So has Archie Mitchell really been 'axed'?

A tabloid report today claims that EastEnders actor Larry Lamb's character Archie Mitchell has been axed from the show in order to cut costs.

So what's the score? Well I'm told that it was only ever intended that he stay in Walford for the duration of the Danielle (Lauren Crace) storyline. His exit - which saw Phil (Steve McFadden) force him to leave the area - was intended to be just that: his exit from the soap.

However, as his initial stint was so successful, the producers decided to hand him another set-length storyline, which will again apparently reach a natural conclusion and he'll more than likely depart again at the end of it.

That's the nature of storytelling, though, isn't it? A character has a story which plays out and if the storyline dictates that there's no reason for them to be there afterwards, they leave...

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