Is this the end for Nicola Mitchell? EastEnders’ Laura Doddington on what’s next after murder bombshell

“I panicked this could be the end for the character,” reveals Laura Doddington, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about her alter ego’s gruesome backstory being dug up – quite literally. “I only found out she was a killer when I got the script for the scene where she talked to Benji about moving the body. Though I wasn’t massively surprised, I always knew Nicola would be a handful, just not to what extent. It was double-edged as I’m enjoying myself and hope to be around a bit longer! But at the same time what a joy to play – so juicy, so complex.”

Nasty Nic has made such an enormous impact on EastEnders it’s safe to assume she’s not going anywhere for a while. The exposure of her killer past is just the start of exploring just how far the menacing matriarch will go to keep her family together, as long as she’s calling the shots of course. Now Teddy is aware of what his wife is covering up he’s holding all the cards, meaning Nicola is not completely in control for a change. In the coming weeks, increasingly intense friction and mistrust could tear the clan apart.

“There is that fear Teddy could shop her to the police,” observes Doddington. “But it’s also the fear of losing him and that he won’t love her anymore. In her own toxic way, Nicola loves her boys and will do anything to protect them.”

In highly-charged scenes that really tested the mettle of Walford’s latest branch of the Mitchell family tree in terms of plot and performance, horrified Harry confronted his mum over killing the love of his life, something he was accused of when she disappeared four years ago.

While lying Nicola swore to her son she only hired the hitman to do the job (as if that makes any more palatable), Harry has disowned both parents, after learning Teddy knew before him and kept quiet. How does Doddington think Nicola will get out of this, and earn Teddy and Harry’s forgiveness?

“She will find a way, she’s that kind of woman! We’re seeing a more desperate side rather than that confidence, but she will regroup and refocus. Nicola knows the disaster she has to deal with now but she must pull together and get on with what comes next. It’s going to be a roller-coaster ride.”

While Nicola is no angel (she came to Albert Square fresh from a stint in prison for a fight caused by a disagreement over fake tan), making her a murderer puts her in darker, deeper territory. But like antecedents such as Ronnie Mitchell and Janine Butcher, she’s a tough cookie who will do what it takes when threatened.

“Nicola has a heart, even if it is a black old twisted one! She is fully led by her emotions and believes she feels things very deeply, but in that way narcissists do. She is very self-driven.”

And having killed once, albeit accidentally (or so she claims), could she do it again if it meant protecting her status quo? Doddington’s reply is intriguingly diplomatic: “Anyone who feels deeply and acts on the impulse of their emotions could kill if they were pushed to it.” Make of that what you will…

Shireen’s demise isn’t the only bomb that could detonate and destroy Nicola’s world – the reason the poor girl ended up buried beneath a Dartford waste ground was because she’d rumbled the secret that Teddy isn’t Barney’s biological dad, the kid actually being the result of a lusty fling with Zack Hudson. How long before that nugget of info comes spilling out and another son disowns her?

“Secrets don’t stay secret in Walford forever!” grins a playful Doddington. “Barney is the son she can manipulate the easiest. He’s her baby, they have a bond. It’s not only finding out Zack is his dad, Harry could easily tell his brother his mum is a killer – Barney is sensitive, she worries what that could do to him, and affect what he thinks of her.

“Our writers are extraordinary, whatever happens like any actor I love getting my teeth into complex human stories. Like we saw in Phil and Nigel’s story recently, it doesn’t have to be high drama to be enthralling, nuanced and wonderful to watch. What matters is the characters have layers.”

Doddington was clearly born to play Nicola, which she describes as a gift of a part in career spanning over two decades. It’s not actually her first role in EastEnders, back in 2009 she appeared in one episode as a very different type of character.

“I played an NCT instructor at a class the Masoods went to when Zainab was pregnant,” she recalls. “I had to teach parents how to breathe! was so nervous, there’s a lot of pressure coming in on a show like this for one day to do one scene and one speech, because it’s so quick. I remember the actors playing the Masoods took the time to run the lines with me and go over the scene, which was so lovely of them. It was great fun and I loved it, but I thought they won’t ever call me in for anything else now!”

Thankfully she was wrong. On screen for just six months, it feels like Nicola Mitchell, and Doddington herself, have been part of EastEnders forever. The audience, and the industry, obviously agree, as she is among the nominees for Best Newcomer at this year’s British Soap Awards, which take place on 31^st May.

“It sounds cheesy but just to be nominated is incredible,” smiles Doddington, genuinely moved by the recognition. “To be in this category at the age of 44 is amazing. I am so grateful to Chris Clenshaw (the soap’s former Executive Producer) for giving me the role – who takes a punt on a jobbing actor that’s been doing it for 22 years, and nobody knows who she is? This will be the first awards I’ve ever been to – and Jane McDonald is going to read my name off a card!”

Channelling the pantheon of strong, sassy and downright scary Walford women, gobby Nicola has inspired comparisons to many predecessors, particularly a certain iconic landlady…

“People have made that reference between Nicola and Peggy Mitchell,” notes the humble star. “I don’t think Nicola is anything like her, though I suppose they both love their families, wear a red coat and have blonde hair!

“Can you imagine if they’d ever met? A clash between those two would have been incredible. They’re not chalk and cheese, more like chalk and chalk! It would’ve been like a long, all-day tennis grand slam final where they’re constantly trying to score points against each other – Djokovic V Federer!”

Read more:

• EastEnders' Lauren Branning goes into labour amid Cindy Beale bombshell
• EastEnders sets up explosive Nicola Mitchell showdown in early iPlayer cliffhanger
• Laura Doddington teases potential arrival of Nicola Mitchell's unseen sister
• Danny Dyer says EastEnders producer "didn't like the Carters" following soap exit

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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