Tiffany Mitchell

Tiffany Dawn Mitchell (née Raymond) was a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Martine McCutcheon. The character was created by the writer, Tony Jordan.^[1]

1 Background
2 Tiffany and Grant
3 Betrayal
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

Tiffany arrived in January 1995 as the school friend of Bianca Jackson and Natalie Price. Tiffany and Bianca remained extremely close throughout their time together on the Square. They supported each other through some turbulent times, and Bianca was always there to fight Tiffany's corner, whether she needed her to or not.

Her father Terry was an abusive alcoholic who had pushed her down the stairs as a teenager and caused her to miscarry the child she was carrying. Whilst her mother, Louise, had abandoned her and her brother Simon when she was just a child. Despite the hostility she felt towards her parents, she did manage to reconcile with both, when they moved to the square in later years.

[edit] Tiffany and Grant

Tiffany and her best friend Bianca.

Tiffany soon got a job working as a barmaid in the Queen Vic and although she got on extremely well with the landlady Peggy Mitchell, she clashed with Peggy's son Grant and the two would often argue. However, despite their seeming dislike for each other, in 1996 they began to bond after sharing drinks together, and the pair eventually ended up in bed together. However, in the cold light of day they both agreed that they wouldn't be right for each other, so they ended their brief affair and Tiffany went on to fall for Tony Hills. They moved in together and the relationship seemed to be going well until Tiffany discovered she was pregnant. Although she knew there was a remote possibility that the child was Grant's, she decided to claim that the baby was Tony's. When Grant found out she was pregnant he began to question whether the baby could be his, but Tiffany managed to convince him otherwise. It wasn't until she found Tony kissing her brother, Simon, that she realised Tony was gay and had been having an affair with her brother behind her back. Devastated, Tiffany immediately went back to Grant and told him that he was the father of her baby after all. Upon hearing this, Grant whisked Tiffany away to Paris in November 1996 for a quick wedding, although it was clear that his main priority was the baby and not Tiffany. Tony refused to believe Grant was the father and many subsequent fights ensued, with Tiffany staunchly denying that Tony had any claim on her unborn baby.

Meanwhile, living under the same roof as Grant was proving to be extremely difficult for Tiffany, as she was regularly forced to comply with his over-protective orders. Grant refused to allow Tiffany to socialise with her friends or drink alcohol, fearing that it would harm his unborn child. After Grant witnessed Tiffany going behind his back and having an alcoholic cocktail, he humiliated her by dragging her back home and berated her for her irresponsible behaviour. The argument became increasingly heated, and Tiffany threatened to leave him. Grant refused to allow her to go. He turned violent and almost attacked her, but was halted by the arrival of the lodging barmaid Lorraine Wicks. As Lorraine consoled a distraught Tiffany, she broke down and admitted that she wasn't sure if her baby was really Grant's. Lorraine tried to convince Tiffany to tell Grant the truth, but Tiffany decided against it and continued to keep up the pretence. Meanwhile, Lorraine began to make her real intentions towards Grant clear, and on Christmas Eve 1996 the two ended up kissing. Lorraine's Schizophrenic son Joe witnessed their clinch and promptly informed the entire Mitchell clan during Christmas lunch the following day. Tiffany was devastated and moved in with her brother. Realising that he might lose his baby, Grant called off his affair with Lorraine and managed to coax Tiffany home. However on New Years Eve, Lorraine decided to inform Grant that there was a distinct possibility that Tiffany's baby was not actually his. He become violent and threw a pregnant Tiffany out of their home in The Vic. Their separation allowed Grant to embark on an adulterous affair with Lorraine, which only sought to destroy an extremely fragile Tiffany even more.

Tiffany gave birth to baby Courtney by caesarian section in March 1997, and for a moment Grant softened towards his wife. However it didn't last and he was soon denouncing that the child was his. Tiffany was eventually forced to get a paternity test, which revealed that Grant was indeed the father. Tiffany and Courtney were allowed to stay at the Vic so Grant could keep his daughter in reach. Still desperately in love with Grant, Tiffany took to begging to make him rethink their separation, but he only responded by threatening to sue her for sole custody of Courtney. However, following the departure of Lorraine, Grant decided that he wanted to make a go of things with Tiffany again and the pair reunited. Grant desperately wanted to keep his child near him, so he put up with Tiffany in order to facilitate this and whilst Tiffany fell madly in love with him, he never cared that much for her. Not long after their reconciliation in August 1997, Grant and Tiffany renewed their wedding vows and even seemed to bond on a romantic trip to Paris. This, however, was only a brief respite and Grant's dislike for Tiffany was often painfully obvious. By Christmas 1997 he and Tiffany were continuously arguing once again, and their rows often ended in violence. In 1998, during a particularly heated argument, Grant hit his interfering mother, Peggy, who was trying to stop Grant's violent outburst on Tiffany. Following this Grant left for Cyprus for a while to sort himself out. Tiffany, meanwhile, moved out of the Mitchell residence and in with her mother Louise, who had recently returned to Walford in search of her children.

[edit] Betrayal

Tiffany discovers her mother has slept with Grant (1998).

When Grant returned he attempted a reconciliation with Tiffany, however Tiffany, despite loving Grant, now wanted a divorce. During this time Tiffany grew close to the Italian police officer Beppe di Marco, who had fallen for Tiffany and despised Grant for his treatment of her. Grant decided to counter their relationship by making a play for Tiffany's mother, Louise, and the two ended up in bed together. The affair abruptly ended when Tiffany decided that she wanted to be with Grant after all. However, months later a distraught Tiffany overheard them talking about their sordid affair over the baby monitor.

Unbeknown to Louise or Grant, Tiffany started packing to leave Walford. She returned to the Queen Vic to confront Grant, telling him that she was taking Courtney and he would never see her again. Disgusted and hurt she ran from The Vic and in her haste she accidentally fell down the stairs and ended up being hospitalised with a blood clot to the brain. Everyone assumed Grant had pushed her and he was arrested on Christmas day- Prompted by bent-copper Beppe, who persuaded Tiffany to go along with the charade that Grant had pushed her, and withheld evidence from the police that would clear Grant of any wrong doing.

Tiffany is killed outside The Queen Vic

On New Year's Eve, Tiffany was released from hospital. For a second time she made plans to leave Walford with Courtney. She went to The Vic to allow Peggy to say goodbye to her granddaughter, whilst she went to tie up some loose ends. She said goodbye to her brother, told her mother she never wanted to see her again and broke Beppe's heart by informing him that she wasn't in love with him and was leaving Walford without him. She then visited Bianca for an emotional farewell. Tiffany had changed her mind about framing Grant and so she wrote a signed confession clearing him of any wrong doing, and instructed Bianca to hand it to the police after she had departed. But unbeknown to Tiffany, Grant had already been released from prison on bail. He returned to the Vic, moments before Tiffany herself returned to claim Courtney. Upon discovering that she was planning to take his baby he took Courtney and left. Hysterical and frightened, Tiffany pursued them, which resulted in her running straight into an oncoming car that was driven by Frank Butcher. A helpless crowd watched as she died on the scene.

Although Tiffany's death was an accident, Beppe felt that Grant was responsible, and when Bianca gave him the letter clearing Grant of attempted murder, he burnt it. The truth eventually came out and the charges against Grant were dropped. Beppe was fired from the police force for misconduct.

Tiffany's final episode was so popular with fans they voted to see it again in February 2000 in a special vote for the show's 15th anniversary.

In March 2008 it was announced that Bianca Jackson was coming back with four children with her. One of them was her daughter Tiffany Dean, named after Bianca's best friend.