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
Andy O'Brien (EastEnders) claims that it had been the original plan for Andy to marry Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), whom he had a brief affair with on-screen. He also claimed that Andy would have left the nursing profession to run The Dagmar winebar, which was instead given to a different character, James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde). Andy O'Brien (EastEnders) Andy O'Brien is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", played by Ross Davidson. One of the original characters created for the series, Andy made his first appearance one month after the show first broadcast, in the 10th episode on 21 March 1985.