EastEnders - Phil Tells Sharon About His Abusive Childhood (5th September 2002)

[@rorymckernan8502]

Powerful and brilliant acting from Steve McFadden in this scene. Especially the brief flashback, where you see him as a child, and his dad pushing his head down on the draining board.

[@acceptableandbornind80s32]

Freaked me out as a teenager I was scared to go in the other room

[@naruto199797]

I think thats one of the reasons sharon has stuck by phil is because she knows who he is inside aside from the hard man act he is a broken person from years of abuse

[@ellesmith4564]

There’s a scene where Sharon & Roxy talk about Phil’s childhood and she says that🥺💔.

[@GinaSigillito]

This is so true.

[@007spudman]

Yet still had the audacity to cheat on him with Keanu with absolutely no regret what so ever...

[@jacetadams9461]

Twenty years later, Phil and Sharon are still in each other's lives, and we finally saw in the flashback episode Phil's relationship with his violent father. Incredible

[@itellwalker7923]

Exactly!!

[@stevedavidson5038]

Wow, watching this makes last nights episode so much more impactful and vice versa. Amazing acting from Steve here.

[@bpoleary1]

Absolutely, although it also makes you wonder why Phil overhearing his father shooting someone dead has never been mentioned by Phil when telling stories like this in the past. Even when he was really drunk lots of times through the years, or the time he was high on drugs a lot and capable of saying anything. Although, I do think that when Phil says here that the beatings stopped when he was old enough to hit his dad back, and he just looked back up at him like a pathetic old man, I do think that very moment was seen last night.

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

Sharon and Phil both incredible. So much feeling.

[@j04370859]

Has anyone realised the recent flashback episode of this story is exactly 20 years after this episode? I wonder if that was intentional.

[@warrengrant2992]

Wow never clocked that until now!

[@NubianPrince85]

Yes n we need more of it....

[@30Something90sChild]

Definitely intentional.

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

Magnificent acting. Poor Phil.

[@VL18505]

Why feel sorry for him? He then goes knocking Jamie and Ben!

[@westminsterwatcher5152]

Steve McFadden is an absolute legend!

[@itellwalker7923]

He is! He’s a true legend and a superb actor!! Steve and “Phil” have entertained, excited and inspired me over the years all the way back from February 1990!! Phil reminds me a lot of my dad and even myself as well too… The mannerisms are quite similar to both myself and my dad… Especially my dad… And believe it or not but there’s even a slight resemblance to my dad as well too!! Excellent acting by Steve in this scene!

[@cockshield]

Steve McLegend is an absolute Fadden.

[@itellwalker7923]

@@cockshield 😂 I like that! 🤣 That tickled me bruv! 🤭 He is as well!! 👌🏽👍🏽

[@chrissmith4678]

I can not believe this episode will be 20 years old on monday next week. I remember this episode clearly from when I was a teenager

[@kingz1100]

20 years later on the same exact day a flashback episode has appeared

[@lukedaley17]

We finally get to see the fight Phil was talking about years later in a flashback to 1979.

[@kathysamuels1465]

Amazing acting #phil my favourite actor in eastenders

[@tattooedandy93]

I’ve just got goosebumps…

[@yuenkentsang9446]

I love scenes like this..

[@GinaSigillito]

I always thought this was their best episode and that is really saying something. Two great characters.

[@arifburakkirik2282]

And tonight we saw Phil hit him back

[@CASM-ze7lb]

Anyone here after the Mitchell flashback episode.

[@paulyb7267]

Being beaten up at age 6 must be really traumatizing!

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@Pauly B Yeah its no surprise how he's quite aggressive to people, you are a product of your own environment

[@paulyb7267]

@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- When planning for Peggy's funeral in 2016, it was mentioned that Eric broke Phil's arm (Phil was 7 or 8 years old when it happened).

[@renoniel.9614]

Sad that you never gotten beaten

[@LiamTate-b1v]

​@@paulyb7267was also mentioned that Eric Gavin and den were mates and that Sharon remembered him

[@eviekaley952]

It is.

[@ellesmith4564]

Sharon knows Phil better than anyone🥺😌❤️.

[@tapdancingrabbits124]

Whoever did the research for this did an amazing job, more than a few bits of this dynamic I can relate to, especially the first time finally fighting back and realising they’re just human trying to exert control over someone they’ve tricked into fearing them

[@paulyb7267]

I remember back in 2015 during a conversation between Phil and Ian where Phil recalls his dad once broke his cheek bone during a vicious beating; Phil swore he’d never hit Ben (who had been living with Phil since he was age 10) but is ashamed to admit he did when he found Ben burning his sister Louise with a hot spoon.

[@louwinters508]

He once tried to beat Ben but the rest of the family stopped him.

[@Grizzy2023]

@@louwinters508when was this?

[@Grizzy2023]

@@louwinters508oh wait I remember now lol

[@EN-qg2bb]

Great upload mate never knew this happened

[@Deano14397]

Steve Mcfadden is a legend

[@3socksmorgan485]

They have ruined his character by turning him into a police informant, Phil Snitchell

[@TripleR250]

Imagine a EastEnders Christmas special of a flashback episode to that story! I guess it would be far too sensitive...

