{"id":292647,"date":"2026-02-15T14:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T14:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/292647\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T14:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T14:20:11","slug":"eastenders-icon-grant-mitchell-to-return-for-explosive-new-stint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/292647\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders icon Grant Mitchell to return for &#8220;explosive&#8221; new stint"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ross Kemp is set to reprise his role as Grant Mitchell in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a> for a dramatic return to Walford this spring.<\/p>\n<p>Grant was last seen on screen on Thursday 27 February 2025 as part of the show\u2019s 40th anniversary celebrations, when he briefly returned to Albert Square amid concerns about Phil\u2019s deteriorating mental health.<\/p>\n<p>This time, Grant \u2013 who has been living in Portugal \u2013 is called back to Walford by his estranged son <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-mark-fowler-jr-stephen-aaron-sipple-recast-flash-forward-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple)<\/a>, marking the first time the pair will come face-to-face since Mark learned the truth about his parentage.<\/p>\n<p>His return also coincides with the worsening health of long-time family friend Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), with Grant set to be drawn into the character\u2019s ongoing dementia storyline. While bosses are keeping further details under wraps, viewers have been promised &#8220;explosive&#8221; drama.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about stepping back into the role, Kemp said: &#8220;I\u2019m truly delighted to be stepping back into Grant Mitchell\u2019s shoes and returning to EastEnders later this year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As well as exploring Grant\u2019s attempts to reconnect with his son Mark, it\u2019s especially an honour to be part of Nigel\u2019s powerful ongoing dementia storyline, which holds deep personal meaning for me due to a close family connection in real life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/510008-f44d651.jpg\" alt=\"EastEnders,27-02-2025,7076,Grant Mitchell (ROSS KEMP);Nigel Bates (PAUL BRADLEY),**EMBARGOED till... TUESDAY 18th FEBRUARY 2025** ,BBC PUBLIC SERVICE,Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron\" data-item-name=\"EastEnders,27-02-2025,7076,Grant Mitchell (ROSS KEMP);Nigel Bates (PAUL BRADLEY),**EMBARGOED till... TUESDAY 18th FEBRUARY 2025** ,BBC PUBLIC SERVICE,Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron\" title=\"510008,EastEnders\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.6486248236953456;object-fit:contain\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"454.0373765867419\" data-testid=\"image-img\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) with Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley)<\/p>\n<p>Executive producer Ben Wadey added, &#8220;We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Ross back once more to the legendary role of Grant. The Mitchells remain one of EastEnders\u2019 defining dynasties, and we can\u2019t wait to see them reunited again.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As always when Grant is around, drama inevitably follows him\u2026&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Grant Mitchell first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a> on Thursday 22 February 1990, and quickly became one of the soap\u2019s most iconic hardmen, forming one half of the formidable Mitchell brothers alongside Phil (Steve McFadden).<\/p>\n<p>The character was a regular until his exit from the soap in 1999, but he returned for stints in 2005, 2006, 2016, and then for last year&#8217;s 40th anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n<p>Grant isn&#8217;t the only Mitchell sibling who Phil has reunited with recently, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-mitchell-icon-return-christmas-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kim Medcalf reprising the role of Sam Mitchell since December<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=radiotimes.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Keep up to date on what\u2019s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times \u2013 see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771165211_766_radio-times-logo-6bade69.png\" alt=\"Radio Times logo compressed to an RT icon in white, sitting within a dark green circle\" data-item-name=\"Radio Times logo compressed to an RT icon in white, sitting within a dark green circle\" title=\"Radio Times logo\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.9087301587301587;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"767\" height=\"696.9960317460317\" data-testid=\"image-img\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Read more:<\/p>\n<p>Visit our dedicated <a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" data-outlook-id=\"407a7332-d02c-42a9-a1ac-e105b2f5e691\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n<p>Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/download-the-app\/?af_xp=custom&amp;pid=website&amp;c=editorial_content&amp;is_retargeting=true&amp;af_reengagement_window=30d\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n<p>Check out more of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0CQWGoiSAYvZvTD1dZ4eAs\">Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw32C9VRDQ0MNT5CInEGyMAm\">TV Guide<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2_j9koCLWjp1srEzK9td3T\">Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what&#8217;s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to <a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3wbAcSTIv74D2RLzOpEtYE\">The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ross Kemp is set to reprise his role as Grant Mitchell in EastEnders for a dramatic return to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-292647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}