Hollywood icon joins EastEnders for Mitchell funeral scenes

**Alan Ford is making his EastEnders debut (Picture: BBC)**

First glimpses of Hollywood star Alan Ford making his EastEnders debut have been released.

The 85-year-old actor, who is most recognised for his roles in the movies Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, is scheduled to appear at Aunt Sal’s (Anna Karen) burial in the BBC One soap opera.

He’ll be playing Stevie Mitchell, Billy Mitchell’s (Perry Fenwick) estranged father.

After Stevie obtained exclusive custody of Billy’s brother Charlie when he was eleven years old, Billy was raised in foster care. The two had not seen each other off-screen for more than 25 years.

“I feel highly delighted to be playing a character close to my own age in this extremely popular television drama series,” Alan stated in reference to his soap opera role.

“It’s an honour to welcome the immensely talented Alan Ford to the cast of EastEnders as he takes on the role of Stevie Mitchell,” executive producer Chris Clenshaw continued.

Even though Billy has been a mainstay of the programme for more than 25 years, fans know very little about the difficult upbringing he experienced and the circumstances that led to his placement in foster care. When Alan gets to Walford, the Mitchell family is getting ready to bid goodbye to their cherished Aunt Sal, but it doesn’t take long for him to see he’s not one of them.

**‘I feel highly delighted to be playing a character close to my own age.’ (Picture: BBC)**

**Alan previously played con-man Sam in EastEnders for a single episode (Picture: BBC)**

Alan will not be making his debut on EastEnders this time around; he originally appeared in the show way back in 1986, when he played Sam Sangers in a single episode.

Shortly after her partner Andy O’Brien passed away, Sam, a con artist, preyed on Debbie Wilkins in an attempt to defraud her of her beloved beau’s belongings.

But, Wendy Richard’s character Pauline Fowler realised that evil Sam was up to no good, so she gave him the boot, telling him he “ought to be ashamed of himself.”

In contrast, Aunt Sal made appearances in more than 50 episodes of the BBC serial drama from 1996 to 2017.

She made her last public appearance later that year, at Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell’s (Samantha Womack and Rita Simons) funeral.

Sal was well known for attending Mitchell family events like weddings and funerals, and she was usually quick with a clever comment on the attendees and their behaviour.