User:FishLoveHam/Nicola Mitchell

Nicola Mitchell
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Laura Doddington
Duration	2024–present
First appearance	Episode 7011 11 November 2024 (2024-11-11)
Classification	Present; regular
Introduced by	Chris Clenshaw
In-universe information Occupation Beautician Businesswoman Family Mitchell Husband Teddy Mitchell (until 2024) Sons Harry Mitchell Barney Mitchell

Nicola Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Laura Doddington. Nicola was introduced by executive producer Chris Clenshaw in episode 7011, broadcast on 11 November 2024, as the estranged ex-wife of Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) and mother of Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) and Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman).

Storylines

Nicola arrives after being tipped off that her son Harry (Elijah Holloway) being arrested. Her estranged ex-husband Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) is furious to see her. She confronts Harry's girlfriend Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine), believing she played a hand in the arrest as her father Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) being a police officer. Nicola provides Harry with a false alibi and gets him released. When Nicola tries to settle in Walford, she is supported by her other son, Barney (Lewis Bridgeman), but Teddy is vehemently against it and turns Barney against his mother by disclosing that she lied about being abroad and was actually in prison for injecting someone with unlicensed filler and stealing from Teddy, not the story Barney had been told that his mother was living in Bali following the divorce. As she leaves, she reveals to Harry that Penny was involved in his arrest.

As Nicola and Harry plan revenge against Penny, she recognises Zack Hudson (James Farrar), a past fling, and they agree to keep it concealed from Teddy for the time being. After some convincing, Teddy reluctantly allows Nicola to live in the basement of the house. Nicola realises Teddy is attempting to make a deal with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to own the local wine bar, Peggy's, and she quickly secures the deal instead, to Teddy's irritation.

Development

Casting and creation

After being alluded to on several occations, it was announced on 2 October 2024 that actress Laura Doddington had been cast as Nicola Mitchell, the ex-wife of recently established character Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) and mother of his sons Harry (Elijah Holloway) and Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman). Doddington explained that she was working in automated dialogue replacement when she received the call from her agent to tell her she had been cast. Having grown up as a fan, Doddington voiced her excitement to join the soap upon her character's announcement. She said she felt "like a kid at Christmas" to step onto the show's set, especially The Queen Victoria public house. She noted the set being smaller than she had imagined, commenting that it was "bizarre" but "exciting". Doddington considered herself lucky to be cast as a member of an extension to the soap's Mitchell family, as she enjoyed the company of her fellow actors. Executive producer Chris Clenshaw expressed excitement to introduce Nicola and explore her dynamic with Teddy. It was confirmed that Doddington had begun filming prior to the announcement. Nicola was the second role portrayed by Doddington in EastEnders, as she portrayed Barbara, a woman leading an antenatal class attended by Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) and Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), in late 2009.

What has it been like to work with Roland, Elijah and Lewis? "It's been absolutely divine. One thing that has really surprised me is how much the cast is like a company in a theatre. Everyone is so supportive. Roland, Elijah and Lewis have been so lovely. I had some big monologues to do in the first couple of weeks, and they were so supportive and helped me run lines until I was happy. It feels like we're family already."

Set to debut later in Autumn, her arrival was teased as both "a shock" and an annoyance for Teddy, as Nicola was set to quickly make a name for herself in the show's setting of Walford and try to rebuild bridges with her sons.

Doddington: "It's safe to say she's not necessarily in their best books"

Teasing her character's arrival, Doddington said that Nicola "comes in like the tasmanian devil".

[Her arrival] That will be a shock for Teddy, who has been desperate to make a fresh start with his boys.

When she arrives, she wastes no time introducing herself to the rest of the Mitchell clan — and she also wants to make amends with her sons, Harry and Barney.

So far, all we've heard about Teddy's ex is that he's been trying to hide his accounts from her.

Meanwhile, Nicola quickly creates a stir in Albert Square, so Teddy decides to utilise a big secret from her recent past. She gets under his skin and quickly takes a dislike to Sharon – who Teddy has been flirting with recently. Later in the week, Nicola meets Honey, and she invites herself to a lunch with Teddy and Billy. At the meal, she tells Honey and Billy about she and Teddy’s marriage and makes him uncomfortable. After Nicola finds somewhere to stay, she comes up with another scheme. She overhears Teddy arranging to meet Phil to sign over the club, and then asks Phil for a chat.

Nicola Mitchell (played by Laura Doddington) makes her mark upon her arrival in Walford next week, but what is her big secret?

Ahead of her character's arrival, Doddington confirmed that Nicola would arrive after learning of Harry being arrested.

Spoilers teasing her debut said that she would take quick dislikes to Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) for flirting with Teddy, as well as Jack (Scott Maslen) and Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) for their respective roles in Harry's arrest.

The character went on to make her first appearance in episode 7011, broadcast on 11 November 2024.

Characterisation

determined to stand her ground

Discussing Nicola's personality, Clenshaw said that, like other female members of the soap's Mitchell family, Nicola is "Nicola is feisty, strong and loves her family".

