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
EastEnders in popular culture within the health industry to: "describe the elderly population who continue to smoke heavily without registering the health problems they are or will soon suffer from, seeing it as their only pleasure left in life". Chris Moyles' "Difficult Second Book" contains a chapter called "There Is No "Carry On" in "EastEnders"", referring to many things that cannot exist in the "EastEnders" fictional world, due to actors appearing in both TV shows, including Spandau Ballet (Martin Kemp), "Carry On" (Barbara Windsor), "Grange Hill" (Todd Carty and Susan Tully), "Hotel Babylon" and "Red Cap" (Tamzin Outhwaite), "Jonny Briggs" and "Star Wars" (Leslie