| Nicola Mitchell | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Laura Doddington | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2024–present | ||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 7011 11 November 2024 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Chris Clenshaw | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Nicola Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Laura Doddington. Nicola was introduced by executive producer Chris Clenshaw in episode 7011, broadcast on 11 November 2024, as the recently estranged ex-wife of Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) and mother of Harry (Elijah Holloway) and Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman). Her early storylines in the show included her arrival and helping Harry get revenge on those behind his prison sentence, attempting rebuild bridges with her family and get back together with Teddy, her past fling with Zack Hudson (James Farrar), and gaining ownership of Walford's wine bar. The character's focus shifted to her attempts to win back Teddy and break him up with Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) due to their growing relationship. The storyline saw her embark on a feud with Sharon, teaming up with Sharon's ex-husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to split them up, trying to make Phil relapse his alcohol addiction to push Sharon back to him, and a fling with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen).
Nicola has been portrayed as a headstrong and resilient mother, but with a more cunning and possessive side. Doddington grew up as a fan of the show, so was excited to be cast. The announcement of Nicola's arrival was released to press in early October 2024, after scenes aired alluding to her. Teasing how her character would arrive, Doddington commented that Nicola would come in "like the Tasmanian Devil".[1] After her introduction, Nicola received positive reception for her strong personality and Doddington's performance, with Helen Daly of Radio Times calling the character a "breath of fresh air",[2] and her colleague Lewis Knight declaring Nicola the best character introduced to the show in 2024.