EastEnders airs exits for Louise Mitchell and Lisa Fowler
Ben stays behind with Callum as the Mitchells flee the cops
Louise Mitchell, her mum Lisa Fowler and baby daughter Peggy Taylor were forced to flee Albert Square on Friday 24th January along with Lou's dad Phil Mitchell.
With the police convinced the clan conspired to kill Keanu Taylor, the quartet climbed into a black cab and went on the run to Portugal, and EastEnders confirmed to RadioTimes.com they were the final scenes for Tilly Keeper (aka Louise) and Lucy Benjamin (Lisa).
Keeper took over as Phil and Lisa's offspring in 2016, following an absence of six years for the character, and announced she was leaving the soap in December. Screen mum Benjamin returned to the part she originated back in 1998 in September for what was always planned as a temporary comeback. Lisa previously made a brief return in 2017.
While this is the last we've seen of the girls for now, Phil will be back on screen in time for the much-anticipated 35th anniversary week in February in which the Mitchells find themselves in the eye of the storm when a boat party for the Queen Vic locals descends into disaster, resulting in at least one death.
Stealing Martin Fowler's burner phone containing footage appearing to confirm her baby daddy Keanu's murder, Sharon Mitchell handed the incriminating evidence to the cops as revenge on estranged husband Phil turning her son Dennis against her.
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Phil and son Ben Mitchell were both arrested, then released under investigation, but the twist is that Sharon knows Keanu is actually still alive and the footage was faked by would-be hitman Martin and reluctant witness Linda Carter.
While Sharon gloats at her victory over the family that cast her out, she doesn't realise young Dennis had a last-minute change of heart and hid away as his adopted dad Phil left… Fans will now be wondering what brings Phil back to Walford - will the secret of Keanu's true fate be revealed to the hard man and get him off the hook with the boys in blue? And what kind of vengeance on everyone with a part to play in the Keanu saga will he want?
Meanwhile, Ben also decided to stay behind and pledged his love for Callum Highway, with an emotional reunion between the boys in the middle of the market sure to have brought a tear to the eyes of #Ballum fans. Will the pair be torn apart if Ben is banged up?
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