Background
The storyline centred around one of EastEnders' longest running characters, Phil Mitchell (played by Steve McFadden). The build up to the storyline occurred throughout 2000-2001. The character became darker and a more menacing side to his personality began to surface. Phil's behaviour earned him a number of sworn enemies in Albert Square and by 2001 the character had become one of the soap's nastiest villains. In an interview with The Guardian, McFadden commented on his alter ego's descent into villainy: "Phil's been had over by a lot of people, so now he feels like he can do it back. It's his history".
However, the character finally received his comeuppance in one of EastEnders most highly anticipated storylines, which has been dubbed "Who Shot Phil?". Phil was gunned down outside his home in an episode that aired on 1 March 2001 (penned by scriptwriter Christopher Reason and directed by Paul Annett).
The storyline has been described as a "Dallas-style" whodunnit mystery. Various key characters were in the frame for the deed and viewers were left guessing for weeks as to which of them was the real culprit. Several outcomes were allegedly filmed and it was reported that only a few TV executives knew the identity of the would-be assassin — even the actors were kept in the dark. A spokesman commented "The cast are only getting their own scripts. They are not being told anyone else's storylines. Not even Phil knows who shot him. It's top secret." Script writers were reportedly given private security after a writer's laptop was stolen in what was believed to be an attempt to gain the identity of the assailant. The storyline captivated the public's imagination leading to thousands of bets being placed at the bookies across the UK — bookmaker William Hill said that around 50,000 bets were made on who was responsible.
An estimated 22 million viewers watched EastEnders on April 6, 2001 to find out that Lisa Shaw — Phil's former girlfriend — was the culprit. The episode caused the third-largest power surge on record and the Liverpool and Barcelona UEFA Cup semi-final was postponed for 15 minutes to accommodate a special 40 minute edition of the soap.
Read more about this topic: Who Shot Phil?
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