Honey Mitchell

Honey Mitchell
File:HONEY EDWARDS00.jpg
Duration	2005—
First appearance	22 November 2005
In-universe information Occupation Laundrette assistant Family Billy, Jack, Janet

Susan "Honey" Mitchell (née Edwards) is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She is played by Emma Barton. She made her first appearance in the show on 22 November 2005.

Honey's not the sharpest tool in the box. She often gets her facts muddled and is always saying foolish things, but her heart is in the right place and she wouldn't hurt a fly.

History

Susan's mother, Janet, died while giving birth to her. She was raised by her father Jack. Her nickname, Honey, was given to her by her father when she was just a child. One Christmas Day when she was four, her father was trying to watch the James Bond film Dr. No, but she stood in the way of the television demanding to play with her dad. This led to him nicknaming her Honey, after the character in the movie, Honey Ryder.

Honey came to Albert Square as a 'honey-trap' hired by Yolande Trueman, who had wrongly thought that her husband, Patrick was cheating on her. Mo Harris arranged for Honey to try and seduce Patrick in The Queen Vic. Honey mistook Billy Mitchell for Patrick and hit on him instead. During their conversation together the pair hit it off, and upon realising that Billy was not Patrick, the two started dating. She quit her job as a honey-trap and began working as a barmaid for Peggy Mitchell in The Queen Victoria pub, although she does do part time modelling occasionally, and her portfolio includes several 'revealing' photographs. She soon fell for Billy and became pregnant with his child. In February 2006 Billy proposed to Honey and she said yes. She and Billy initially lived with Pat Evans, they then lived with Peggy at the Vic for a while before getting their own flat.

Jack visited his daughter in early 2006. He was initially adverse to Honey marrying Billy, but the two seemed to bond eventually. When Jack discovered that Honey was pregnant, he became extremely concerned; desperately trying to convince his daughter to abort her unborn child. It was later revealed that Honey's mother died whilst giving birth to Honey due to a heart defect, and Jack was convinced that Honey would share the same fate should she keep her baby. Not wanting to lose her either, Billy made an unwilling Honey enquire about aborting her baby. However, after a check-up, Honey was told that she didn't have the same heart defect as her mother, and there was no danger of her dying from the same causes. Honey was furious with her father for allowing her to be unnecessarily fearful about her health for her whole life, and she chastised him for not taking her for a check-up when she was a child. She eventually forgave her father, and began to enjoy the prospect of becoming a mother.

Honey went for her first baby scan on 6 April. She panicked when the machine failed, but then Billy and Honey were overjoyed to learn the baby was just 'hiding'.

Weddings

Honey and Billy had three wedding ceremonies.

First wedding

Honey and Billy's first attempt at getting married, on 2 June 2006, was a disaster from the beginning, with Phil and Courtney Mitchell going missing, the DJ cancelling, Honey's dad Jack's car breaking down, and Honey's hairdresser cancelling, although the position of hairdresser was quickly filled by Carla Mitchell. As it looked like things were to go ahead, Honey fainted in the Square Gardens (due to some dodgy chicken eaten on her hen night) and was taken to hospital. She got the all clear but the Walford couple had missed their slot at the church and were unable to get married.

Second wedding

The couple attempted to get married a second time on 21 July 2006. On the morning of the wedding, Billy woke up in a bed warehouse, where he had been left previous night by Garry Hobbs and Phil as a practical joke. He wandered out into the street wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and was subsequently stripped of his undergarments by a dog who was attacking him. Billy was then arrested for indecent exposure. Garry and Phil had returned to the warehouse to discover that Billy had vanished, and Phil took his anger out on the security guard who was meant to be watching over Billy. Billy called the Vic and told Phil's son Ben to inform Phil and Garry of his whereabouts. Billy was soon released, and encountered Minty Peterson when returning to the Square. Minty took Billy back to the flat and assured him that he would get to the church on time. Minty and Billy ended up stuck in the bathroom, and after Minty crashed against the door, the ceiling fell down. Garry and Phil eventually found the men and Billy attacked Phil for landing them all in such a mess. Meanwhile, Honey and the guests had been waiting at the church for Billy's arrival and Honey had been getting more wound up by the minute. She was assured by Ben that Billy would be at the church if he could, and then asked for her music to be put on and walked down the aisle with Ben, intent on finding Billy. It didn't take long for this to happen as the wedding car drove past when Billy and Phil were fighting. Billy greeted his bride and they headed for the Vic to enjoy the reception, as they'd missed their space at the church for a second time.

