Eastenders is built on matriarchs. For many years now I’ve prattled on about how Eastenders should forget about all that gangster nonsense and focus on the women – both the evil and the hard-done-by – of Albert Square.
The men might shoot each other, crash their cars or chuck each other off bridges, but its the ladies at home dealing with the emotional fallout who make the memorable scenes.
Don’t get me wrong; the women of E20 are just as capable of killing someone with domestic items like a kitchen knife, a statue of Queen Victoria or a dog-shaped doorstop, but the reasons are generally to do with lust, betrayal and jealousy rather than over the male pride associated with ownership of a garage.
Legendary characters such as Arthur Fowler, Phil Mitchell, Den Watts and Ian Beale would not have achieved their status without their ballsy wives, mothers and daughters to disappoint, be betrayed by and rebel against (with varying levels of success). Without the ladies, the show would just be a load of bored men drinking bitter. An East End Grumpy Old Men.
Mother’s Day is here and I’ve been thinking a fair bit about the mums of Albert Square. There are a few varying styles of raising kids that we’ve seen over the years; perhaps none quite as legendary as today’s subject.
(Yes – I have based it on who I’ve done illustrations of. I’m not ashamed)
Seeing as she’s leaving soon, let’s talk about:
PEGGY MITCHELL
Mother to Phil, Grant and Samantha, Peggy is Albert Square’s answer to Violet Kray with a voucher for Bravissimo.
Rupert Smith, author of EastEnders: 20 Years in Albert Square, quite rightly says that Peggy is a matriarch, assuming “papal infallibility. Whatever anybody does — particularly her own children — she knows better.”
Peggy assumes maternal duties to anyone with the Mitchell surname. Its just that these duties mostly include telling them what to do. She was step-mother to Diane, Ricky and Janine, but I don’t remember any particular fondness or loyalty for the Butcher kids lingering after her marriage to Frank fell apart.
(Let’s ignore the fact that Ricky eloped with her teenage daughter and Janine was a delicious bitch to everyone. They were just rebelling against her. Right?)
Will anyone love her boys as much as Peggy does? Peggy loves Phil and Grant so much she basically ruins their lives. The Mitchell brothers are incapable of having a sensible romantic relationship and much of this can be traced back to what they learned from their parents. I’m quite happy to blame their bullying dad Eric for this, but Peggy has done her fair share of meddling and kiboshing. There’s not been many women she’s approved of, and those that she has liked have been scared off by her sons’ learned behaviour. Except for Stella, and she doesn’t count because she was evil.
We’ve all had silly fights with our parents, but Peggy has raised her boys to resent her as much as they depend on her. Her relationship with Phil is certainly one based on spite. One throwaway paragraph from Wikipedia says ‘Phil sells Grant’s share in the pub to local businessman Dan Sullivan for £5. Peggy loathes Dan, and the two frequently row over the running of the pub. Eventually, she and Phil call a truce and force Dan out of Walford’. Just another day in the life of the Mitchell family.
The 90s
IDEA: Do a flowchart to show the levels of love and hate that flow between Peggy, her children, The Vic and Other People, and how they affect each other. I’m not sure I’m up to the Herculean task.
All this came to a bit of a head when Peggy stuck her oar in over Phil’s terrible parenting technique and took her grandaughter Louise to Lisa against Phil’s wishes. Lisa, being a bit of a nightmare, does a runner. Phil blames Peggy, then morphs into Dribble Snot Crack Phil who promptly destroys the one thing she loves more than or equal to the Mitchell family – her pub.
Peggy saying goodbye to a broken Phil was a genuinely moving moment, enhanced by the brilliant performances of Steve McFadden and Barbara Windsor. As her world crumbled around her, poor Peggy realised that perhaps her method of mother-knows-best was actually destroying her family. So she walked away.
And yet, Peggy can’t help herself. She still pops up on a sun lounger to dictate what Phil can and can’t do, most memorably when it came to Phil’s marriage to Sharon.
Oh. Sharon. The one woman above all who can rival Peggy for the love of her two boys, emotional connection to The Vic, and ridiculous hair.
And then there’s Sam! How could we forget Samantha!
When writing this I had to keep reminding myself that Sam existed. I sometimes wonder if Peggy does too. Who among you remembers that Samantha has a son called Richard? I didn’t, and I haven’t missed an episode for 15 years. I had to look it up.
Interestingly enough, I read that Hilary Kingsley (author the EastEnders Handbook) described Sam as being “a lot sharper than her brothers”. Which is odd, as I mostly remember her being pretty thick. Sam seems to have existed solely as a means for various people to cheat other people out of The Vic.
Peggy is controlling mother and a non-plussed stepmother. She must be a wicked Nan, right? Nans get all the fun jobs without the hassle of having the kids live with you for 18 years. Werther’s Originals tumbling out of every pocket and comforting words in front of Countryfile? Not so much.
Peggy’s grandchildren are frequently compelled to leave The Square. The only one that has stuck around has been Ben. And he’s a bully, an idiot, a terrible Dad, and a pretty awful boyfriend. Oh, and a murderer. He’s just a rubbish human generally, regardless of which head he’s currently sporting.
A mother’s love
I think maybe I’ve portrayed poor Peggy as a bit of a battleaxe, but she had fun moments. There was that drunken incident with Pat in the ice-cream van, which I still don’t completely understand, but I gather people enjoyed it. The misery of Eastenders certainly sticks in my brain more than the comedy bits (this is frequently a blessing).
It’ll be interesting to see how they deal with Peggy’s upcoming return and demise. After all, Pat had a rather complicated relationship with her giant brood. Her death provided some amazing moments as the people of the Square who viewed her as a mother figure came to terms with their relationships with her. And part of me is still screaming about THAT post-credits Wicksy moment.
Also: Hel-lo silvery Nick Berry
With rumours of Grant and possibly Sam coming home to say their goodbyes only to be met with a drunken Phil and a new Louise we can expect some extreme shouting and some snotty crying. Maybe even some punching! And that’s just in my household. AHAHAHA.
Lets just hope its not a repeat of Pauline’s departure. Wasn’t that weird?
So. Peggy. Whether you measure it in catchphrases or fashion choices, she is one of the most iconic women in soap. You can insert your own platitude about her being tiny in stature but big in status here. You get the idea. Her style of motherhood equates love with control – with an extra dose of shouting. And while her family tree may not be the largest in Eastenders history, there’s no denying that her and her boys have been some of the most important characters in 35 years of Albert Square.
OH! And while I’m at it, I’ve done a range of Peggy stuff to match my Dot stuff. You can grab yourself a card or a tote bag (handmade by myself) from my Etsy shop. She may be departing E20 forever, but now you can always wear her on your arm (and fill her with your shopping).
thatagnes 