Phil Mitchell is an unsuspecting ladies’ man around Walford with more romances than we’ve had hot dinners. The hardman has been married four times, stole brother Grant’s wife, has woken up beside the likes of Denise Fox, Rainie Cross, and Shirley Carter, and is currently in a relationship with Kat Slater.

However, Phil (Steve McFadden) almost got hitched to his villainous fiancee Stella Crawford in 2007 which ended very badly. Stella was introduced as Phil’s new lawyer and the pair hit it off romantically to the distaste of Phil’s son Ben Mitchell, played then by Charlie Jones.

Evil Stella would pinch, punch and burn Ben and mentally torture the young lad leading him to believe he’s going to die in his sleep leaving him fearing for his own life before he confides in his best pal Abi Branning.

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The sickening string of abuse finally came to halt when Stella was caught out on her wedding day to Phil. Before the pair officially became married Ben lets out a cry for help during the ceremony and confesses that Stella has been abusing him. 

Phil completely loses his temper and chases after Stella who does a runner. Eventually, Phil and Stella come face to face on the roof of a tall building before she falls to her death. Phil is initially arrested for murder but CCTV shows that she jumped.

Actress Sophie Thompson played the role of Stella in EastEnders between 2006 and 2007. The 60-year-old from Hampstead is no stranger to television and the big screen with appearances in the movies: Gosford Park, Emma, Eat Pray Love, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Mohammed, and The Importance of Being Ernest. 

Her long list of television credits includes Sandylands, Sex Education, Bounty Hunters, and many more including the portrayal of Rosemary Piper in Coronation Street in 2018.

It seems acting success runs through the blood of the Thompson family as Sophie’s older sister is Hollywood star, Emma Thompson. The 63-year-old has been on the acting circuit since 1982 with her first acting role in the TV series There’s Nothing to Worry About! before making it an actress in blockbusting movies.

The sisters both starred in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with Sophie playing Mafalda Hopkirk in Part One and Emma portraying her established role as Professor Sybil Trelawney in Part Two. Emma, from Paddington, has also appeared in Love Actually, Dolittle, Junior, Pride & Prejudice, Men in Black, Nanny McPhee, Cruella and so many more. She’s also set to play Miss Trunchbull in the new re-make of the hit movie Matilda.

But the Thompson’s talents don’t stop there as they have famous parents. Their mum is actress Phyllida Law OBE who has starred in a long list of popular television shows over the decades including Poirot, New Tricks, Doc Martin, Hell’s Bells, and many others. Her husband, Eric Thompson was an English actor, scriptwriter, and stage director. He is best remembered for creating and performing the English narration for The Magic Roundabout. Eric sadly passed away aged 53-years-old in 1982.

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