Billy Mitchell (EastEnders) revealed in 2006 that the role was extended by "coincidence and chance": "I was offered four episodes and here I am, about 800 later. [...] Ross Kemp (Grant) said that he was leaving, and there was a gap in the Mitchell family, so they brought me back to do stuff towards his leaving. After that they offered me a year." Billy was reintroduced in 1999, making recurring appearances. He was involved in the leaving storyline of Grant Mitchell in October 1999, before returning later in the year as a regular character. When Billy was first introduced, he was depicted as
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders) vulnerability. In 2009, a poll by magazine "Inside Soap" named Grant as the UK's favourite leading male character in a soap opera. Although popular with many viewers, the character has garnered criticism, mainly regarding the way his anti-social behaviour is sensationalised by the programme makers. In November 2005 the character was blamed for turning children into playground bullies by Dr. Sally Henry, who claimed that impressionable children look to male soap characters as role models and subsequently copy their violent behaviour. In addition, the character's predisposition to violence has allegedly been criticised by actor Ross Kemp. In 1998, press reports