'EastEnders' Phil voted ultimate TV hard man

October 15, 2003Oct 15, 2003, 11:00 PM GMT+1

The recent return of former Albert Square villain Dirty Den may have sent EastEnders viewing figures soaring, but results of a recent poll reveal that when it comes to onscreen hard men Phil Mitchell beats them all.

Garage-owner Phil, played by Steve McFadden, is even more scary than New Jersey mafia boss Tony Soprano according to a Woolworths poll to determine TV's best baddy. The Queen Vic bully boy cornered a massive quarter of the total votes, but was hotly pursued by his fellow EastEnders character Den, who landed 23 per cent despite only having been back on screen for a couple of weeks.

Indeed the award-winning BBC soap seemed to have monopoly on scary characters, with third place being filled by spooky wife beater Trevor Morgan, who was killed off in an onscreen blaze last year. The remaining slots in the top ten were filled by Coronation Street's Richard Hillman, Brookside's Trevor Jordache and hard-nosed surgeon Dr Robert Romano from US drama ER. The Sopranos' Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini, came in at number nine.

Steve McFadden's portrayal of meaty bully boy Phil Mitchell has viewers convinced, resulting in his character placing top of a poll of meanest TV baddies

Hot on his heels comes fellow EastEnders character Dirty Den, whose 23 per cent showing was especially impressive considering he has only been back on the soap for a couple of weeks

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