Soap icons don’t come along very often but EastEnders has played a blinder with Nicola Mitchell
IT would be fair to say that soap icons don’t come around very often but when they do, they look, sound and act like Nicola Mitchell.
All hail our new queen of Walford. The Six who? We do not need them anymore, The EastEnders One shall do.
It’s been a long time since a whirlwind whipped through Walford, leaving both a trail of destruction and dodgy botox needles in her wake.
Suddenly Linda Carter hitting the bottle again, yet another person discovering the truth about Keanu, and *gestures wildly around* just feels a bit old hat.
But not Nicola Mitchell and isn’t she just magnificent?
In one episode she managed to get the better of Walford’s police when Ritchie couldn’t be bothered to turn up, work out that Penny was behind Harry’s arrest, befriend and betray her, go toe to toe with Jack Branning, get exposed for being in prison for said dodgy botox, clash with Teddy, describe herself as a goddess, and all with a fresh manicure and a tone of voice that would strip paint from Victorian walls. Bravo!
An icon is born, truly. Actress Laura Doddington is the best Mitchell Matriarch since Peggy shuffled off this mortal coil.
While the likes of Sharon have always ended up shrinking around the Mitchell men, not Nicola.
Teddy isn’t Phil – and Nicola certainly isn’t Sharon.
Nicola, built in the Shirley Carter mould, is bound to be more than a match for anyone in the Square foolish enough to take her on.
It’s hard seeing just who would be able to stand against Hurricane Nicola – even the fan favourites.
She carries herself with a ferocity that only really Kat Slater at her height could match – and that’s no small thing to do on a soap these days.
The sheer number of layers Laura imbued in Nicola in one episode is nothing short of astonishing.
In a world – and this is not just targeting EastEnders so pause your complaints – where so many actors regularly phone in their performances, this was a masterclass.
And with it all she’s made the new Mitchells something I didn’t think was possible – interesting.
Mocking Teddy’s ridiculous knitwear fetish – iconic. Saving her hot son from prison for a murder he probably didn’t commit – brilliant. Trying not to break poor Barney’s heart – bless.
In one fell swoop she’s turned the newcomers into a solid family unit – and a joy to watch.
Harry’s steamy relationship with Penny was already good, but Nicola’s meddling has made it great.
EastEnders stars who QUIT
MICHELLE Collins has seen her second EastEnders stint boost her bank balance. Yet what stars have quit this year?
The Sun exclusively reported how Michelle, 62, was down to £20,000 in her company accounts when she agreed to a shock back-from-the-dead return to Albert Square last year.
Her character, Cindy Beale, was presumed dead off-camera in 1998.
Yet what about the 2024 exits?
Earlier this summer, loyal soap fans appeared to note how Stevie Mitchell had “quit” the long-running series.
It came after Alan Ford enjoyed just six-months on-screen.
Bobby Beale actor Clay Milner Russell also left this year after five years in Walford.
Fans also feared Martin Fowler actor James Bye would “quit out of boredom” over recent storylines.
Additionally, a host of stars have quit the BBC soap for Hollywood fame.
One of the most successful stars to come from the BBC One soap is Rob Kazinsky.
He played Stacey Slater’s brother Sean Slater from 2006 to 2009, he has starred in Hollywood blockbusters Pacific Rim and Captain Marvel.
Ben Hardy, who quit EastEnders as Bobby Beale almost a decade ago, went on to break Hollywood the following year, when he starred as Archangel in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Since then, he has played Roger Taylor in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and he starred in Michael Bay’s Netflix movie 6 Underground.
Michelle Ryan played Zoe Slater until 2005.
She starred as the lead in short-lived American series Bionic Woman from 2007 to 2008.
Teddy, bless him, can only be improved – if nothing else at least now he’ll have something other than “a bit of business” to talk to people about.
And Barney, well, he’s there. But at least now so is Nicola. Good things are coming for EastEnders now – and thankfully it’s nothing to do with Keanu Taylor’s death.