Evil Archie
| “ | You're no match for me, girl! You never were! Yes, I did make you get rid of that kid. I did it to teach you a lesson once and for all. But, you push your luck. You try and take away my Ronnie, my little girl, and I'll break you, girl. I'll finish you for good! | „ |
| ~ Archie Mitchell harming Danielle. |
Archie Mitchell was a villain in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He served as the main villain of the "Danielle" storyline.
He was portrayed by Larry Lamb.
He was a twisted, sociopathic control freak who masterminded the most heinous schemes first to control his family - and then, to destroy it.
The only person he appeared to genuinely care about, in the end, was his second daughter, Roxy, who worshipped the ground he stood on and was clueless to his evil deeds, despite plain proof shown in front of her.
The Week in Weymouth
Peggy and Ronnie are first re-acquainted with Archie, when they travel to Weymouth in 2008. Roxy has gone to Ibiza, and Peggy and Ronnie want to go and see her. However, Peggy knows that Roxy is actually staying with her (Roxy) and Ronnie's father, Archie, in Weymouth - but, worrying that Ronnie will refuse to go if she knows Archie is with her, she doesn't tell her.
When Ronnie and Peggy finally arrive, Ronnie is furious to be reunited with her father after 15 years apart. Understandably, she wants nothing to do with him.
Meanwhile, afterwards, Archie and Peggy reminisce about the past, and he admits to her that he is a cancer survivor.
Later that night, Archie and Ronnie have a discussion, which turns into a confrontation. Just to spite Ronnie, he tells her that her baby died - and that the adoptive parents wanted to invite Ronnie to the funeral. However, Ronnie sees that he is lying - and when she tries to hit him, he provokes her into doing it again. Again, she doesn't hit him, but he grabs her and pins her down onto the sofa. He then tells her that he did force her to get rid of the baby, and he did it to teach her a lesson: he then threatens to kill her, if she tries to take Roxy away from him.
Following this confrontation, Roxy later agrees to return to London - but only if Ronnie makes up with Archie. However, Ronnie secretly whispers to Archie that she'll kiss his gravestone when he's died. Archie convinces Peggy they should start a new relationship whilst they still have time, and Archie tells Ronnie he'll see her in London in a few weeks time.
Peggy and Archie's Engagement
Later, Peggy and Archie return to London - and are now engaged. However, Peggy soon realises she cannot trust Archie, and tests this out by sending text messages from Suzy Branning's mobile phone - but, when he discovers this, Archie postpones the wedding.
Once again, Archie starts controlling his daughters' lives: he begins by manipulating newcomer Danielle Jones into stealing a letter that Joel Reynolds has written - before he then approaches Ronnie in the street, and burns the letter before her very eyes.
He also later starts making his dislike of Roxy's new boyfriend, Sean Slater, very clear: he thinks Roxy can do better than Sean. When Roxy is about to give birth, Archie only pretends to phone Sean, to let him know - when, in reality, he doesn't actually call him.
Archie also starts controlling Peggy. He starts telling her how to dress, and also starts isolating her from her friends.
When Roxy worries about her daughter, Amy's, paternity, she has a DNA test done - and it is Archie who later finds the test results. When he catches Suzy trying to steal from the safe, he blackmails her into helping him. He later tells her to hide the DNA test results somewhere Sean can easily find them, and prove to him that he is not Amy's biological father.
However, when Suzy is about to humiliate Roxy, Archie tells Roxy that Suzy isn't pregnant, anyway. When Roxy tells her cousin, Phil, this also ends Phil's relationship with Suzy.
Following the aftermath of Sean having later found the test results and been angered by them, Archie later discovers that Danielle is actually the daughter that Ronnie gave up for adoption long ago: he finds the locket she carries, and recognises it as the locket Ronnie gave to her daughter before she gave her up.
He tells Danielle that Ronnie is depressive, and that she (Danielle) should let him tell Ronnie about Danielle being her daughter - but only, when the right time comes. However, in reality, he only wants to keep hiding the truth from Ronnie.
Having told Danielle that he will tell Ronnie, he later plans to kill her. He sneaks away from his stag-do, to don leather gloves and get a piece of wire, in order to strangle her. He then follows her home, but is unable to go through with his plans. He then gives her money, so she can catch a train home, saying that he has told Ronnie and that she wants nothing to do with Danielle.
The Wedding Day / Archie's Deceit Exposed
When the wedding day arrives, Peggy turns up to the church, but not wearing the attire that Archie chose for her. Infuriated by this, Archie later decides that he loves Peggy regardless - following Peggy having challenged him about her choice of dress - and marries her anyway.