[@Mistliam]

I have an abusive dad and this actually hit me too 😊

[@jonathanwilliams7946]

I was abused and I was raped as well. I was kidnapped I was nearly killed . So was my family. I was hit and run. I was in a motabike ackct A horse ackct . I had many more stories in my life time. I survived them all .

[@zachoneill6570]

Should write a book

[@LiamTate-b1v]

Man like Jonathan

[@jonathanwilliams7946]

I never knew Phil's dad was abouseing him but it makes sense . From his drinking . And the way he is. I am looking forward to see the flash forward episodes of the Michelle family's. Of how they started of . To this point.

[@abbieroseholden4174]

Phil started drinking heavily when he accidentally killed that guy at Frank's car lot back in the day

[@abbieroseholden4174]

Phil became like his Father

[@ljllob4740]

His father was way worse but yeah Phil was a terrible father

[@srmills6139]

@@ljllob4740 I had seen in quite a number of episodes that Phil talked about how concerned he was of becoming just like his father and that he would end up abusing his children. Phil was far from the best father but I don't think he was a terrible father.

[@ljllob4740]

@@srmills6139 yeah I agree it’s always up and down with Ben and Phil but that’s father and son me and my dad could kill each other one day and hug and hang out with the next day

[@srmills6139]

@@ljllob4740 It was totally different with my stepdad. He was a piece of shit and I absolutely hated him for the way he treated me. I think that Phil desperately wanted to break the cycle of abuse but struggled because of his problems with alcohol. Not that that's an excuse for his behaviour but I agree that his relationship with Ben was up and down.

[@sambrown2322]

Phil has his thuggish moments, there's no denying about that, but at least he tries to be a better man and a dad. Phil even admitted one time that he was scared silly that he would end up like his dad

[@Aladdin-nc7cv]

Tony Jordan wrote this 2 hander episode

[@startracker5895]

Similar thing happened to my Mum. Her Dad was abusive yet he built her a lovely dolls house for Christmas or her birthday. He told her to kiss him to say thank you. She wouldn’t because she was scared of him so he and her much older brother threw the doll’s house into the fire to punish her.

[@007spudman]

Christmas has been ruined in the EastEnders world even before the show began.

[@evildeed90s]

sharon was hot 20 years ago

[@bondoasaph]

Yh she's old now but that didn't stop keanu 🤣

[@grxgghxrpxr]

She still is...

[@H.K.5]

And annoying.

[@TomHicks03]

It’s so scary to think that exactly 20 years later on this day we would get a flashback to Phil’s youth and see him finally put that scumbag Eric in his place. Both this episode and the flashback from tonight are just freaking phenomenal.

[@bpoleary1]

When Phil said here that the beatings stopped when he was old enough to hit him back, and his father just looked up at him like a pathetic old man, I do think that moment was seen in the flashback episode last night.

[@TomHicks03]

@@bpoleary1 honestly mate I completely get what you mean. It felt so good to visualise the flashback / story Phil told here 20 years later

[@Sam88-l4k]

The older I get I come to realise I may of been coercively abused. Constant put downs, never good enough, never good enough. Constantly being screemed at. Never physical, but feel the mental scars. Never had that conversation with them, but I tend to keep a distance. Definitely damaged my relationship with them. Don't even think they realise what they've done to me. But they never take responsibility for my depression and anxiety, and my feeling of reacting to negative comments better than positive

[@007spudman]

All that because of Candle Wax on the track. Couldn't it just be cleaned off? Eric was just Evil.

[@ayeshamalak383]

wow Phil and Ronnie both got abused by their dads because Phil was Eric first born son and Ronnie was Archie's first born daughter messed up Phil was 7 Ronnie was 13

[@Davemac189]

Didn’t Johnny Allen used to bully Eric Phil’s dad?

[@Onmysheet]

The actor who plays Sharon delivered her lines badly back then.

[@harold3165]

Back when EastEnders was worth watching.

[@bensmithkent22]

This was peak fat phil. They bulked him up maybe with padding to appear more menacing after grant left and to go toe to toe with a huge man like dan sullivan a year or so prior to this. I think its genuine fat though look at his head its half the size now.

[@JoeHickey-n9q]

I buy 7up for me father and chips he say i won't have any chips today don't worry about me cause he doesn't want me to left short of money i buy for my father he can't afford it i help him out with the finance i pay my mother and father 30 euros every week so i won't be left short

[@JoeHickey-n9q]

I got a good friendship with my parents if i went looking at tractors with me father i buy him a bag of chips one bag of chips me father and one bag of chips for me

[@joeritchie7286]

Steve stole the show

[@LiamTate-b1v]

Sharon must off been too young when eric was around him and den were mates

[@JoeHickey-n9q]

Phil's father must be a bollocks if he abused him

[@JoeHickey-n9q]

Eric is a prick he only abused phil and grant did eric hit sam as well

[@Getouttamypub]

No, he never abused Sam, I think it’s also implied that she was his favourite child.

[@LARK-ht7kd]

@@Getouttamypub interesting

[@xwinwinwinx]

I think Phil and Grant protected Sam a lot as she is the youngest and the only girl so seen as more vulnerable

[@stuartcumings8026]

Guess thats a good reason for being a pathetic bully then

[@AndrewChapman]

7:30 It's this brief flashback that makes me wanna feel sorry for Phil. But it's difficult whenever he goes around being a thug like his father.