McFadden then began portraying the role of 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 was involved in numerous storylines, such as Sharongate (where it was revealed that he had an affair with his brother's wife Sharon) in 1994, and the Who Shot Phil? storyline in March 2001; where his character was shot and wounded by a mystery attacker. McFadden then made an appearance in the film "Kevin & Perry Go Large" in 2000, and starred in an episode of the BBC anthology series "Murder in Mind" in 2001. He left "EastEnders" in late 2003 for a one-year break to concentrate on pantomimes. His character was written out of the series after being framed for an armed robbery by Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham), and going on the run after breaking out of prison.