Steve McFadden he made his acting debut playing a small role in the 1988 television film "The Firm". That same year he had an uncredited brief appearance in the film "Buster" as a gang member. This was followed by appearances in the television series "The Bill", "Minder" and "Bergerac". McFadden then became famous for playing 'hard man' Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera "EastEnders". He joined EastEnders at the beginning of 1990, at the same time as Ross Kemp, who played Phil's younger brother Grant Mitchell. During that time, his character has been involved in numerous ratings-pulling storylines such as Sharongate
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders) utterly nauseous example of rape for ratings." Reports also alleged that actor Ross Kemp was not happy about the plot either and threatened to quit the role unless the scripts were altered. Subsequently, the plot never came to fruition. The following year "EastEnders" topped the ratings at Christmas 1998 when Grant was accused of the attempted murder of Tiffany, and the following Monday 15.7 million viewers tuned in to see Grant make a first court appearance. The year finally culminated with the death of Tiffany — killed in a motor accident, while trying to reclaim her daughter from Grant. 22