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Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) made an unexpected return to EastEnders this week, shown in prison while making a phone call to Nicola (Laura Doddington).
The patriarch of the latest strand of the Mitchell clan was concerned about his ex-wife, who struggles to cope on the anniversary of her abusive dad’s death, hence why he was reaching out to check in.
But Nicola didn’t pick up his calls. Instead, it was George Knight (Colin Salmon) who answered, with Teddy filling the former Queen Vic landlord in on the existence of a big reason – aside from the obvious – as to why Nic finds the day in question so difficult.
But while George made it his mission to get to the bottom of what Nicola was hiding, viewers were no doubt attempting to recall what exactly happened to Teddy and why he is in prison.
If this sounds like you then you’re in luck as we’ve got all the answers and context you’ll need to refresh your memory on why Teddy is serving a prison sentence – and a mighty long one at that!
Why is Teddy Mitchell in prison and what did he do?
Teddy Mitchell is in prison for murder after he was jailed for life for the fatal stabbing of Okie (Aayan Ibikunle Shoderu).
The patriarch, however, did not actually commit the crime but rather he took the blame to prevent son Harry (Elijah Holloway) from ending up behind bars.
Recovering addict Harry was held hostage in his own flat by Okie, who had been put in charge of a local drugs operation run by Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
Ravi and Okie were cuckooing Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho), manipulating the vulnerable young man into running drugs, much to the horror of Harry, who attempted to secure his mate’s freedom to no avail.
Fearing that Harry’s resistance was becoming an issue, Okie chained him up in his bedroom, holding him captive while giving him drugs.
Terrified for his best friend, Kojo sought assistance from George and – with help from Teddy -they rescued Harry in the nick of time, disrupting Okie’s plot to bundle the mechanic into a van.
The police arrived soon after, with operation leader Ravi arrested in subsequent scenes. Ravi agreed to inform in exchange for his freedom while a terrified and spiralling Okie sought his help. Ravi, however, simply instructed his former associate to get out of dodge.
But Okie did not listen to such advice and later he held Kojo, who was keen to return to his flat, captive with a knife
Alerted to what was unfolding, Harry made a beeline for the flat, where a final showdown ensued between he and Okie. As they both reached for the knife, Okie accidentally landed on the blade, much to the horror of Harry, who cradled his captor as he died in his arms.
Having got wind of Harry’s plight, Teddy headed over the flat and was shocked by what he saw.
Knowing his son had been through enough, Teddy went out of his way to ensure Harry was not blamed for Okie’s death and instead took responsibility for the crime as he was taken away by police officers.
in December last year, Teddy was sentenced to life behind bars.
Who plays Teddy in EastEnders?
Teddy is portrayed by Roland Manookian, who is best known for his roles in The Football Factory and Rise Of The Footsoldier.
He began playing Teddy in June 2024 when a new wave of the Mitchell clan were introduced.
In the year that followed, Teddy would rekindle his romance with ex wife Nicola, embark on a relationship with Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and discover that son Barney (Lewis Bridgeman) wasn’t his biological child, with Nic having cheated on him previously with Zack Hudson (James Farrar).
Why did Teddy leave EastEnders?
After 18 months as a regular, Teddy was written out of Walford, with a spokesperson for the BBC One soap stating at the time: ‘We can confirm Roland will be leaving EastEnders this year, and we wish him all the best for the future’.
Reports in The Sun claimed that the character ‘had run his course’.
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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