EastEnders aired an emotional exit for Grant Mitchell on Thursday night as Ross Kemp bowed out of the BBC soap once more – but some major clues could hint at a return very soon
Grant Mitchell waved goodbye to Walford on EastEnders on Thursday night, but fans already suspect he will be back again.
Having not been on the show for close to a decade, Ross Kemp reprised his role as the Mitchell brother for the 40th anniversary episodes. He certainly brought the drama amid his brother Phil Mitchell’s mental health battle.
Just this week he clashed with his family, was disowned by Phil and he slept with his ex-wife Sharon Watts. He also reopened his feud with former nemesis Bianca Jackson, but before he left Grant made an attempt to fix things.
Grant shared a sweet heart-to-heart with Sharon, Phil, Bianca and pal Nigel Bates in separate scenes. With Bianca he opened up on his reasons for not wanting to stay in Walford after she asked him if he hated it there, constantly running away.
He talked of the trouble he needs to deal with in Portugal before speaking with Phil, apologising for not being there for him. He vowed to change and speak with him all the time, while he also tried to get Nigel to move to Portugal with him amid his dementia diagnosis.
Grant had seemingly hoped to reconcile with Sharon before realising it would never work, and the pair talked things through. She also questioned whether he might reach out to his secret son Mark Fowler Jr after he realised Mark now knew the truth.
But having realised he needed to change his ways, Grant vowed to let Mark come to him when he was ready – opening up the chance of a relationship but letting it be on his son’s terms. Among the chats he vowed to support Nigel too, while he made it clear he had things to sort abroad and with his daughter Courtney Mitchell, while he also needed to work on himself.
There were a number of mentions of him being needed by many people and he finally vowed to be that support, but said he had to get himself sorted first. He was almost hinting they, and we as a viewer, could see more of him in the future.
Something about the scenes this week and Grant making progress left fans sure they were setting it up for another comeback if not multiple stints. Not only that, but they think he could be back with Courtney and even Mark Jr in tow.
Taking to social media one fan said: “I think Grant WILL be back at some stage (for a funeral) or something.” Another fan agreed: “Yes Grant will return,” as a third said: “I hope we see him again down the line maybe with Mark.”
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
