, and Archie told Peggy that he had fought cancer in the past. He held out hope that he could regain his relationship with Ronnie, but Ronnie remained defiant that her father was a monster. It was soon discovered that Archie knew where Amy was, and that she had died 13 years ago in the bath. Ronnie was defiant, saying he was lying to make her angry and upset. Archie ripped her locket from around her neck and Ronnie hit him, before he pinned her down by the neck on the sofa, saying she wasn't going to take Roxy away from him. Roxy came in, seeing Ronnie on the floor in a dishevelled mess, holding her locket. Roxy agreed to move back to London with her if Ronnie and Archie made up which she thought they did. Ronnie leaned in for a pretend kiss and said "'ll kiss your gravestone when you're dead.." Archie then persuaded Peggy to make a go of things while they can, and told Ronnie that he'd see her in London in a few weeks. Ronnie got in the car, and he gave her a grin and raised his glass, making Ronnie fume with anger.

On 1 August 2008, Archie and Peggy walked into the Vic in the aftermath to Sean Slater and Roxy's wedding, and it was revealed that Archie had proposed to Peggy himself and she accepted. On 8 August, Peggy revealed that her and Archie had set the date of their spring wedding, for March 21 2009 but decided to get married in November, much to Ronnie's dislike. She was told to leave by Peggy.

On 9 October 2008, Peggy had been spying on Archie by sending texts from Suzy Branning's mobile phone just to test what he is up to, but when he finds out, Archie tells her they might as well postpone their wedding as he feels that she doesn't trust him. The next day, he ordered Danielle Jones to spy on Ronnie by stealing a letter from her former boyfriend. When Archie confronts Ronnie about the letter, he returns her locket and burns the letter. He is now beginning to treat Peggy like dirt by having her change her hairstyle and clothes and is taking her away from her friends.

On 17 November 2008, Roxy went into premature labour. When she ordered Archie to find Sean, he pretended to ring him on his mobile phone. This was because Archie dislikes Sean and doesn't want him to be with Roxy. Roxy gave birth to a baby girl, who she named after Ronnie's presumed-dead daughter Amy, who he, in fact, lied about. This somehow made Archie furious as he still remembers the shame Ronnie had brought to the family and he knows that Ronnie's daughter is not dead.

In December 2008, Archie discovered Suzy robbing the Mitchell safe and told her he would not say anything if she did something for him. This involved the DNA test results for Amy and Sean. Even though he knows the truth of Amy's paternity, Archie tried to make peace with Sean and apparently succeeded by mentioning being a father. Things went from bad to worse for Archie when Sean revealed that he had put down a deposit on a flat but it is outside of Walford - Dagenham. This news really infuriated Archie and he would do anything to stop their move from happening. To take drastic action, with the help of Suzy, he orders her to do a job involving the DNA results by putting it in one of his great nephew Ben's homemade Christmas cracker as he knew this idea would devastate Sean.

When Janine Butcher later unveiled a blown-up photograph of Peggy in her youth as go-go dancer, Archie deliberately let the photographer, who had been hired to take a photo of Peggy holding up the photo of her as a go-go dancer, take the photo he had taken of her to be printed. He then paid Janine a visit, with her, at first, mistakenly believing that he was threatening her, but soon was relieved when Archie told her "Not a lot of people impress me, but you have. I think this could be the beginning of a very beautiful friendship", and started stroking her face. However, the next day, Janine proved to be far too impatient for his liking, and after having to throw her out of the Vic, he went to see her at Janine Cars. He berated her, saying "That wasn't a smart move", and "I thought you were a woman with a mind for business, but I guess I had you all wrong".

On 19 March 2009, Archie realised and discovered that Danielle is actually his 'presumed-dead' granddaughter Amy, when he saw her locket that Ronnie had gave to her baby before giving her up for adoption. He convinced her that Ronnie suffers from depression and that he can only decide when it is the right time that Danielle can finally reveal her true identity to Ronnie because he had previously lied about Amy's death and wanted to preserve his story.

Reception

Diederick Santer has commented "I've only seen a handful of scenes that Larry's done so far but I think he's giving a mesmerising and multi-layered performance. There's quite a buzz coming up from the set, and I'm really excited about him." Tim Teeman, critic for The Times, has described Archie as "a thousand times more terrifying than Nick Cotton" and "a psycho in a golf jersey."

External links

• Archie Mitchell at BBC Online