"Get Johnny Week" is a week-long storyline in the BBC soap opera EastEnders , which was first screened at the end of March 2006. The storyline refers to the character of Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), the show's main antagonist, and also features the characters of his daughter Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton); enemies Grant (Ross Kemp) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden); and former henchmen Jake (Joel Beckett) and Danny Moon (Jake Maskall).
"Get Johnny Week" is an EastEnders storyline that reunited the popular characters Phil and Grant Mitchell (aka the Mitchell brothers) in 2006. Actor Ross Kemp, who played Grant continuously from 1990 to 1999, was persuaded to return to EastEnders for a three-month period in the spring of 2006 and "Get Johnny Week" was the storyline that marked his return. [1]
The storyline saw the Mitchell brothers embroiled in a revenge bid against the gangster Johnny Allen. It was dubbed "Get Johnny Week" by the programme makers, and the storyline was featured heavily in a BBC advertising campaign before and during the airing of the storyline.
The beginning of the storyline saw a stark personality change in the character of Grant. [2] Typically the more volatile and aggressive of the two brothers, in his absence from the show Grant had become a more diplomatic "peacemaker"; traits that were previously seen more commonly in the character Phil. [2] Actor Ross Kemp has commented on his character's personality change: "Grant tells Phil that, while he was in Brazil, he had therapy, so he becomes an amateur psychiatrist for a couple of episodes. Then, he reverts to his true form of thumping everyone!...Grant's like Phil and Phil's like Grant this week. Grant becomes the more careful and meticulous one, while Phil's the hot-headed brother for a change." [2]
Grant's personality change prompted criticism, with one reviewer branding the character's "new touchy feely attitude to life" as "implausible". [3] Another commented "This new unimproved family-friendly "come on give me a hug" Grant gives me the creeps. In just one crazed week the demented EastEnders scriptwriters undermined TV's top tough guy to such a profound extent that I can't see how he'll ever recover. With Phil and Grant reunited for the first time in six months, we were all looking forward to some classic Mitchell mayhem. In fact we had a right to expect carnage from the terrible twins. But what did we get? Grant's nauseating revelation that he underwent therapy to stop being so violent and antisocial." [4]
The story begins with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), the local hardman of Walford - a fictional borough in East London - and its community Albert Square, waking up from a nightmare in which he has blood on his hands. This causes Phil to realize that he is seeing images of his former love rival, Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman), being murdered on New Years Eve 2005. The dream ends with Phil finding himself face-to-face with Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), the square's criminal kingpin who appears to taunt Phil by laughing towards him. Later on that morning, Phil seemingly wishes to spend time with his brother Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) by arranging for them to go and play a round of golf. Grant agrees and the brothers set off to play golf, but stop at a roadside café in Essex. There, the two discuss their own personal problems - namely Phil's struggle to avoid a relapse in his alcoholism - over lunch. A strange man walks into the café and makes a sarcastic joke about Phil and Grant's bald heads, remarking: "Right Said Fred have reformed." The stranger follows Phil into the toilets and starts singing "I'm Too Sexy". Phil reacts by punching the stranger and knocking him out. When they leave the café, Grant tells Phil that he has been seeing a therapist in a bid to confront his demons. They pass a large house in the countryside and Phil orders Grant to stop. Phil announces that he is ready to confront his demons and that they have arrived at Johnny's house.
Phil scours Johnny's house in a bid to break in, while Grant begs him to stop being stupid. Phil explains that he is keeping the promise that he made with Dennis' wife Sharon (Letitia Dean) to confront Johnny for Dennis's murder, which Johnny had ordered. Johnny spots Phil on his CCTV system and quickly finds him. Phil attacks Johnny but Johnny manages to overpower him with a stick. Grant soon arrives on the scene and finds Phil being threatened by Johnny and his henchman, Danny Moon (Jake Maskall). Grant beats up Danny, while Johnny re-enters his office and starts arguing with his daughter Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) - who is angry with him for being an alcoholic. Phil finally intimidates Johnny into admitting his involvement in Dennis' death, and begins to throttle him.