Final wedding

Even though Billy and Honey had agreed to wait until after the baby's birth to get married, Peggy sprung a surprise wedding on the couple, on 4 September 2006. Honey had been complaining to Billy about feeling fat and ugly, as she was now eight months pregnant, which made it difficult to get the bride-to-be out of bed without spoiling the surprise. It took warning from her father Jack that she wasn't doing the baby any good that finally got Honey to emerge from the bedroom. Peggy faked a shopping spree to get Honey in Charlie Slater's cab, which was really going to take them to the church. When the cab pulled up outside the church, Peggy announced that Honey was getting married. Honey thanked Peggy but insisted the time wasn't right, which left Billy heartbroken. Honey explained to Billy that she didn't want to get married while she was pregnant. Billy assured her that her happiness was most important, but got an earful from Peggy when he broke it to her that the wedding was off. Honey interrupted their argument with a proposal, and the wedding was going ahead after all. But it wouldn't be Billy and Honey if something didn't go wrong, and in true soap style, just as they were saying their vows, Honey started having contractions. She grabbed Billy and launched into a breathing exercise, then urged the vicar to continue. As Billy leaned in for a kiss after they were pronounced husband and wife, Honey revealed that her waters had broken.

File:Billy honey janet.jpg

Billy and Honey Mitchell's heartache at birth of disabled baby Janet.

Janet

On Friday 1 September 2006, Honey celebrated her pregnancy with a girls-only (excluding her father, who also made an appearance) baby shower, where everyone attending played games, including one where they gave in pictures of them as children and Honey had to guess who the picture belonged to.

On Monday 4 September 2006, the day of Billy and Honey's wedding ceremony, Honey had a contraction during the beginning of the ceremony but insisted that it would be hours before she went into labour and demanded that the wedding continued, even though Billy was reluctant to continue in Honey's condition. After exchanging vows, Honey's waters had broken and she announced it formally, while her husband was meant to be kissing the bride. She then gave birth to a baby girl, Janet. Their happiness was short-lived, however, when they were informed that their baby has Down syndrome. Honey then admitted that she felt no love for the baby, and wasn't sure she wanted to keep her. After this her name was changed from Janet to Petal, as she was not the perfect "Janet" she had wanted.

With the help and guidance of her father, Billy and charge nurse Bryan Nolan, Honey began to accept her daughter, and was upset by a health visitor's comments that she was brave to keep Janet.

On 30 October, 2006, Honey and Billy attended a support group for parents of children with Down syndrome at the community centre. Being around children with Down syndrome only made things worse for Honey. She finally broke and destroyed Petal's nursery room admitting to Billy that she couldn't cope any more. The next day Honey disappeared. She returned to Billy in the evening explaining that she went to visit places that reminded her of her life before Petal. Honey announced that she wanted Petal adopted.

Honey even considered smothering Petal with a pillow, but could not bring herself to do it. She visited her father on his narrowboat in Kent. Billy tracked her down and took Petal with him. He put Petal by the canal, saying that people used to leave babies with Down syndrome outdoors overnight, and if the baby survived, they'd keep it. Honey was shocked by Billy's actions and Billy picked Petal up and they went back home.

Petal was to be fostered by Tony and Kim Smith. Billy wanted to meet them to make sure Petal was going to a good home. They took Petal home on 19 December but the next day, Dr. May Wright told Billy that Petal needed a heart operation. Honey did not want to see Petal in the hospital, so Billy went without her. While he was there, Honey found a letter that Billy had written to Petal. She tore it up, but then stuck it back together again. She found Billy at the hospital, just as Petal was being baptised, in case she did not survive the operation. Honey told Billy, the vicar and Bryan that her name was not Petal, it was Janet.

Since then, Honey has bonded considerably with Janet, taking her to swimming classes and sharing Charlie Slater's allotment in order to provide organic vegetables for her.

On 20 March 2007, Honey found out she was pregnant with her second child, and told Pat Evans, asking her not to tell Billy. Pat berated Honey for not telling Billy and when she eventually did tell him, he was speechless and offended she told someone else before him. Billy was distant with Honey after this but the two finally had a heart to heart and he admitted to having the same concerns as her including that they may love the new baby more than Janet, which Honey reassured him could never happen. After this the two agreed they wanted the new baby and gradually spread the news to their family.

Family

• Father: Jack Edwards
• Mother: Janet Edwards (deceased)
• Husband: Billy Mitchell
• Daughter: Janet Mitchell
• Aunt: Caroline Bishop

External links

• Honey Mitchell at BBC Online