Archie Mitchell

Archie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Larry Lamb. He first appeared on 8 July 2008 as a newest member of the Mitchell family—who had first appeared on the soap in 1990—and became the show's main antagonist until the character was killed-off on Christmas Day 2009; with Archie making his last appearance as a corpse on 28 December 2009 and later serving as a posthumous impact throughout the majority of 2010, which involves making a brief voice appearance on 19 July 2010 on a family video tape overheard by his ex-wife Glenda Mitchell (Glynis Barber) and their two daughters Ronnie (Samantha Womack) and Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) respectively.

The character's story arc began with Archie being reunited with both his daughters in Weymouth. While it quickly grew evident that Archie had seemingly shared a closer bond with Roxy, his relationship with Ronnie became volatile and tempestuous—after it had transpired Ronnie was previously forced by her father to give up her newborn baby, Amy, for adoption shortly after she gave birth to the child at the age of 14. He soon instigates trouble between his two daughters by scheming with Suzy Branning (Maggie O'Neill) to destroy Roxy's marriage with Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) and later manipulating Ronnie into disbelieving the fact that her employee Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace) is actually her long-lost daughter Amy—the latter of which consequently resulted in Danielle being killed in a hit and run on the day Archie married his sister-in-law Peggy (Barbara Windsor). He was then kidnapped by Peggy's son Phil (Steve McFadden) and subsequently forced to leave Walford for good, but Archie ended up returning with the intent of getting revenge on his family. His plans gradually came to light when Archie forged a romantic partnership with Peggy's hated stepdaughter Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks); exploited Phil's sister Sam (Danniella Westbrook) while she was on the run for her involvement in the murder of the siblings' old enemy Den Watts (Leslie Grantham); and blackmailed Phil's stepson Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) with the knowledge that he cheated on his wife Jane (Laurie Brett)—which were all part of his scheme to successfully swindle his family from their beloved home, The Queen Victoria public house. He thereupon caused the death of Ronnie's unborn child and later betrayed Janine by leaving her temporarily homeless upon finding out that she and her boyfriend Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) plotted to defraud his wealth in their get-rich-quick scheme. Shortly afterwards, Archie got his comeuppance when he was murdered on Christmas Night 2009 after an unknown assailant pushed the Bust of Queen Victoria onto him. This had both ended the character's reign of terror in 2009 and triggered the events of his own whodunit storyline, dubbed Who Killed Archie?, that occurred in early 2010.

It was soon revealed two months later in the show's first live episode, "EastEnders Live", that Archie's murderer was in fact Sean's younger sister and Danielle's best friend: Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner)—whom he had raped on 6 October 2009 to cover-up his revenge scheme by escalating her bipolar disorder trauma, which led to Stacey being sectioned as a result of Archie raping her. During that same live episode, it also transpired that Archie had previously raped Ronnie back when she was 13; Ronnie would eventually describe this to her family on 20 July 2010.

A younger version of Archie appeared in a flashback episode that aired on 5 September 2022, being portrayed by Henry Garrett, with the episode focusing on the Mitchell family in the 1970s.

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."

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."