She comes to Walford to help deal with that - in her unique, bombastic Nicola Mitchell way!

"chaotic"

"fiery"

Doddington: "Nicola is a complex woman" She's strong and completely unapologetic about who she is. Epic.

Nicola is so protective of her children

What can we expect from Nicola Mitchell in her first few weeks in Albert Square? "Nicola is a woman who knows her mind and isn't intimidated by anyone or anything. What I love about her is that she is an intelligent woman and quite witty. So, you can expect a woman who is not afraid to make her mark."

"troublemaker".

"Dynamic newcomer" and "feisty new Mitchell matriarch"

Relationship with Teddy Mitchell

Regarding the character's relationship with Teddy, Clenshaw commented that they had a "complicated history".

"The divorce with Teddy has made Nicola look at herself and how she's behaved, and she wants her family back as a unit. She wants to show her children that she is supportive and loves them very much. And her way of doing that is to come in and fix things. She's a fixer!"

"Nicola loves Teddy, and she wants him back. But they were definitely not what we would call a functioning couple. Nicola is quite manipulative with most people, but she can't manipulate Teddy as well as she used to, and that infuriates her. They got together when they were young and went from being kids to being adults together and finding out who they were while in a relationship with each other. From that comes this ability to press each other's buttons very quickly and know before they press them what's going to happen."

Teddy is trying to move forward after the divorce. Is that hard for Nicola? "I think it's heartbreaking and infuriating. Nicola is used to getting what she wants. There is a human trait that we all have of, 'I want it. Why can't I have it?' As children, we learn to curb that instinct, but Nicola hasn't. So, with Teddy, her thoughts are, 'I want him. Why can't I have him?'"

How does she feel when Teddy tells Barney her secret? "Nicola is angry and embarrassed, and she feels exposed. Teddy's the only person who can expose her like that. She's usually one step ahead, but she isn't one step ahead when Teddy does that. Nicola wants her boys back and she's going to fight to do that. But Teddy's revelation means she's got to backtrack and re-earn Barney's trust. Nicola doesn't want things to be hard, she wants them to be easy, so this puts a spanner in the works for her."

Thoughts on sharon "The scene is so much fun because they clash right away! Letitia Dean is heaven to work with, and our first scene contains a line that's my favourite I've ever said on screen! Nicola is not a woman's woman, and she's just not interested in women, not interested in female friendships, not interested in that support network. At that initial moment, it could be Sharon or any other woman that she’s being rude to. But once she finds out that Sharon and Teddy have a flirtation, she sees Sharon as an obstacle to overcome and starts thinking how to scupper things between them. Nicola will do whatever it takes to get Teddy back, so Sharon should watch her back."

"Fiery bombshell"

When speaking about what fans can expect from Nicola's first few weeks on Albert Square, she said: "Nicola is a woman who knows her mind and isn't intimidated by anyone or anything. What I love about her is that she is an intelligent woman and quite witty. So, you can expect a woman who is not afraid to make her mark."

Role in the Mitchell family

"Initially, she's just sizing everyone up. She's heard of Phil because of his reputation, and she's intrigued by him and whether he can manipulate him. With Honey, she spots that this is a nice person who she can get her claws into if needs be. She knows Honey is too nice to say no to her, like when she invites herself to lunch. She didn't know about Billy’s existence, so she wants to meet Teddy’s brother and get to know him. Mostly, she's looking to see if she can turn any situation to her advantage."

Zammitt, Erin (16 November 2024). "EastEnders' Nicola Mitchell to get a shock after Peggy's twist". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.

Reception

"Considering Teddy's charming persona, and shifty behaviour in between, we're certainly intrigued as to the nature of his relationship with Nicola. Teddy has hinted at a big secret in his family, but does it involve Nicola?"

Her "highly anticipated" arrival was called "dramatic" by Helen Daly of Radio Times. Her colleague, James Hibbs, agreed, writing: "Albert Square has seen a dramatic entrance of a fiery newcomer, as Teddy Mitchell's ex-wife made a big arrival in EastEnders". Fellow writer Laura Denby similarly praised the character's "eventful" introduction, noting appreciation for a joke Nicola make about Teddy's outfit, and that Doddington "delivered a powerful performance", adding that she was excited to see what future stories were to come for the character. Angie Quinn of Manchester Evening News reported that fans of the soap were "obsessed" with the character after her arrival, and noted examples of viewers "confessing their love" for the character via Twitter. The reveal of Nicola's past affair with Zack was deemed "scandalous" by Lewis Knight of Radio Times. Joe Anderton of Digital Spy billed the character as "Walford's new drama queen". At the end of Nicola's first week on the show, Daly wrote that she had been "a breath of fresh air".

See also

• List of EastEnders characters (2024)

References

Category:EastEnders characters Category:Television characters introduced in 2024 Category:English female characters in television Category:Mitchell family (EastEnders) Category:Fictional beauticians Category:Fictional businesspeople in soap operas Category:Fictional criminals in soap operas Category:Fictional prisoners and detainees Category:Fictional thieves