Later, at the reception, Ronnie finds Danielle is about to take baby Amy - and Danielle tells her the truth. However, she discovers that Archie lied to her. Archie himself stumbles upon the scene, and makes Danielle out to be mentally ill. Danielle tries to prove that she is telling the truth, when she starts looking for the locket - which she put in Ronnie's champagne glass (however, Archie switched Roxy and Ronnie's champagne glasses around, so that Ronnie would be next to him) - but, when she can't find it, Ronnie believes Archie and throws Danielle out of the Queen Victoria public house.
As Danielle is leaving, Ronnie takes a sip from her champagne glass, and finds the locket, anyway. Realising - and revealing - that Danielle was telling the truth all along, Ronnie goes to find her. Archie tries to stop her, and tells her that he was only trying to protect her. But, Ronnie persues Danielle, disgusted with Archie. When Archie tells her that he'll click his fingers, and Peggy will come running to him, he turns to head back inside. However, Peggy, standing at the front doors, has overheard everything. Inside, she orders everyone get out of the Queen Vic.
In front of all the others members of the Mitchell family, the full extent of Archie's lies and schemes are revealed - as Danielle had also claimed the truth about Archie and Suzy's conspiracy. Following the news that Danielle was a member of the Mitchell family, and that she has been accidentally killed in a car crash by Archie's one-time conspirator Janine (whom he had teamed-up with, after he was impressed by her scheme to humiliate Peggy), Archie is disowned by the Mitchell family. Both Archie and Janine become stigmas in their community.
Having been offered a helping hand by Janine, after having been thrown out of the Queen Vic, Archie very briefly stays at Janine's flat. But, after trying to help Janine remove an eye-lash from her eye, Janine tries to kiss Archie. Disgusted, Archie then leaves.
Peggy later orders Phil to kill Archie - so he kidnaps Archie, and takes him to the Arches garage. There, he tortures Archie and threatens to bury him in cement. However, when he goes to do so, it is revealed that the cement mixer actually contains water. Phil tells Archie that if ever he returns to Walford, he will be killed. Packing his bags, Archie later leaves.
Archie's Return / Revenge on the Mitchell family
Months later, Archie returns to Walford - thanks to Roxy - and wants to reconcile with Peggy. He refuses to leave when Peggy asks him to, and instead, moves into a nearby house. Roxy is later asked to give something to Ronnie: the baby blanket she brought for her daughter, following her birth.
Eventually, Peggy agrees to see Archie, and even starts believing he is sorry for what he has done in the past. Upon seeing him, Phil breaks into the house, armed with a gun. But, once inside, he sees Peggy and Archie kissing. Peggy tries to convince Phil that Archie is a changed man, but Phil later confronts Archie and warns him to stay well away from the Mitchell family - dropping a bullet into Archie's glass, to show him he is being serious.
Phil later goes to kill Archie - and to bury him in the woods - but is stopped by his son, Ben. After Peggy returns from holiday, Archie begs her to have him back, but Peggy says no.
Roxy later invites everyone to attend a housewarming party for Archie; however, Ronnie organises a party in the Queen Vic, so that no-one will attend. Janine later tells Ronnie that Archie paid her to spy on his daughters: after Ronnie tells Roxy what Janine told her, Roxy is further infuriated when Archie actually admits to doing so. Roxy then moves out, having previously agreed to live with her father.
Archie later buys the local car lot from Ronnie's partner, Jack Branning - which upsets Ronnie even more.
When Joel (Danielle's biological father) turns up to Walford, hoping to rekindle his romance with Ronnie, Archie tries to bribe him into leaving Walford. Joel, however, refuses, saying that he is no longer afraid of Archie - so Archie resorts to blackmailing him, instead. Joel leaves, but Ronnie confronts Archie and tells him that Joel has returned, and there is nothing he (Archie) can do about it.
At the laundrette, Archie confronts Stacey Slater (whom Danielle was living with, during her stay in Albert Square), and - as would later be revealed - rapes her, whilst no one else is there. Again, he confronts her in the toilets at the Queen Vic - and, after she attacks him, she starts accusing Ryan and Syd Chambers (whom estranged husband Bradley Branning briefly dated) of plotting to poison her. Archie uses her mental breakdown to his advantage, pretending she attacked him for no reason.
After having been tested, to see if the cancer has come back, Archie tells Peggy that the test results were positive - but she decides to believe that he is lying, yet again. (Ironically, however, this would later be revealed to be the only thing he had ever told the truth about...)
