EastEnders airs devastating turning point for the Mitchells in early BBC iPlayer release

After throwing estranged father Stevie (Alan Ford) a birthday party at The Queen Vic, the celebration was interrupted by a snooping Phil (Steve McFadden), leading Stevie to finally confess that Billy's mum Val was dead, several decades after her demise.

Billy and half-brother Teddy (Roland Manookian) were stunned as Stevie revealed that his affair with Teddy's mum had broken Val to the point where she took her own life when Billy was just nine years old.

Heartbroken Billy had spent his whole life believing his mother was out there somewhere after abandoning the family. The extra twist that Stevie had set up home and played happy families with Teddy, while the young Billy ended up in care, resulted in a violent altercation as Billy punched his newfound sibling.

Unable to cope with all he had heard, Billy wept as he declared that he couldn't handle being around the pair. Phil was particularly pleased, though, urging Billy to see that Stevie was no good and should be banished from the Mitchell dynasty for good.

Making a private call to beloved fiancée Honey (Emma Barton), who was away looking after her poorly Aunt Caroline, Billy sobbed his heart out in a voicemail as he relayed the bombshell of his mother's suicide.

Meanwhile, Teddy paid Billy another visit, explaining that he hadn't been aware of Val's death. He urged Billy not to throw away their growing brotherly bond, and when Billy described his years at the bottom of the family pile, Teddy insisted that Billy was a rich man due to his devoted loved ones, making him better than head of the clan Phil.

Teddy and Billy shared a hug, but while Teddy ordered Stevie to leave Walford after recent events, Billy was further shocked when his son Will (Freddie Phillips) misunderstood his venting and revealed that Phil had made him frame Stevie for the charity money theft.

Empowered by Teddy's encouragement and furious at Phil's constant deceit, Billy confronted him, telling him that matriarch Peggy (Barbara Windsor) would be turning in her grave.

Billy pointed out that he had spent years hailing Phil a hero, but that in his book, Phil was now "the runt of the litter" instead of Billy.

Fenwick delivered a powerful performance as the tables turned, leaving Phil out in the cold where his relatives are concerned. But where does Billy go from here, and will Stevie exit?

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