Members of the Water Rats

STEVE MCFADDEN

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Maida Vale, London, on 20 March 1959 he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1984, graduating in 1987.
In 1988 he got his first acting role in the film “Buster”, in 1989 he appeared in a BBC television film “The Firm” and this was followed by numerous appearances in television series including “The Bill” “Minder”, “Bergerac”, “Screen Two”, “Dr. Who” and “Hard Cases”.
Steve began portraying the role of Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap “EastEnders” at the beginning of 1990, at the same time as Ross Kemp, who played Phil’s younger brother Grant Mitchell.

Steve then made a brief appearance in the film Kevin & Perry Go Large (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 Pantomime.
During his break from EastEnders, he presented the reality television series “Britain’s Hardest” which was an underground competition broadcast on Sky One in 2004.

In 2005, he filmed a small part as a detective sergeant in the film “Provoked” which released in 2006.
He returned to EastEnders for two episodes in April 2005. In the story, Phil returned to Walford in need of financial help, only to be arrested and returned to prison.

In October 2005, he returned on a permanent basis after his character was cleared of armed robbery. As of 2025, he is one of the longest-running characters in the series.

He won Villain of the Year in 2001 at the British Soap Awards, the Inside Soap Awards for Best Actor in 2003 and the Best Dramatic Performance in 2016 at the Inside Soap Awards, as well as the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2016.

Steve has made appearances on “Would I Lie to You”, “The One Show”, “This Morning” and was featured on “Piers Morgan’s Life Stories”
Steve has appeared in pantomime at numerous theatres including Birmingham, Dunstable, Leicester, Plymouth, Dartford, Manchester, Woking, Crawley and Aladdin at St Albans.

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