Phil left stunned as major EastEnders character confesses to murder

Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) is a man who has faced a lot in his life in EastEnders, which meant he was able to come up with a plan pretty sharpish when his mate confessed to killing someone.

Last week, George Knight (Colin Salmon) endured one final showdown with his adoptive father Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank).

Eddie made his debut in the BBC One soap a little over two years ago when he rocked up in Walford with wife Gloria – and it didn’t take long for his true nature to came to light.

The character was revealed to be a vile racist who killed a Black man decades earlier – and the murder in question was witnessed by George, who was just a child.

To make the situation even more devastating, George found out in 2024 later that the man Eddie had murdered – Henry Kofi Asare – was actually his birth father.

The former Queen Vic landlord testified against Eddie in court as he went on trial for racially motivated murder. Eddie was found guilty and sentenced to prison for his horrific crime, with George wanting nothing more to do with him.

Eddie returned to George’s life earlier this year with news that he was dying. He blackmailed Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) in order to secure a roof over his head by telling her that he’d give her money to save Harry’s Barn and Knight Fusion if he was allowed to stay in the family home.

George confronted Eddie a few days ago about the way he had been treating Gina Knight (Francesca Henry).

The old man then started choking after taking his meds and reached for a glass of water. George, however, took the glass in his hand and drunk it himself as Eddie watched on in horror, dying in subsequent scenes.

Yesterday, as George spiralled over Eddie’s final moments, he took a risk by getting back into a boxing ring. George lives with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a condition that was the result of repeated head injuries he suffered during his boxing career.

Medics have previously warned George that he’s at risk of serious brain damage if he was ever to box against an opponent again, so going into the ring with Mark Fowler Jnr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) was a huge mistake.

In this evening’s episode, Phil took George to one side after he was knocked out, concerned by his friend’s behaviour.

George confessed to killing Eddie, but later told his mate that exact details. Phil reassured George and said that letting Eddie die isn’t the same as actually murdering him, but George couldn’t see things from Phil’s perspective.

Phil told his friend that the only thing that’s important now is that he keeps his mouth shut, because his family need him around and not behind some prison bars.

It’s only been a few hours since Eddie’s death and George has told someone already.

Can he really keep this secret forever?