EastEnders fans fear the end for Billy Mitchell after 27 years as he departs

If anyone in EastEnders has a good reason to run off into the sunset, it’s Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick).

The poor man’s life has been turned upside down this year thanks to the comically unhinged bunny-boiler Bea Pollard (Ronni Ancona), who developed a disturbing obsession with his wife Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton).

While attending a school reunion with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) for moral support, Honey got talking to Bea and the two soon struck up a rapport. Way too soon. It wasn’t long before the Square’s new Single White Femalewas a secretly paid a group of teenagers to ransack the Minute Mart so she could play the hero and stop the vandalism, earning herself a trial working at the shop and a way into Honey’s life.

Fortunately, our Billy saw Bea for the walking red flag she was and tried to warn his wife about her bunny-boiling bestie. Unfortunately, that bunny-boiling best had a serious talent for manipulation and was able to convince Honey to let her stay in the house indefinitely.

Big mistake. Once her feet were well and truly under the table, Bea was able to tighten her hold over Honey with a spot of identity fraud. She signed up for credit card’s in her best friend’s name and ran up eye-watering amounts of debt.

Any attempt Billy made to help his wife open her eyes caused Bea to bite back in a big way. She tried to sabotage his ladder, which spectacularly backfired when Honey was the one who fell off it, ending up in hospital. The poisonous schemer even used AI to create a fake recording of Billy’s voice to convince Honey he’d been unfaithful, in a desperate attempt to drive a wedge between the couple.

However, Bea finally came unstuck when Honey tracked down her former flat mate of Bea’s, who revealed that Walford’s answer to Fatal Attractions completely destroyed her life, burned down her home and even killed their dog.

But Bea had something even more special in mind for honey. She staged her own murder and set Billy up for it.

Determined to clear Billy’s name, Honey played Bea at her own game by luring the villain out of the shadows by streaming an online vigil in her memory. Her plan worked a treat, and Honey was able to convince Bea to be friends again. Her plan worked, with Bea buying into Honey’s claim that she wanted them to be friends again. But when Honey suggested she clear Billy of any possible murder changes, Bea turned nasty and knocked Honey out. This led to a chilling kidnap situation.

Fortunately, Honey managed to alert Suki Panesar-Unwin (Balvinder Sopal) and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), who came running to her rescue.

No sooner was Honey free, Bea indulged in another spot of kidnapping and held poor Billy hostage in the Square!

After a deadly struggle, Honey eventually triumphed over her nemesis and freed Billy,as Bea was taken away in handcuffs.

After all that, it’s completely understandable that Billy needs to get away from Walford, with Honey confirming his upcoming trip to Portugal during this Monday’s episode of EastEnders on August 1st.

Even with Bea behind bars, the damage she did to Billy and Honey’s relationship remains. The couple were left with the staggering credit card debt that she’d ran up in Honey’s name.Last week, Billy confessed to his cousin Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) that he was struggling to find a way to pay everything back.

When Phil suggested that Grant would be willing to pay good money for help fixing up his new bar in Portugal, Billy thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up… even if he did need to run it by Honey first.

Once Honey gave it the green light, she insisted on giving her hubby a proper send-off if he was truly saying goodbye to Walford.

This sent fans into a panic, wondering whether actor Perry Fenwick is about to leave EastEnders for good.

They can relax. Billy’s exit appears to be temporary for now, although the length of his stay in Portugal has yet to be confirmed.

Billy has been a regular face in EastEnders for almost thirty years, first arriving in Walford in 1998. Since then, he has become one of the soap’s most beloved everymen, with emotional, relatable storylines such as his complicated family relationships to his romances with Little Mo and Honey, as well as Jay’s adoption.

Have fans truly seen the last of Billy Mitchell? When will he depart our screens… and when will he come back? Stay tuned!