Hardman Phil to play it for laughs

Albert Square hardman Phil Mitchell, aka Steve McFadden, is to take a break from menacing his fellow EastEnders to star in a twopart comedy for BBC1.

Walford's burly garage owner may seem an unlikely candidate for comedy but a source at the BBC said the programme, It Ain't Heavy, written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan, is "at the planning stage" and as yet no details of the script are available.

Should these plans bear fruit, McFadden, 43, who studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, will be following in a long - but by no means glorious - line of hatchetfaced hardmen who have attempted to break into comedy.

Arnold "The Terminator" Schwarzenegger regrettably starred in Twins, Junior and Kindergarten Cop and Sylvester "Rocky" Stallone's role in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot made him a global laughing stock.

While he has fought his brother for his sister-in-law, battled the bottle and snatched his baby, McFadden's comedic credentials are almost nonexistent. He was a bouncer in the lamentable Kevin & Perry Go Large, but can at least take encouragement from Bob Hoskins and Sir Michael Caine, two Brit hardmen who have proved themselves adroit comedians.

An EastEnders insider said: "Steve may be a tough piece of work in Walford but, when the cameras stop, he's a pretty funny guy."

And even if McFadden's comedy turn is less amusing than a bout of root-canal work, it will take a brave soul to say it to Phil Mitchell's face.