'Who Killed Archie?': The Suspects Revisited

Just before Christmas, you voted Janine Butcher the most likely suspect to have killed Archie.

Having now seen the extremely twisty Christmas Day episode - the Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Bradley (Charlie Clements) twist in particular shocked me to the core! - has your opinion changed? Take a look at my redefined suspect list and vote in Soap Scoop's post-episode poll at the bottom of this blog post!

---

Name: Ronnie Mitchell
Relation: Daughter
Motive: Revenge. She hates Archie's guts. She blames him for their mother's departure, forcing her to give up her baby when she was 14, Danielle's death and most recently for causing her to miscarry her unborn child. The list goes on…

---

Name: Peggy Mitchell
Relation: Wife
Motive: Revenge. Archie turned her life upside down when his manipulative, controlling behaviour was exposed back in April on their wedding day. Archie took control of The Vic on Christmas Eve and Peggy wants it back. She also discovered that Archie was the reason Sam disappeared and ultimately skipped bail, causing the Mitchells to lose all of their money. Peggy issued Archie with an ultimatum - leave The Vic or he'll regret it.

---

Name: Janine Butcher
Relation: Fiancée
Motive: Revenge. Janine discovered that Archie's been double-crossing her and that he's been using her all along to get his hands on The Vic. She may, however, have killed him so she can have The Vic all to herself. Or was it revenge for the naff Christmas present - a one-way ticked to Gdansk in Poland with 1p spending money? Janine picked up a knife in the Car Lot, while Archie was hit with the Queen Vic bust - was this a red herring?

---

Name: Jack Branning
Relation: None
Motive: Revenge. Jack's never seen eye-to-eye with Archie. He previously asked Jack to help orchestrate Sam's disappearance from the Square and when Jack refused to help, Archie exposed his affair with Sam. Jack's also never liked the way that Archie's treated Ronnie. During the Christmas episode, Jack confronted Archie over Ronnie losing her baby.

---

Name: Sam Mitchell
Relation: Niece
Motive: Revenge. Sam returned to Walford on Christmas Day, much to the shock of Ricky, Bianca, Peggy, Phil and the rest of the Mitchells. Sam realised that Archie orchestrated her departure from Walford so that the Mitchells descended into financial ruin. Realising the hurt and pain she's caused/is causing her family, Sam went to confront her Uncle Archie but he closed the door on her.

---

Name: Phil Mitchell
Relation: Nephew-come-stepson
Motive: Phil didn't kill Archie when his mother asked him to earlier in the year. Instead, he allowed Archie to leave Walford a lonely man. Phil may want to prove to his mother that he's as much of a son to her as Grant. Phil picked up a crowbar from the Arches - but was this a red herring, too? Phil was last seen heading into the cellar door of The Vic.

---

Name: Bradley Branning
Relation: None
Motive: Bradley learned the shocking truth from Stacey that Archie forced himself on her three months ago. She also revealed to Bradley that she thinks she's carrying Archie's child. Furious that Archie took advantage of Stacey, Bradley confronted Archie in The Vic, punching him twice and loosening his tooth.

---

Name: Ian Beale
Relation: None
Motive: Revenge. Archie blackmailed Ian into selling him the Mitchells' debts so he could take control of The Vic. Ian was furious because his half-brother Ben had his roof taken from over him. Ian was also made to look the bad man to the Mitchells when he was only helping them out in the first place. There's also an audio file of Ian in bed with Janine floating around, which Archie threatened to let Jane hear on Christmas Day. Ian had a confrontation with Archie on Christmas Day as Ian ransacked The Vic's living room in search of the incriminating evidence against him. Ian ultimately returned to The Vic to steal the laptop.

---

Name: Stacey Slater
Relation: None
Motive: Stacey's bipolar could spiral out of control again, causing her to unleash her fury on Archie. After all, just before she was sectioned, she accused Archie of trying to kill her with Ryan's help. It transpired during the Christmas episode that Stacey's pregnant with what she presumes to be Archie's child after he forcibly had sex with her three months prior.

---

Name: Grant Mitchell
Relation: Nephew-come-stepson
Motive: Peggy's been backwards and forwards to Spain since the Mitchells' finances took a turn for the worse. Grant will have heard all the horror stories from Peggy and unable to see Archie tear his family apart any more, could have returned from Spain to do Phil's dirty work.

---

Name: Ryan Malloy
Relation: None
Motive: Jealousy. As Janine's love interest, Ryan's never been happy with her involvement with Archie. Although he's subtly helped Archie along the way, Ryan could have been lulling him into a false sense of security.

---

Name: Roxy Mitchell
Relation: Daughter
Motive: Roxy's always been a daddy's girl but after Archie's treatment of the rest of the Mitchells (throwing them out of The Vic on Christmas Eve), Roxy may want revenge. She may also want revenge for the way he's treated Ronnie and Peggy.

---

Name: Lucas Johnson
Relation: None
Motive: He has form. Archie could find out about Lucas's handiwork with Trina and Owen. Lucas may lose control again and kill for a third time. He wasn't on the Square for Christmas - the Foxes were apparently with Auntie Kim. But was Lucas with them?

---

Name: Glenda Mitchell
Relation: Ex-wife
Motive: Fed up with Archie's controlling nature, Glenda fled to Australia leaving her daughters Ronnie and Roxy behind. On hearing that he's remarried, Glenda may have returned to ensure Peggy doesn't suffer the same life she did. Or exact her own revenge after all these years. She may not be around for Christmas Day - well, not that we know of…

---

Name: Pat Evans
Relation: None
Motive: Pat's never liked Archie. As Peggy's best friend, Pat's been watching Archie and how he's been treating his wife. Pat was apparently in New Zealand over Christmas - or was she?

---

Name: Billy Mitchell
Relation: Nephew
Motive: Realising that he betrayed the rest of his family's confidence by keeping Archie and Janine's plan a secret, Billy could have killed Archie to finally prove that he's not the runt of the litter.

---

Name: Tracey
Relation: (Ex-)Employee
Motive: Tracey wasn't happy in the slightest when Janine and Archie took over The Vic and certainly wasn't happy working for them. The straw that broke the camel's back came when Janine suggested that she put some tinsel in her hair to look a little more festive.




Don't forget to check back next week for the results!

> Reaction: Archie Mitchell on his final 'Enders scenes

Let me know your views on the above suspects using the usual form below! Alternatively, suggest your suspects and motives, too!