EastEnders fans rediscover 'nasty' Billy Mitchell 'child abuser' storyline

dailystar.co.uk:

EastEnders fans have been reminded of the shady and violent unearthed past of fan favourite Billy Mitchell. The cheeky chappy market stallholder is currently portrayed by Perry Fenwick.

Billy is currently known as an unlucky in love father-of-two, trying to make ends meet. Known for being cheeky, sweet and super kind – Billy's past is a little different from how we all know and love him today.Back in 1998, Billy joined the soap as a child abuser – which is bound to shock new fans of the soap opera.Taking in his nephew Jamie, Billy started out in the soap as an abuser and prolific drug dealer.His job caused frustration and stress, which in turn caused anger issues.

Billy then channelled his emotions into anger and took it out on the innocent young lad.Phil Mitchell then discovered what had been going on and put a stop to it, holding Billy accountable for what he had done.Jamie then moved in with Phil before something awful happened.Christmas 2002 saw the young boy hospitalised after being hit by a car.On his deathbed, Jamie ended up receiving an apology from Billy.Jamie died, making his last appearance on Christmas Day.But now fans are remembering the resurfaced storyline, with many questioning why Billy never faced justice for his actions.Taking to social media to chat about the past storyline, one fan penned: "Remember when Billy beat Jamie up and regularly abused him, secretly fetishised Lucy Beale with secret stalking, stole all the post and judged Little Mo after she was raped? "This lad is now trying to claim the moral high ground cos two consenting adults kissed. #EastEnders." A second added: "He was a real nasty piece of work when he first came into the show with Jamie and then became this sort of hapless weasel.