With Sam (Archie's niece) having returned to Walford, and Roxy furious about her return having been kept secret from her, Archie later sees Roxy in the Square - Roxy having just had a row with Sam - and she tells him about Sam's comeback. Archie also learns of Sam's engagement to Ricky (Janine's brother), and gives them a gift that is later declined.
After Sam is arrested, Archie puts forward Sam's bail money, but on one condition: he can have his family back. Having been welcomed back by Peggy, she and Archie later celebrate: however, when Ronnie, Roxy, Phil and Billy return the bail money, the whole family disown him for good.
Furious at this humiliation, Archie once again teams-up with one-time conspirator Janine Butcher, so that he can take the Queen Vic from the Mitchells. He intends to burn down the Queen Vic, and blame Billy, by planting Billy's wallet at the crime scene. However, this doesn't work, and although Archie tries to shift the blame onto Billy, Peggy sees straight through him. Despite this, they briefly kiss - after Archie insists that Peggy is wrong.
Whilst Janine is trying to conceive another plan, Archie has already hit upon an idea that he is later able to put into action: to convince Sam to flee, and thus, the Mitchells will lose the bail money. After Sam does flee, Phil gets a loan from a loan shark - but is later beaten-up, when he fails to meet the required payments.
Phil eventually manages to get a loan from Ian Beale, which is secured on the Queen Vic: if the money isn't repaid in two weeks, Ian will have the Queen Vic. Archie tries to convince Ian to sell the loan to him - however, Ian refuses to. Janine plans to seduce Ian and blackmail him into selling Archie the loan. Displeased with this plan, Archie later proposes to Janine - in the hope of stopping her from carrying out her plan - but she goes ahead with the plan, and accepts his proposal anyway.
Later, Billy overhears Archie and Janine talking about their engagement and their plans to take the Queen Vic from the Mitchells. After discovering that they have been overheard, they convince Billy to keep quiet about it - and he only agrees to it, when Archie convinces Honey (Billy's ex-wife) to let Billy have Janet and William (their children) for both Christmas and the New Year.
They then successfully blackmail Ian into selling Archie the loan. Ian does so, reluctantly, after worrying about his half-brother, Ben.
When Archie and Peggy's divorce papers finally come through, Archie tells Peggy that he wants her back - and that he still loves her. Peggy's employee and Janine's flatmate, Ryan Malloy, tells Janine, after having overheard Archie and Peggy talking. Janine then reveals to Peggy that Archie proposed to her, and she shows her a ring that Peggy recognises as a ring that belonged to Archie's mother.
Infuriated that she fell for Archie's lies again, she confronts him - slapping him in the face, and telling Janine that she could better than him. Peggy then signs the divorce papers and leaves.
Archie later spys on Janine and Ryan at the car lot, and overhears them plotting to rob Archie of everything he's got.
As the Mitchells are later celebrating in the Queen Vic, Ryan tells them that they may want to head downstairs. Downstairs, the Mitchells find Archie and Janine behind the bar, where Archie gleefully asks Peggy what can he get her to drink.
He then reveals to them that Ian sold him the loan, infuriating them further. He and Janine also tell them that the pub is no longer Peggy's - but rather, it is now, Archie's - seeing as how they failed to meet the deadline.
Despite vowing to carry on as normal, the Mitchells now have their peace disrupted. Courtesey of Archie, Peggy's name hanging above the Queen Vic door as licensee is replaced, with Archie's name. He also tells them that they are now trespassing on his property.
When Ronnie confronts him, Archie pushes her away from him, sending her crashing into the bar. Angered by Archie's actions, Roxy tells her father Ronnie is pregnant. But, thanks to Archie, Ronnie later suffers a miscarriage. After telling Archie he has killed another of Ronnie's children, Peggy warns him to stay away from her.
She later invites Archie and Janine into the pub on christmas eve, where she then hands over the keys to them, before she and the other Mitchells then leave the Queen Vic. Archie and Janine now have the pub, at last.
Christmas Day 2009
Archie and Janine are at the Queen Vic all by themselves: people are refusing to come, anyway, due to the fact that Archie is the new landlord of the Vic.
When Ian confronts Archie about the recording that he has of him and Janine sleeping together, Archie tells him that the CD is under Ian's christmas tree, and even hints that it could be a present for Jane.
