Overview
- Ross Kemp confirmed he will reprise Grant Mitchell later in 2026, with producers billing his comeback as part of two significant storylines.
- In the current plot, longtime family friend Nigel Bates is living in a care home after an early-onset dementia diagnosis and a recent bout of pneumonia.
- Mark Fowler Jr learns of Nigel’s decline and reaches out to Grant, setting up their first on-screen reunion since Mark discovered Grant is his father.
- The Mitchell family is already under strain, with recent episodes showing Sam Mitchell receiving the all clear after breast cancer and the clan rallying around other stresses at home.
- Grant first arrived in 1990 and has returned at key moments over the decades, including a 40th-anniversary stint last year, a pattern the show often uses to anchor major arcs.