PHIL Mitchell’s imminent lifelong stay behind bars has caused trouble for him, his girlfriend Kat Slater and their family.
And while he is coming to terms with his sentence, the EastEnders bad guy is leaving his stepson Tommy Moon shaken to the core.
Over the course of his childhood, the eleven-year-old has had multiple characters taking him under their wing.
While his biological father Michael only acknowledged his half-sister Scarlett, Tommy (Sonny Kendall) was able to count on Kat’s former husband Alfie, who became his adoptive father.
However, more recently, young Tommy mostly relied on long-standing villain Phil (Steve McFadden) to come to his rescue.
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In an upcoming instalment of the BBC One soap, Tommy stands up for Scarlett (Tabitha Byron) when faced with a group of bullies, certain he has Phil as a backup.
But later on, Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Phil sit the kids down to share the news of their breakup.
Soon after, the former pair explain their separation was triggered by an obstacle they can not overcome: Phil is going to prison for a very long time.
Understandably, Tommy is far from over the moon but is even more devastated when he comes to the realisation that he is now alone against the bullies.
With Phil behind bars, Tommy is terrified that he no longer has his protection.
The storyline is startling EastEnders fans as most can’t believe the law finally caught up with the soap legend.
As he was ready to flee England alongside his son Raymond, Phil had a change of heart upon learning that Kat would not be leaving the country with him.
In a surprise turn of events, Phil turned himself into the police and his involvement in Vincent Hubbard’s death meant and impending jail sentence for the tough man.
But Phil was given an impossible choice by DCI Samantha Keeble.
He was given the option to avoid spending the rest of his life behind bars under one condition: becoming an informant for the police.
Despite the delays he was given to make a decision, Phil’s choice was made there and then.
Refusing to become a grass and endanger his family, Phil made the decision to accept that his time as a free man was over.
This led him to break up with Kat.
Could Tommy trigger a change of heart for Phil?
Tune in to BBC One to find out.