Janine's christmas dinner that she is preparing is ruined, after she accidentally burns it in the oven. However, Archie convinces her to skip dinner, as he has a suprise lined up for her: a treasure hunt, exactly like Janine's father, Frank, used to do, when he was landlord of the Queen Vic. After finding a lot of clues in envelopes, she is eventually lead to the Queen Vic bust - where she opens the envelope, only to find a one-way ticket to Gdansk, in Poland. Archie then turns on her, telling her that he knew about her and Ryan's plans to fleece him - and he then tells her that he was only using her, and that he was never interested in her. As she is in tears, he then throws her out, giving her only one penny, to help pay for her trip to Gdansk.
Afterwards, a number of people come to visit Archie at the Queen Vic. First to visit him is Jack, who threatens to kill him if he ever hurts Ronnie again. Archie just laughs in his face, and sarcastically calls him a 'scary' guy, before then telling him that he's got no style or class.
When Archie goes upstairs, he finds Ian looking for the CD which has the recording on it - to which, Archie says that, thanks to his laptop, he can just make as many copies of the CD as he likes - before then throwing Ian out. He also suggests that he would be willing to call Jane and tell her about it all - to which Ian tells him that, if he even picks up the phone, Archie is going to wish he was dead.
When Sam returns, she attempts to confront Archie, however, Archie pointedly ignores her and heads back inside the Vic, shutting the down in her face.
Ronnie then confronts him in the Vic, and tells him that he will never make her care about him. She also says that he if died, she would be happy. Archie then picks up a snow-globe, and tells Ronnie that his father used to shake the snow-globe. His father would then block all exits from the room, telling Archie he should make a run for it, knowing full-well Archie had no way of getting out. When the snow in the globe all finally reached the bottom, he would then beat Archie. Archie shakes the snow-globe, and when the snow in the globe has stopped falling, he tells Ronnie her time is up - before then throwing her out of the Vic, so that she lands in exactly the same spot as where she threw out Danielle. He even tells her this.
Peggy then confronts him, and tells him that he has no idea of who he's dealing with - that she isn't just some sweet, little old lady. If Archie doesn't leave the Vic, then she will make him regret every evil deed he's ever done. However, Archie plays his trump-card: he tells her that, unless she comes back to him, he will have the pub converted into flats. As Peggy is leaving, Archie tells her that he'll be waiting for her.
Bradley - having learnt of Stacey's ordeal at Archie's hands - confronts him. Not only does he then punch Archie in the face - causing him to lose a tooth - but he also punches the bar, leaving blood on it. He threatens to kill Archie, if he even looks at Stacey again, and tells him to not think that he won't do it. He then leaves, and Archie calls after him that he (Bradley) is too good for Stacey.
Murders
Later, when he is truly all alone in the Queen Vic, Archie kneels down to pick the snow-globe from the floor. However, whilst knelt on the floor, he shakes the globe and peers inside, unaware that someone else is there, watching him. As he is peering inside, he sees - in the reflection from the glass of the globe - that the Queen Vic bust has been pushed off of the bar. It hits him on the head, and leaves him lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
When Ronnie goes to visit him afterwards, she is horrified to find him there. As she goes to see him, he finally understands the consequences of his actions - and struggles to utter his final words: "Veronica, I'm sorry." He then dies, with Ronnie kneeling beside him. His body is then taken away, after Jack - having found both Roxy and Ronnie together - calls for an ambulance.
Several people leave floral tributes for Archie, and the police say that many people spoke highly of Archie. A pathologist's report later confirms that Archie had cancer again, and only had weeks to live, anyway.
In his will, Archie had left the following items, to the following people:
- Billy, his stool at the bar, and his room at the Queen Vic, so that he can never be thrown out;
- Peggy, a silver-framed photo from their wedding day;
- Amy, and Ronnie's "first surviving child", £100,000 each to be held in trust, until their 21st birthdays: although Ronnie isn't happy about this, because she sees it as Archie taunting her from beyond the grave;
- Phil, his father's real boxing trophy - following his and Archie's disputes over Archie having given him a fake trophy.
- Ronnie, his signet ring (and a note, saying that he doesn't expect her to receive any substantial gifts from him);
- Janine, his newton's cradle, in the knowledge it will drive her crazy;
- And Roxy, his antique fountain pen (which she had always wanted as a child), as well as the residue of his estate - which includes his house, car, the engagement ring, the Queen Victoria public house, the car lot, and £3 million pounds.
His killer was later revealed to be Stacey; even though the courts find Bradley (posthumously) guilty of the murder.
It was also later revealed that Archie had also raped Ronnie, when she was a child.