Phil's anger towards Johnny gets more intense and he threatens to shoot him, but Grant stops him from pulling the trigger just in time. Danny once again tries to defend Johnny but receives another beating from Phil and Grant, and stays at the house while Johnny flees in his car. Phil and Grant give chase to Johnny and follow him to a deserted goods yard, where Phil almost runs him over. Johnny escapes and then Grant and Phil get into an argument. Grant insults Phil for being a bad father and almost gets run over himself, but Phil smashes the car into a pile of skips instead. The skips collapse on Phil's car but he emerges unscathed. Johnny returns from where he had left the Mitchells and holds them at gunpoint.
Armed with a gun, Johnny frogmarches Phil and Grant to a soundproofed cell back at his house. Grant quickly establishes that Johnny is intent on killing them both, and his expectations are confirmed when Johnny orders Danny to lead them away into the nearby woods to kill them both and then bury their bodies. Phil hears a gunshot and opens his eyes to see Danny lying dead on the floor. Phil turns his head to see Danny's brother, Jake Moon (Joel Beckett), standing nearby with a gun - looking mortified; Jake had just killed Danny despite not wanting to do so. Jake is devastated at having killed his brother, as he only wanted to stop him from killing someone. After the Mitchells leave, Jake buries Danny's body in the woods. Meanwhile, Ruby discovers mobile phone footage of Dennis' murder. She announces that she has informed the police about Johnny's crimes and that they are on their way to the house. Johnny is arrested and immediately confesses to the police that he murdered his gangland predecessor, Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), and later ordered Danny to kill Dennis.
Johnny is eventually convicted of killing Andy and ordering the murder of Dennis. He receives a sentence of life imprisonment and the judge recommends that he should spend at least 27 years behind bars before being considered for release, but six months into his sentence, he suffers a heart attack in prison and dies in hospital the next day - after receiving a visit from Ruby's boyfriend, Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky), and being taunted by the latter over his plan to extract their family assets.
Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman. He made his first appearance on 14 April 2003 at the funeral of his late mother, Paula, before going on to become one of the show's central protagonists from 1 May 2003 up until his last appearance in the episode broadcast on 30 December 2005, when the character was fatally stabbed at the start of the New Year Fireworks.
Sharon Watts is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of EastEnders' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith. She first appeared in the first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985 as the teenage adopted daughter of pub landlords Den and Angie Watts. Sharon became prominent in the 1990s due to her becoming the landlady of The Queen Victoria public house and her romantic pairings with brothers Grant and Phil Mitchell. In a storyline dubbed Sharongate, Sharon married Grant and then has an affair with Phil, climaxing in 1994 with Grant's discovery of the affair, which remains one of EastEnders' highest viewed episodes; the storyline was reinvented in 2018 when Sharon began an affair with a much younger Keanu Taylor. She was named the best EastEnders character of all time by the Daily Mirror in 2020. For her portrayal of Sharon, Dean won the award for "Outstanding Achievement" at the 2022 British Soap Awards.
Andy Hunter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Higgs. He first appeared in the episode broadcast in the United Kingdom on 3 July 2003 and, following the murder of his gangland boss Jack Dalton, became the show's main antagonist up until the character was axed and killed off in the series' 20th Anniversary episode, shown on 18 February 2005.
The Queen Victoria is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.
Danny Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jake Maskall. He made his first appearance on 30 December 2004 and was initially supposed to last appear in July 2005, but reappeared on 21 March 2006, before the character was killed off on 31 March 2006.
Jake Moon is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Joel Beckett. Jake appears in the show in episodes originally broadcast in the United Kingdom between 30 December 2004 and 20 October 2006. His casting was announced by executive producer Kathleen Hutchison on 20 October 2004. Jake is introduced alongside his younger brother Danny Moon and upon his arrival was described as "the sensitive brother who had an eye for the ladies", while Beckett expressed his happiness at joining the show. In March 2005, Beckett and Maskall were axed but Jake was reintroduced to the show later in the year.
Sam Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The third member of the Mitchell family to appear on the soap, Sam was introduced as a 15-year-old schoolgirl in July 1990, originally played by Danniella Westbrook. Westbrook quit in 1993, but Sam reappeared from 1995 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2000. In both stints, Sam was written out earlier than the producers intended due to off-screen controversies surrounding Westbrook. In early 2002, Sam was introduced for a fourth time, but the role was recast to Kim Medcalf, who stayed in the role until late 2005. Diederick Santer later decided to reintroduce Sam for a brief stint in 2009 and opted to bring Westbrook back. Westbrook briefly reprised the role once again in 2016 for the funeral of Sam's mother Peggy Mitchell. In January 2022, it was announced that Sam would be returning to the show, this time played by Medcalf again.
Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy. Phil was one of the major characters introduced by executive producer Michael Ferguson, who wanted to bring in some macho male leads. Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media, with Phil initially portrayed as the more level-headed of the two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap opera throughout the 1990s, with Phil serving as one of the show's central characters and protagonists since the 1990s. McFadden temporarily left the series in late 2003, then returned in April 2005 for a brief appearance before making a permanent return in October 2005, and has now overtaken Dot Cotton as the second-longest-serving character in EastEnders, surpassed only by original character Ian Beale. A teenage version of Phil, played by Daniel Delaney, appeared in a flashback episode broadcast on 5 September 2022, which focuses on the Mitchell family in the 1970s.
"Sharongate" is the term used for a storyline in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which reached its climax on 24 October 1994, attracting 25.3 million viewers. The plot was written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan. In the storyline, Sharon Mitchell confessed on tape that she had had sex with her husband's brother, Phil. The truth comes out in the middle of The Queen Victoria pub. Sharon's husband Grant attacked his brother and Phil was lucky to survive.
Grant Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. He was introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show, and originally served as one of the show's leading protagonists throughout the 1990s; with the character first appearing in 22 February 1990 and then departing on 25 October 1999 after Kemp had opted to leave the show. He then returned to the show on 24 October 2005 for a few weeks and returned again between March and June 2006. Kemp was persuaded to return to the role for brief stints during a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders. The return proved to be a ratings success. Kemp reprised the role of Grant for various guest stints in 2016, appearing in twelve episodes between 13 May and 9 September. An archived recording of his voice was heard on 25 January 2022. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that Grant would feature in a flashback episode focusing on the Mitchell family in 1979. Teddy Jay played the role of Grant for this special episode, which aired on 5 September 2022.
Johnny Allen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Billy Murray. He first appeared on 4 January 2005 and became the show's primary antagonist until the character was killed off on 20 October 2006.
Billy Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Perry Fenwick, who made his first appearance on 2 November 1998. Billy was originally introduced by producer Matthew Robinson as a guest character, facilitating the introduction of Jamie Mitchell to the show. Early on, Billy was Jamie's abusive uncle and guardian - which results in Jamie being taken away from Billy by his relative Phil Mitchell. Billy was then brought back to the serial on 2 August 1999 and Fenwick was offered a longer-term contract, and Billy ended up becoming a regular character. Frequently portrayed as a small-time criminal, Billy is a luckless resident of Albert Square who often struggles financially. His most prominent storylines include two failed marriages and having a daughter Janet (Grace) born with Down syndrome. Fenwick filmed his 1000th episode on 6 August 2010, and later his 2000th on 24 September 2022.
Ruby Allen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Louisa Lytton from 18 March 2005 to 23 November 2006, and then again from 18 September 2018 to 17 September 2021. The character and casting were announced in February 2005, and Ruby was introduced in March that year by producer Kathleen Hutchison. She was featured in storylines surrounding her gangland father Johnny Allen, with whom she shared a problematic relationship with due to his criminal lifestyle. Other storylines included a close friendship with Stacey Slater, and an engagement to Stacey's brother Sean - which affected their friendship. In July 2006, Lytton was axed from the show due to limited possibilities for the character following the death of her on-screen father, and Ruby departed on 23 November 2006. In July 2018, it was confirmed Lytton would return after a twelve-year absence. Ruby returned on 18 September 2018 and departed once again on 17 September 2021.
Sean Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Robert Kazinsky, who made his first appearance on 22 August 2006. Sean's existence was revealed on 9 December 2005 when his sister Stacey Slater returns to Walford after their mother, Jean, attempts suicide.
Jay Brown is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jamie Borthwick. He made his first appearance on 14 December 2006.
The Mitchell family is a fictional family in EastEnders. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell bought the local garage, the Arches. Their sister Sam was introduced later in 1990, and their mother Peggy shortly after in 1991, before being reintroduced as a regular character in 1994, with the role recast to Barbara Windsor. Since then, they have been significantly expanded to include both the immediate and extended families. Phil has been the longest running Mitchell on the show, and the family has expanded significantly in the years since, remaining a large presence on the square.